MAGNOLIA – Records, on records, on records. The (RV) Southern Arkansas Mulerider Football Team tied three individual Great American Conference records as well as broke one of its own offensive records from the program’s modern era. SAU Football moves on to 8-2 in the 2024 season for the second-consecutive season with eight or more wins. The final score between the Muleriders and Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State came out at 78-0. After the first quarter, Southern Arkansas held a 20-0 lead, but a 34-point second quarter would have the Muleriders leading 54-0 at halftime. Head Coach Brad Smiley made sure other players got their moment and they shined as bright as they could have, outscoring NWOSU 24-0 in the second half.

Where to begin with the Mulerider Offense, initially led by junior quarterback and four-time GAC Offensive Player of the Week? Southern Arkansas’ offense witnessed 790 yards of total offense, a new program record in the modern era that shattered the old record of 637 yards of offense against Henderson State back in the 2000 season when the Muleriders demolished the Reddies 86-0, the modern era scoring record for SAU Football.

The Blue and Gold’s 78 points tied the Great American Conference’s record for most points scored in game. The 11 touchdowns tied the record for most touchdowns in a contest for the league’s history, as it is just the fourth time in GAC history that a team has recorded 11 endzone trips and is the first since Henderson State defeated McKendree in September of 2013. That’s 11 years since a GAC member has scored 11 touchdowns in game.

Rushing the ball, Southern Arkansas’ offense recorded 403 yards seven rushing touchdowns. Ten Mulerider carried the rock and of those ten, the program’s leading rusher Jariq Scales led the pack with 112 yards on the ground with a long rush of 53 and one touchdown. Of those seven rushing touchdowns, six SAU ballcarriers accounted for those with Barton being the lone rusher with a pair of touchdowns.

Through the air, Southern Arkansas accounted for 387 passing yards with four touchdowns. 12 Muleriders recorded a reception with senior Rasheen Green recording 146 yards on five receptions, along of 52, and one touchdown. Four different members in the Blue and Gold threw a pass for the afternoon contest with Barton leading that group with 247 yards, completing 15 of his 19 attempts, throwing for two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Adam Parker saw the field the majority of the second half and did not let up on the Rangers as the Natchitoches, Louisiana native completed seven of nine passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. The redshirt freshman stood in the pocket and took a lick from the NWOSU defensive line, but not without throwing over the shallow middle to senior Cole Williams on the crossing route. The senior, making his return from injury, went on for 80 yards to the crib. True freshman Colin Hitchcock completed a pair of passes for eight yards, and while he did not throw in his outing, fellow true freshman Caleb Johnson rushed four times for 49 yards with a long of 41 to the house for six, his first score of his career. Finally, and most certainly not least, in his final game at Rip Powell Field, Matthew Whitten took the handoff from Barton that took the focus off of 10 and had him sneak his way to the endzone where the Princeton, Louisiana native (Whitten) found his quarterback for the score.

Only two of the three records in the Great American Conference have been mentioned, that is because the third came from the Mulerider defense. SAU’ defense allowed just 53 yards total to the Rangers with 55 rushing yards, and yes, -2 passing yards. Those -2 ties both the GAC and Mulerider Football’s program record (1957 vs Arkansas-Monticello).

The Rangers saw the Southern Arkansas side of the field just once, and for one play at that. The NWOSU offense’s one play on the Muleriders’ side of the field resulted in a fumble for a five-yard loss back to their own side of the field.

The Muleriders await the results from around the country as they look to climb that Super Region Three ladder towards their first NCAA DII Playoff berth since 2003.

Southern Arkansas travels to Monticello, Arkansas for the final game of the 2024 regular season as the Muleriders take on the Boll Weevils in the 99^th edition of the Battle of the Timberlands.

The post Muleriders dominate Senior Day with record-setting offense and defense appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MAGNOLIA – Two Harding freshmen scored career highs Saturday as the Lady Bisons dismantled Southern Arkansas, 95-70, Saturday in Great American Conference women’s basketball action at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Aubrey Isbell, a freshman from Mountain View, Arkansas, scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. It was the first 20-point game of her career.

