RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — With weather wreaking havoc on the Arkansas Tech softball team's schedule for much of the season, the seemingly constant rain has at last made things a bit easier, as the Golden Suns will get to host Southern Arkansas in a four-game Great American Conference series this weekend at Chartwells Women's Sports Complex instead of hitting the road.

The Golden Suns (14-6, 5-3 GAC) have won four of their past six games, and have dropped back-to-back games only once this season, as they sit just two games out of first place in a jumbled GAC that has teams that have played anywhere from eight to 13 league games. The Muleriders (14-7, 6-3 GAC), by virtue of an extra game, are a half-game up on the Suns and sit in fourth place.

Despite the offense slowing down a bit from its early-season explosion, the Tech bats are still proving to be the best in the conference and some of the best in the nation. The Golden Suns lead the GAC in average (.344), slugging percentage (.615), home runs (42) and total bases (352). Their mark of 2.35 home runs per game is the best in the country, and .45 better than the next-best team. Their batting average puts them seventh in Division II, while they are ninth in runs per game and third in slugging.

Kambri Hill leads the way with a .415 batting average, one of three Suns batting .400, and one of eight hitting better than .300. No batter that has appeared in more than one game for Tech is hitting lower than .267. Hill has posted six home runs and 19 RBIs, while Shanna Davidson is batting .408 with 19 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with eight home runs. She's tied with Ashley Savage, who has a .362 average and a team-high 24 runs knocked in. Whitney Robinson is also over .400, hitting .406 with four home runs and 14 RBIs to go with 21 runs scored. Courtney Colunga has six home runs and 20 RBIs to go along with a .367 average.

Davidson leads the GAC in slugging at a whopping .939, while her and Savage are both in the top 21 in the country in homers per game and slugging. That pair, plus Hill and Colunga, appear in the top 10 in the GAC in slugging and top eight in home runs.

In the circle, the Tech pitching staff has combined to allow just eight total runs over the past four games, helping to lower the team ERA to 4.03, the fourth-best mark in the conference. Opponents are batting just .262 against, and Suns pitchers have struck out 98 batters, and allowed only 31 extra-base hits, the lowest number in the league. Morgan Vaughan is fifth in the GAC with a 2.53 ERA, and is 4-1 with a team-high 26 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings. Victoria Huie adds a 3.41 ERA and 5-2 record in seven starts, tossing five complete games and 41 innings. Vaughan is second in the league with a .219 batting average against, while Sydnee Clark is right behind her with a .235 mark.
SAU, which has only managed to play five games this month, is 4-1 in that stretch and is batting .325, which is fourth in the league. Ashton Atwell is one of the few players ahead of the Tech sluggers in some offensive catagories, as she bats .427, which is sixth in the league, is seventh with 23 runs scored, leads the league with nine home runs, and is second with 27 RBIs. Maddie Dow adds five homers and 20 RBIs to go with a .322 average, Audrey Farfan hits .323 with three home runs and 18 runs batted in, and Darian Harris is batting .352 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.

Jami Godwin sports a 2.28 ERA and 3-0 record over 40 innings, while Chancy Williams is 4-4 with a 4.83 mark in 46 1/3 innings, and Miranda Cuff is 5-2 with a 4.89 ERA over 44 1/3 frames. Those three have thrown all but 7 2/3 of the Muleriders' innings.

Doubleheaders are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, with live statistics available at www.arkansastechsports.com.