Offense powers #5 Muleriders sweep of Savage Storm
March 24, 2019
Magnolia, Ark. – The fifth-ranked SAU Softball team completed a sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, with the Mulerider offense going for ten extra base hits and eighteen runs over the two games.
It was the bottom of the Muleriders lineup that kicked off the scoring in the second inning; the two-out rally started with Rachel Miller walking and Hallie Saintignan doubling to right center, scoring Miller. Sarah Evans reached on a fielder's choice to extend the inning, and Saintignan scored on a passed ball.
The Muleriders added two more runs the next inning. Chelsea Fagan drew a walk and Savanah Martinez picked up her first of six hits on the day with a single through the left side. Sarah Pitre walked to load the bases, and Fagan scored from third on a wild pitch. After Laina Suesue walked to reload the bases, Miller picked up an RBI due to a hit by a pitch to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Muleriders went deep for the first time of the day in the fifth inning, with Suesue hitting her third home run of the season to center field, scoring Pitre and Martinez.
The game ended the next inning, with the Muleriders run ruling the Storm courtesy of a Martinez double that scored pinch runner Hannah Scullion.
Sydney Wader picked up her 14th win of the season, throwing her second complete-game shutout of the weekend, scattering only four hits while striking out three.
The Savage Storm struck first in game two, with Keeshia Thompson hitting a three-run home run off Elisa Favela, as the Hawaiian hurler dealt with multiple at-bats on the day lasting eight pitches or more due to the visitor hitters fouling off many of her offerings.
The Savage Storm tried to add another run with two outs in the fourth inning, but right fielder Saintignan threw out runner Kamarie Wallace at home to keep the defecit at three runs.
Fagan then led off the bottom of the inning, hitting a laser over the center field wall for her league-leading 14th home run of the season to put the hosts on the board. A Martinez single and a Pitre double put two runners in scoring position for Suesue, who hit her fourth double of the season into the left-center gap, scoring both runners to tie the game.
Miller followed up with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Suesue, and advancing to second on the throw to the plate. A failed pickoff by Storm catcher Krysten Brigance saw Miller advance to third and after Evans reached on a walk, Faith Otts singled in Miller to make it 5-3 Muleriders.
A Favela double scored Evans with Otts thrown out at the plate, and after a Chelsea Fagan hit by a pitch, Martinez hit her fourth home run of the season to push across three more runs, putting the Muleriders' run total for the inning at nine.
Otts' eighth homerun of the season in the sixth inning scored the home team's tenth and final run.
The Savage Storm pulled back two runs in the top of the seventh on Wader, but it was not enough for the Durant, Oklahoma-based school.
Favela improved to 7-0 on the season, giving up ten hits and three runs, striking out seven batters over six innings before Wader replaced her for the final inning.
For the weekend, Wader threw 14.2 innings, picking up three wins and only allowing two runs, one earned, striking out nine batters over four games.
Fagan also drew eight walks and a hit by pitch over four games, only recording six at-bats and three hits, two of which were big flies. Martinez went 7-14 on the weekend with a home run and two doubles.
The Muleriders improve to 26-6 overall and 17-3 in conference play; they are back in action this Tuesday as they host Arkansas-Monticello in a conference doubleheader.
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