Kendrick “Bug” Bailey, a freshman from Hollister, Missouri, made her third career start and scored a career-high 14 points. She shot 5 of 6 from the field and added five assists and two steals.

The Lady Bisons lost their last three games on Saturday but put the game away early against Southern Arkansas. Harding led by 18 points after three quarters.

Harding won consecutive conference games for the first time this season and improved to 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the GAC. Southern Arkansas lost for the fifth time in its last six games and dropped to 8-7 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Harding’s freshmen had plenty of help from the upperclassmen. Junior Jacie Evans shot 8 of 10 from the field and scored 19 points. Sophomore Sage Hawley had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and second straight.

The Lady Bisons shot a season-high 53.7% from the field, making more than half their shots in three of the four quarters, leading to a season-high scoring total. Harding was 19 of 24 from the free-throw line, including 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

On the defensive end, Harding held Southern Arkansas to a season-low 28.4% shooting. The Muleriders missed 32 of 39 3-point attempts. Southern Arkansas averaged almost 90 points per game entering Saturday’s action but was held to 70 points or fewer for only the third time this season.

Harding pushed its lead to 18 points at 69-51 in the third quarter with solid play on both ends. The Lady Bisons shot 56% in the quarter and limited Southern Arkansas to only 29% shooting. The Muleriders made only 1 of 8 3-point attempts.

Harding shot 54.3% in the first half and made three 3-pointers to lead 45-35 at the break. The Lady Bisons held Southern Arkansas to only 26.2% shooting and forced 17 misses on 21 3-point attempts.

Harding will look to make it three straight wins Thursday when it hosts Northwestern Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

The post Harding blows past Southern Arkansas for 25-point win appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

ADA, Okla. – Junior guard Blake Rogers registered a career-high 26 points, the most by a Mulerider this season, and senior forward Devante Brooks filled up his stat ledger with a double-double for the ninth time this year and for the eighth-consecutive game, but Southern Arkansas was slowed late on the road Thursday night in Ada as East Central topped the Muleriders 81-77 in Great American Conference action. The defeat snaps a four-game winning streak by SAU and drops the team’s overall record to 9-4 with a 5-2 mark in league play.

Rogers matched the highest made shot output by a Mulerider this season with nine. He added one assist and one rebound. Brooks’ ninth double-double was a result of 19 points and 11 rebounds with one steal and an assist.

The contest saw eight lead changes with seven coming in the second half to go along with six tied scores, four of which occurred in the final twenty minutes of play.

A layup by Brooks cut the SAU deficit to a penny at 65-64 with 4:47 to play. The Tigers responded with a three-point bucket to go up four points, but it was an ‘and-1’ effort from senior guard Aaron Lucas at the 2:33 mark that again brought the Muleriders to within a point of the Tiger lead at 68-67. Over the next 70 seconds, ECU quickly engineered a 7-0 run to lead 74-67 with 1:02 to play. East Central’s lead grew to as much as nine points in the final sixty seconds before nestling at four by the final horn.

The Tigers scored ten of the game’s first 13 points as ECU built a seven-point advantage at the 13:42 mark of the opening 20 minutes of play. However, the Muleriders, much like Stella, would find their groove and engineer a 14-6 run which led to the visitor’s first lead of the contest at 17-16 with 9:11 remaining in the first half.

Aiding that stretch of +8 scoring was junior guard Kris Wyche who delivered eight points on three shots including the go-ahead trifecta. Rogers picked up for Wyche moments later as the Mississippian scored nine of SAU’s next 13 points, which included seven straight and a conversion on an old-fashioned three-point play, as the Muleriders built a 30-23 lead just prior to the under-4 media timeout.

Rogers also produced a personal 7-0 run in the second half which gave the Muleriders its last lead of the night at 62-60 with 7:19 left.

Brooks added the final two buckets for the Muleriders in the first half as the Shreveport native entered the intermission a rebound shy of a double-double. SAU led 34-30 after East Central converted a driving shot at the horn to cap the first 20 minutes of action.

