MAGNOLIA, Ark. – No. 11 Mulerider Softball is ready for another weekend at Dawson Field inside the Dr. Margaret Downing Softball Complex, as Southern Arkansas is set to face the East Central Tigers for a Friday and Saturday (Apr. 10-11) Great American Conference series.
 
Start Times
The series is set to begin on Friday with the 6:00 PM series opener, with the series doubleheader being scheduled for a 1:00 PM start on Saturday.
 
Broadcast Information
This weekend's contests will be broadcast live on the Southern Arkansas University Hudl Fan Page with Dan Gregory and Ryan Phillips calling all of the action.

Series History
SAU vs. ECU | Apr. 10-11
59^th Meeting: SAU leads series 45-14
First Meeting: 2/19/1999 – ECU won 10-3 (Ada, Okla.)
Last Meeting: 4/12/2025 – SAU won 6-0 (Ada, Okla.)
 
SAU Notables
>>> Southern Arkansas has continued to prevail in the unit's series up to this point, as Team 28 has clinched all seven GAC series this campaign. In the group's last three series, the Muleriders have won with a two-game-to-one final in each of the three. Last weekend in Mulerider Country, the Blue and Gold clinched a dramatic series in the rubber match against in-state foe, the Harding Lady Bisons. That series finale had the makings of a classic in the all-time series against the squad from Searcy, as the Muleriders defeated the Lady Bisons with a walk-off dinger by Brooklyn Reed in the bottom of the ninth inning, coming out triumphant 2-1. As of now, SAU sits in third of the GAC standings, as the group is 34-5 overall with a 17-4 record in league play. Ahead of Team 28 is the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns in second with an 18-3 record and the Oklahoma Baptist Bison in first with a 19-2 record.
 
>>> In the circle, the Mulerider pitching staff has been one of the best in the GAC this season. The squad currently leads the league in numerous statistical categories, which most notably include ERA (2.12 | 18^th DII), hits allowed per seven innings (5.69 | 13^th DII), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.62 | 19^th DII). The lead arm of the staff this season is Emma Duncan, as the grad student from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Canada, leads the Muleriders in complete games (14 | 1^st GAC | 18^th DII), ERA (1.65 | 2^nd GAC), hits allowed per seven innings (4.26 | 1^st GAC | 11^th DII), shutouts (6 | 1^st GAC | 6^th DII), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.34 | 1^st GAC), strikeouts (147 | 1^st GAC | 7^th DII), and strikeouts per seven innings (7.1 | 1^st GAC).
 
>>> At the plate, Southern Arkansas continues to be one of the GAC's best batting teams, with the unit recording the league's best batting average at .349 (10^th DII). The Blue and Gold's bats have been hot this season, with the group leading the GAC in categories such as hits (375 | 11^th DII), runs batted in (245 | 14^th DII), and RBI per game (6.28 | 18^th DII). For Southern Arkansas, the Muleriders are led in batting average by Maddie Leal, as the Houston, Texas local also leads the GAC in batting average and hits with a .463 average and 56 hits (22^nd DII). For scoring and stealing bases, Team 28 is led by Sophia Luetticke. The grad student leads the squad with her 45 runs scored (1^st GAC | 12^th DII), while also leading the group in stolen bags at 21 (3^rd GAC).
 
ECU Notables
>>> Still in the hunt for its first GAC Championship Tournament berth, East Central enters the weekend at 13-28 overall, while being 5-16 in conference play. As of now, the Tigers are in a three-way tie for ninth with Arkansas-Monticello and Southwestern Oklahoma State. Most recently, the unit comes off a midweek doubleheader against Newman University, with the Tigers winning both outings with final scores of 8-0 and 3-2. ECU looks to win its third GAC series this season, as the group has yet to win a league series since taking two on the road against SWOSU (Mar. 27-28).
 
>>> The Tigers have been struggling in the circle this season, as the unit ranked 12^th in the league for staff ERA, sitting at 4.70. In terms of the ERA, the top member of the staff has been Lindsey Mauppin (#11), with a 2.42 average. Mauppin has pitched in 43.1 innings and has surrendered 47 hits, 15 earned runs, and has struck out 19 batters. With the most innings pitched on the staff, Brooklyn Charnock has thrown 70.2 innings with an ERA of 3.67. Charnock ties for the most completed games on the team with four.
 
>>> In the batter's box, ECU ranks ninth in the league for batting average, recording an average of .247. The Tigers' lead batter has been Elyse LeClair (#1), as the senior is accounting for a batting average of .380 and ranks second in the GAC for hits with 52. LeClair is also the unit's lead base stealer, as she has stolen 18 bags on her 20 attempts.
 
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