BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Mulerider Softball concluded day one at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic, as Southern Arkansas went on to outscore its opponents 17-0 over the course of two games. The Muleriders advanced to 7-0 on the season after defeating the St. Edward's Hilltoppers 6-0 and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 11-0 in five innings.
Possibly the biggest highlight of the Muleriders' day was in the circle against St. Edward's, as Team 28 saw Emma Duncan start and finish against the Hilltoppers in a complete game (the first by a Mulerider pitcher this season), as Duncan went on to also pitch a no-hitter for the program's 23rd.
In the five innings played for the Blue and Gold's outing against Northwest Missouri State, Head Coach Jason Anderson heavily relied on senior Kassie Rhodes in the circle. The native of Quitman, Arkansas recorded her fourth win of the season, after allowing only three hits, no runs, one walk, and accounted for two strikeouts. Corie Byrd came into close the contest in the fifth, where she also did not allow a run.
Vs. St. Edward's (W, 6-0)
Quite literally right off the bat, Southern Arkansas got the things rolling in the top of the first inning, as Regan Dillon dialed up a bomb over the center field wall for a lead-off homer to begin the outing. A batter later, America Rubio did the same, but over the left field wall. Despite Sophia Luetticke recording her first of three hits in the game with a single, the Muleriders would close the half inning up 2-0.
After three-straight half innings of three-up-three-down sequences, the Muleriders had finally hung up another crooked number that began with Dillon earning a walk and advancing to second on an error by the pitcher, also placing Maddie Leal at first. Another batter later, the bases were loaded after Kelsie Adams singled to center field. On a Luetticke single, SAU added another pair of runs, as Dillon and Leal scored to go up 4-0.
Finally in the bottom of the third, the Hilltoppers had reached first base on a throwing error with two outs. The batter turned runner then made it to second on a wild pitch, but Duncan followed it up by striking out the following batter.
In the top of the fifth, Southern Arkansas tagged on two more runs after seeing the two lead-off batters go down on ground outs. The sequence began with a Luetticke single, followed by her stealing second base. Next up, Paris Endris walked and had Briana Jones pinch run for her. The Muleriders drew another walk, as Jenny Bouthillier juiced the bases. To score two more runs, SAU saw Payton Owens double to right field and score Luetticke and Jones, but the sequence was ended as Bouthillier tried for home and was thrown out.
For the next two and a half innings, neither group would make a change to scoreboard, as the Muleriders went on to win their sixth game of the season, 6-0. The win marked the Muleriders first win over St. Edward's, as the programs had not met since the 2003 season.
Vs. Northwest Missouri State (W, 11-0 (5)).
Nearly from the get-go, SAU's second bout of the day belonged to them, as Rhodes allowed just one hit in the top of the first and stranded the runner. That was tagged on by a bottom first that had Southern Arkansas score three runs on one hit. To start, Dillon walked, and was then batted in on a Leal triple to left field. Rubio then batted in Leal on a ground out at first. Adams then came up to the plate and drew the second walk of the half inning. She was then advanced to second on a fielder's choice that Luetticke reached first on. The two then advanced a base on a wild pitch, and Adams was able to score on a Endris sacrifice fly that also advanced Luetticke to third. Adams run ended up being the last of the inning despite Bouthillier walking and stealing second.
Southern Arkansas took that impressive scoring sequence in the first inning and raised the bar in the bottom second, as the Muleriders scored four runs on just one hit with two errors going their way. After a lead-off fly out, Dillon reached first on a throwing error. Leigha Gilbert then came in to pinch run for Dillon and immediately advanced to second with Leal drawing a walk. Following that walk was another walk that Rubio drew to load the bases. Then reaching first on another throwing error was Luetticke, which scored Gilbert and Leal for unearned runs and advanced Rubio to third. Luetticke followed this up by stealing second, and was batted in along with Rubio on an Owens' single to left field to conclude the scoring. The Muleriders were up 7-0 after two.
The Blue and Gold tacked another four runs, but this time with four hits and no errors. To start, with a new arm for the Bearcats, Owens walked and stole second. A batter later, Gilbert singled and advanced to Owens to third. Gilbert then stole second. Then scoring was Owens on a Leal single, also advancing Gilbert to third. Leal then stole second and was followed by Rubio singling to score Gilbert and push Leal to third. Then pinch hitting for Adams was Brooklyn Reed, who doubled to right field and scored Leal and Rubio for the final two runs of inning and game, 11-0.
With the commanding lead, multiple Muleriders got to come in and pinch hit, which included Addie Morris, Emalea Bailey, and Kinsley Birdwell.
Up Next:
Team 28 plays two more tomorrow (Feb. 7), as the Muleriders will take on Central Missouri for an 11:00 AM start time and Texas Women's at 1:30 PM.
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