ECU dominated inside outscoring the Muleriders by 18 points in the paint in addition to grabbing ten more rebounds.

On Saturday, the Muleriders head south to Durant as a 3 p.m. tipoff with Southeastern Oklahoma State inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena wraps up the team’s first Oklahoma swing of the season.

The post Tigers stop Muleriders’ winning streak with late run appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

RUSSELLVILLE – For the first time in what has been an illustrious career as a Mulerider, Southern Arkansas senior forward Devante Brooks has been named the Great American Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The official announcement was made early Monday afternoon by the league and comes after Brooks delivered a pair of impressive performances this past weekend to help the Muleriders to two league wins.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks became the second Mulerider in program history, the first in the program’s NCAA Era and the first player in GAC history to collect 1,000 rebounds which he reached with his ninth board of the night in Thursday’s 69-49 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. Double-doubles in both wins ran his season total to eight, improved his streak to seven and stood as the 36th and 37th such efforts of his career, respectively, which continues to build as the most in league history.

He averaged 17 points per game behind an overall shooting clip of 50% and he grabbed 15.5 rebounds per game. Brooks scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to his season ledger against the Rangers and two nights later he followed that effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 70-41 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.

For his career, Brooks has recorded 10+ rebounds in a game 37 times and has eclipsed ten points in 68 games.

Devante and the Muleriders prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the season as East Central (1/6) and Southeastern Oklahoma (1/8) await Southern Arkansas this weekend.

The post Devante Brooks named GAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MAGNOLIA – For the third consecutive game, Southern Arkansas reached the century mark in scoring and on Tuesday evening inside the W.T. Watson Center it was the 109^th shot attempt from the Muleriders that broke the single-game scoring record as sophomore guard Jenae Jennings drove inside the paint for the final bucket at the horn as SAU topped Champion Christian 115-65 in the former’s final nonconference game of the season.

The Muleriders (7-2) have now scored 100+ points in four games this season after having eclipsed triple digits in scoring just six times since 1995-96 entering this season. The new single-game scoring mark of 115 tops the 114-point output against Wiley College during the 1997-98 season. SAU scored 22 first-quarter points, opened up the contest with 37 points before the intermission and finished with 56 points in the second half.

Fourteen Muleriders played in the blowout win with five scoring in double figures and bench players accounting for 82 points. Junior guard Jessica Jones led SAU with 15 points and finished a rebound shy of a double-double, while adding four assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Braydyn Hill followed with a dozen points as she made all five of her attempts from the field to go along with three assists and three steals.

Three players scored 11 points as junior guard Kenzie Ezekiel, senior forward Maggie Evans, and junior forward Doriana Brown rounded out scoring. Evans added nine rebounds, six steals and two assists. Brown recorded five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior forward Lillie Moore registered 16 rebounds and was a basket shy of a double-double.

SAU grabbed a single-game program record 80 rebounds which included 37 on the offensive end of the floor. The team’s 42 field goals made are the third-most in a single game. The Muleriders forced 33 turnovers which led to 33 points and collected 24 steals (T5th most in single game).

Champion Christian scored the game’s first seven points, before the Muleriders ended the opening ten minutes on a 22-7 run. SAU took its final lead at 8-7, and while the Tigers tied the game at 10, the Muleriders would not allow the visitors to regain the lead. Southern Arkansas shot a quarter-best 43.3% in the second ten minutes which included a 41% success rate from beyond-the-arc in the same time period.

Southern Arkansas faces one more test before the Christmas holiday. The Muleriders hit the road on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff in Russellville against Arkansas Tech. Live coverage links for all of the action inside Tucker Coliseum are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

The post Muleriders set new single-game scoring record; reach century mark for third straight game appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MAGNOLIA – Southern Arkansas University Director of Athletics Steve Browning has announced that Alli O’Banion has been named the tenth head coach of the Mulerider Volleyball program. The official announcement was made at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8. It is a homecoming of sorts for O’Banion who enjoyed a successful playing career as a right side/middle hitter for the Muleriders from 2014 to 2017.

