SWOSU Softball travels to Magnolia this weekend to face No. 7 Southern Arkansas in a three-game GAC series. Action begins Friday at 4:00 p.m. with a doubleheader, with the series concluding Saturday at noon.

The Bulldogs enter the weekend with momentum after securing their first conference series win of the season last weekend, taking two-of-three from Arkansas-Monticello. SWOSU followed that with a midweek sweep of Newman and has now won four of its last five games. Dating back to a game two win against Southern Nazarene on March 7, the Dawgs are 6-3 over their last nine contests.

During that stretch, the offense is batting .309 while holding opponents to a .253 average. Maddie Rahon has been a key catalyst, going 13-for-30 since March 7. She has recorded hits in nine of her last 10 games and multiple hits in five of her last six. Rahon leads the team with a .338 batting average on the season.

SWOSU now has five hitters batting over .300 in 2026 — Taylor McMahon (.323), Emily Wedel (.317), Landry Bayless (.307), and Sierra Woods (.305) join Rahon atop the lineup.

In the circle, Alexis Taylor has played a major role in the team's recent success, earning three wins during the 6-3 stretch. She struck out a career-high 13 batters in a complete-game shutout against UAM and later picked up her first save of the season to help secure the series victory. Taylor allowed three runs in one inning of work against Newman in Tuesday's midweek contest and will look to bounce back. Prior to that outing, she had not allowed a run in 14.2 innings dating back to her shutout against Fort Hays State on March 10.

SWOSU will need to continue its strong play against a Southern Arkansas team ranked No. 7 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Muleriders enter the weekend with just two losses this season and hold a dominant edge in the all-time series. SWOSU has dropped 19 straight to SAU dating back to 2019 and owns just one road win in Magnolia (2014) since the series began in 2012. The Bulldogs are 1-20 all-time on the road against SAU and 7-40 overall.

Southern Arkansas leads the GAC in both batting and pitching this season, hitting .366 as a team with a 2.47 ERA. Three of the league's top-10 hitters are in the Muleriders' lineup, including Maddie Leal, who leads the conference with a .500 batting average through 29 games. America Rubio is hitting .430 and leads the team with 35 RBI and 16 extra-base hits, including nine home runs. In the circle, Emma Duncan is a perfect 14-0 with a 1.82 ERA and is holding opponents to a .153 batting average — all league bests.