Alva Review-Courier -

DURANT, Okla. – The Lady Mulerider softball team concluded regular season play in a Great American Conference series split with Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon as SAU run-ruled the Savage Storm in five innings to take game three, 9-1, but suffered an extra-inning loss in the series finale at a final decision of 5-4 that allowed SOSU to salvage the split.

TEAM RECORDS

(#4) Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders (49-5, 37-4 GAC)

Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm (31-21, 25-14 GAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 1

W – Victoria Taylor (25-0)

L – Destiny Riddle (5-5)

S - NONE

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS

After Southeastern Oklahoma scored the first run of the game in the first inning, the Lady Muleriders answered with a huge offensive run in the next frame that saw SAU scatter eight hits and nine runs collectively as team in the inning, and take a 9-1 lead over the Savage Storm.

In that frame, the Lady Muleriders sent 8-straight batters to the plate, where they would score eight of their runs in that time span, before the Savage Storm could record an out defensively.

Jill Roye doubled home the tying run in that sequence that made it 1-all and, following a walk issued to Megan Godoyo, Sarah Pitre would take care of the rest as the freshman went deep to straight-away center field for her first career grand slam that lifted Southern Arkansas to a 5-1 lead.

Following a pitching change for Southeastern in that sequence, SAU would continue their threat and added another pair of base runners that would bring Rachel Miller to the dish where she would send the first pitch she saw over the left-center field wall and cushion the Lady Mulerider's lead, 8-1.

Roye came up later that inning and singled home SAU's ninth run to make it 9-1 and put the run-rule in effect, and SAU's starting pitcher Victoria Taylor would seal the deal in the circle allowing just two hits and no runs to score in SOSU's next four attempts at the plate that would allow the Lady Muleriders to secure the run-rule victory in the fifth inning, 9-1.

AT THE PLATE

SAU combined for 9 runs on 9 hits with four of those hits going for extra bases

Pitre led SAU with 4 RBI on a home run, and Miller followed with 3 RBI on a homer

Roye tallied the only other RBIs for SAU in the contest with two on a pair of hits

Marina Duran was the only Lady Mulerider with three or more hits as she went 3-for-3 at the dish with a triple and a run scored

PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 2

W – Kelsey Meeks (

L – Jolie Trahan (7-1)

S – NONE

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS

The Lady Muleriders has a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning where Southeastern Oklahoma would have just one more chance to stay in the game

Down to their final two outs, the Savage Storm would deliver with an RBI double to left field that plated the tying run making it a 4-4 score and extended the game into extras

The Lady Muleriders left the go-ahead run on-base twice in their next pair of offensive opportunities, and the Savage Storm left the go-ahead run on once before coming through in the bottom of the ninth and securing the walk-off win on an RBI single up the middle that plated the winning run at a final score of 5-4, SOSU.

AT THE PLATE

SAU combined for four runs on six hits, four of those hits going for extra bases

Roye led with a pair of RBIs with a home run and a walk

Brooke Goad and Faith Otts each tallied an RBI and a home run

Otts was the only player to record more than one hit in the contest