“Our committee did an outstanding job orchestrating an extensive search in finding our next head coach of the Mulerider Volleyball program,” Browning said. “We are very familiar with Alli’s playing career and the success she had as a Mulerider, but it was also important for us to see the success she has had since leaving Magnolia. She encompasses who we are here at SAU and she understands what it means to be a Mulerider. We are very excited to bring her back home.”

Introduced for official collegiate competition in 1977, the Mulerider Volleyball program has amassed 689 wins and won four conference championships. O’Banion’s appointment as the newest leader of Mulerider Volleyball makes her the ninth head coach in the program’s NCAA Era (1995-96).

“I’d like to thank Dr. Berry and Coach Browning for giving me the opportunity to be the next head coach of SAU volleyball,” remarked O’Banion on Wednesday afternoon. “I am excited and eager to return to Mulerider Country and I look forward to working with these young athletes to start building a strong and competitive Mulerider Volleyball program.”

O’Banion’s most recent stop on her journey back to Magnolia was at NJCAA Division II Northeastern Oklahoma A&M where she served as head coach of the Lady Norse in 2020 and 2021. During her time in Miami, O’Banion led NEO to a combined record of 32-17, including an 18-9 mark this past fall, while garnering back-to-back NJCAA Region II titles. She mentored two NJCAA All-Region II performers and an NJCAA Division II All-American in her two seasons.

Prior to becoming a head coach, O’Banion was an assistant coach at Great American Conference rival Ouachita for two seasons. Primarily working with hitters and blockers, O’Banion  aided OUA to a collective 37 wins in 2018 and 2019, including a 23-9 mark in her first year with a fourth place finish in the league’s regular season and a third place result at the conference championship.

Before returning to the Great American Conference as a coach, O’Banion spent time as an intern at Logan High School in Utah from December 2017 through May 2018. She assisted the athletic department in game day operations, while working alongside the athletic director, head strength and conditioning coach and volleyball coach. During that time, she coached club volleyball at Cache Valley Volleyball Club.

A three-time All-Great American Conference Honorable Mention selection, a one-time league defensive player of the week, and a 2017 GAC All-Academic honoree as a Mulerider, O’Banion’s four seasons at Southern Arkansas were memorable. The central California native was a part of 51 wins and two conference tournament teams, including the 2015 squad which reached the GAC Tournament finals for the first time in program history.

In her time as a Mulerider, O’Banion played in a program-best 470 career sets making 107 starts in 126 matches played; the second-most all-time. She is one of just two players in the program’s rally scoring era to eclipse 1,000 kills and 300 total blocks in a career. Her career totals in kills (1,023), total blocks (314), total points (1,208.0) and attack attempts (2,783) all rank third all-time in program history, while her 274 career block assists are the most ever by a Mulerider. As a senior, O’Banion became the eighth player in Great American Conference Volleyball history to reach 1,000 career kills and the seventh to record 300 total blocks.

The lone Mulerider to receive All-GAC recognition three times, O’Banion capped her playing career in Magnolia with 34 double-figure kill performances and 56 matches with at least 3.0 total blocks. In the final two matches of her career she produced attack percentages of .361 and .311 respectively to vault herself into the top ten all-time in career attack percentage at .201.

In May of 2018, O’Banion received her Bachelor of Science in Sports Management & Human Performance from Southern Arkansas University. Two years later, she earned a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Henderson State University.

The post Alli O’Banion tabbed as Mulerider volleyball head coach appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

GREENWOOD, Ind. – In addition to being a heavy hitter on the field, Southern Arkansas Football’s Brock Floyd is a heavy hitter in the classroom. On Tuesday, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) named the Frisco, Texas native an Academic All-America First Team honoree. Floyd is the lone representative from the Great American Conference to appear on either the first or second team.

A 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-Super Region 3 honoree, Floyd becomes the third Mulerider to lay claim to Academic All-America status joining Kile Pletcher (WR) in 2017 and Jordan White (P) in 2018. Both of those former student-athletes earned second team recognition making Floyd the first Mulerider in SAU’s NCAA Era to receive first team honors.

A Business Administration: Management major with a 3.77 GPA, Floyd also received first team All-GAC honors and Don Hansen All-Super Region 3 Third Team plaudits in 2019. The Texan, who has started all 24 games in his time in Magnolia, has recorded 130 career tackles with five interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He has also forced two fumbles, recovered four fumbles and defended 11 passes.

Floyd is SAU Football’s representative for the department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), is a member of SAU’s inaugural induction class of Chi Alpha Sigma, a member of the National Society of Leadership & Success and a member of the Mulerider Football Leadership Committee.

The post SAU’s Brock Floyd receives CoSIDA All-America First Team honors appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – No one said it would be easy. But that certainly did not phase fifth-year head coach Justin Pettigrew‘s squad on Championship Monday from Crane Stadium at Tompkins Field. (5) Southern Arkansas entered the final day of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament needing two wins over top-seeded and host Central Missouri, a consensus top five team nationally, in order to punch its ticket to the DII Baseball World Series. Through the first five innings of play, the Muleriders battled blow-for-blow with the Mules, before a late offensive surge by UCM served as the difference in the regional final as Central Missouri advanced with a 12-5 win.

Playing their fifth game of the tournament and third of the past 24 hours, the Muleriders (30-16) put forth a noble effort on Monday afternoon as the club used a solid start on two-days rest from sophomore Jacob Womack, while recording eight hits, including three by senior Kobe Morris and two from junior Jacob Martinez.

Southern Arkansas answered a single UCM run in the top of the third with two runs in the bottom of that frame to take a 2-1 lead. Senior Mason Peterson walked to lead off the inning and with one out, Baker doubled to left centerfield that pushed the former to third base. Morris then guided a full-count pitch through the right side to plate Peterson and push Baker to second. Martinez followed with a single to left field that scored Baker and put SAU out front 2-1, but the Muleriders would strand runners at second and third to end the third.

Central Missouri, one of the top offensive teams in the country, pushed across four runs in the next half inning to take a 5-2 through four. That response from UCM ended Womack’s day at 3.1 innings, but the right hander was solid through three as he stranded a pair in the first, worked a perfect second and was a wild pitch away from leaving the third inning unscathed.

Again, Southern Arkansas responded with a two-run fifth inning as SAU put together an offensive charge with two outs as Morris singled to centerfield and scored four pitches later on a double to centerfield by Martinez. McGee then drove in Martinez as he placed a 2-0 pitch into right field to pull Southern Arkansas to within a single run of the UCM lead at 5-4.

However, the Muleriders ran into trouble in the top of the sixth as a three-run home run off the bat of UCM’s Dusty Stroup served as the turning point as the blast staked the Mules to an 8-4 lead which blossomed to a 10-4 advantage after a two-run seventh.

Senior Matt Kortendick was the first reliever out of the bullpen for SAU on Monday as he took over for Womack with one out in the third. He retired the first four batters he faced, before working around a two-out double to end the threat in the fifth inning. With one out in the sixth, UCM found its way offensively against Kortendick with the aforementioned home run opening up the box score for the Mules.

Sophomore Remy Bilodeau took to the mound for the third time in the tournament and managed to work out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in that two-run seventh for UCM by recording a pop out to Baker at second and a 5-3 double play which was engineered by Morris. Central Missouri added two more runs in the eighth inning and SAU’s final run came across in the bottom half as a sacrifice fly from freshman Chris Lyles chased home Martinez.

Martinez recorded two RBI with Morris, McGee and Lyles accounting for one each. Baker joined Martinez and Morris in the hit column as did McGee and Muldoon. Martinez led SAU with two runs scored, while Baker, Morris and Peterson all scored once.

Monday’s matchup marked the fourth time in SAU’s NCAA Era that the Muleriders advanced to the final day of a regional postseason tournament. SAU first reached the final day in 2004 at the South Region Tournament, again at the 2010 South Regional, and at the 2018 Central Regional; hosted by Southern Arkansas.

The post Muleriders’ season ends in Central Region final appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – There’s gutsy and then there’s “Parker Abrego firing a complete game two-hitter in his first appearance in over a month and in his first start since March 20″ gutsy. And “gutsy” might not do the performance justice as he notched career-highs in innings worked and pitches thrown. With the Muleriders’ season on the line, fifth-year head coach Justin Pettigrew tossed the ball to the right-hander and he delivered. The sophomore’s effort coupled with timely hitting in the sixth and seventh innings propelled (5) Southern Arkansas past (3) Minnesota State for the second time in as many days as the former heads to Championship Monday of the Central Regional needing two wins over top-seeded and consensus top five Central Missouri (42-6) to claim the program’s first regional championship.

Monday’s matchup marks the fourth time in SAU’s NCAA Era that the Muleriders have advanced to the final day of the regional tournament after first doing so in 2004 at the South Region Tournament, again in 2010 and in 2018 when SAU hosted the Central Region Tournament. Southern Arkansas forced the “if necessary” game in 2010 and 2018 and will need to tomorrow to have a shot at the DII Baseball World Series in Cary, North Carolina, next weekend.

Abrego allowed just two hits, five walks and two hit-by-pitch, while the only blemish in the run column came in the top of the sixth inning as Maverick All-American Joey Werner nailed an opposite-field home run to give MSU an early, but short-lived lead. Abrego induced a dozen fly outs and seven groundouts, while stranding seven base runners to improve to 4-2 on the season.

The 1-0 lead for Minnesota State after five and a half innings did not last as Southern Arkansas pushed across three runs in the home half of the sixth. Sophomore Riley Orr singled off of MSU starter Cam Kline’s glove, senior Austin Baker singled into centerfield and a fielder’s choice from the bat of senior Kobe Morris put runners at the corners with one out. A hard hit ground ball to shortstop in junior Jacob Martinez’s bat resulted in an RBI-single that plated Orr and tied the game at 1.

With two outs and runners and first and second, senior Zach Muldoonchopped a pitch to third which forced an error and loaded the bases for junior Tucker Burton. Burton, on the first pitch he saw, doubled into right field allowing Morris and Martinez to score and give Abrego more than enough run support.

In the two games prior, Southern Arkansas had managed just seven hits and in the first five innings of Sunday’s nightcap the Muleriders had recorded only a pair. But the three runs in the sixth came on four hits and after the stretch from Crane Stadium at Tompkins Field, SAU added two more runs on three additional hits to all but put the game away with the powerful jaunt the club was receiving from Abrego.

The insurance runs came courtesy of a two-run single down the right field line by Morris that scored Orr, who reached on a well-hit double, and Baker, who singled and stole second to move into scoring position.

Burton, Orr and senior Mason Peterson all doubled in the win. Orr, Baker and Morris all collected a pair of hits with the latter two each stealing a bag. Orr scored twice, while Morris and Burton accounted for two RBI each. SAU pushed across three earned runs and five total on one of the country’s top pitching staffs which used three arms on Sunday night including Kline who suffered the loss after going 6.1 innings allowing seven hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts. MSU entered the Central Region Tournament with Division II Baseball’s best team ERA at 3.03, strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.01, and WHIP at 1.12. That was evident as the Maverick staff did not issue a free pass on Sunday with only an intentional walk allowed on Saturday in 17.1 innings against SAU in two games.

In Sunday’s opener, freshman transfer Santos Sosa put together the longest outing of his Mulerider career as he moved into a starter’s role for the winner’s bracket final. The right hander more than held his own against one of the country’s top offensive lineups as he tossed eight innings scattering a dozen hits and two walks, while stranding nine Mules on the base paths and fanning two as he faced 37 UCM hitters.

Sosa worked around Central Missouri runners in scoring position in five of his eight innings and relied on quality defense behind him as a dozen fly outs and eight groundouts kept the Mulerider defense busy.

The Muleriders struck for two runs in the top of the fifth inning as timely hitting off the bat of Morris resulted in a two-run double into left centerfield that plated sophomore Ty Manning and Peterson with two outs in the frame. Manning led off the fifth with a bunt single to third base and stole second to put himself in scoring position. Peterson followed with a walk and with one out, Manning moved to third on a fly out to centerfield by Baker.

Morris placed a full count pitch to the signage as Southern Arkansas responded following a two-run fourth by the Mules that staked UCM starter Conor Dryer to a 3-0 lead through four. The Mules added one more run in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. In the ninth inning, sophomore Brett McGee drew his 40^th free pass of the season, and second of the day, to lead off the frame and moved to second on a balk, but would be left stranded as UCM advanced to Monday’s Central Region Championship.

Baker and Morris both doubled, while Muldoon and Manning each delivered a single in the loss.

The post Abrego’s complete game carries Muleriders to Championship Monday appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Senior Zach Muldoon sent a 2-2 pitch sharply on the ground to third base and the throw home to cut down the winning run in senior Austin Baker was not in time as (5) Southern Arkansas walked off (3) Minnesota State 2-1 in Saturday’s nightcap from Crane Stadium at Tompkins Field. The win, which was highlighted by an outstanding effort from SAU starting pitcher Zach Smith, sends the Muleriders to the winner’s bracket final of the NCAA DII Central Regional where host and top-seeded Central Missouri, a consensus top five team nationally, awaits on Sunday morning in Warrensburg.

The Muleriders (29-14) managed just three hits against the Mavericks’ Nick Altermatt in the win as Baker collected two including a lead-off double in the bottom of the first and a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth; both of which led to him scoring with the first giving Smith an early 1-0 lead and the second sending Southern Arkansas into Sunday unbeaten.

Baker advanced to third on a groundout by classmate Kobe Morrisfollowing the former’s leadoff double and was pushed home on an RBI-groundout from the bat of junior Jacob Martinez. Smith worked around trouble in the top of the second inning as he pitched out of a bases loaded jam with one out after surrendering a solo home run which tied the contest at 1. He also threw around a base runner at third in the top half of the first inning.

Smith stranding the bases loaded in that second frame served as the first of several situations that the right hander pitched out of on Saturday as he delivered a tenacious effort on the hill which saw him scatter nine hits and three walks, while fanning two and allowing only a single run in 8.0 innings of action.

After the damage done by SAU in the first inning, Altermatt faced the minimum in the third, fourth and fifth innings, before the Muleriders managed to get to the Maverick right hander with runners at first and second with no outs in the sixth only to come away empty in the run column as the game remained tied at one entering the seventh. Senior Mason Peterson singled to start the inning; the lone hit allowed to a Mulerider between Baker’s knocks in the first and ninth innings.

For Smith, he worked a quick third inning highlighted by a 6-4-3 double play, faced the minimum in the fourth as sophomore Brett McGeehosed a two-out base runner at second base to end the frame, left two men on in the fifth inning and forced the abandonment of MSU baserunners at the corners in the sixth. A Maverick reached base in both the seventh and eighth innings, but would not make it past first as Smith induced a dozen ground ball outs and eight fly outs in his outing.

Southern Arkansas went back to the well for the ninth inning as sophomore Remy Bilodeau, who was very solid in relief of starter Jacob Womack on Friday, entered in the ninth inning to hold Minnesota State at a single run. Back-to-back two-out singles were left on the base paths as Bilodeau fanned MSU’s Ty Denzer to end the top half of the inning and set the stage for the SAU offense.

Baker’s single started the frame and he moved to third on a fielding error by the Maverick second baseman in Morris’ at bat. Martinez grounded out which moved Morris to second as Baker held at third and an intentional walk to McGee, the lone free pass of the night allowed by Altermatt, loaded the bases for Muldoon who delivered.

The victory over the Mavericks was the first for Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders dropped a 6-3 decision to MSU at the 2014 NCAA DII Central Regional in Russellville, Arkansas, and suffered a 7-2 loss at the 2015 NCAA DII Central Regional in St. Cloud, Minnesota. SAU has won four of its past five against UCM dating back to the 2013 season. The Muleriders topped the Mules 11-6 in the 2018 NCAA DII Central Regional played in Magnolia

The post Muleriders walk off Minnesota State, advance to winners’ bracket final appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.