Box Score

ENID, Okla. – For the fifth consecutive season, the Southern Arkansas baseball team will play for a conference tournament championship as they powered their way into the 2013 Great American Conference Tournament Championship Game with an 11-2 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Monday night at the David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla.
 
Out of the previous four championship game appearances, the Muleriders have won three such games (2009, 2011, and 2012).
 
In Monday night's game, catcher Ryan Dardenne sparked the power display for the Muleriders (39-15) he launched a two-run shot out to left field in the top of the second. Dardenne's blast would give the Muleriders a lead they would not relinquish as they took a 2-1 lead over the Boll Weevils (31-19).
 
The Boll Weevils got that run in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly off of SAU starter and recently-named GAC Freshman of the Year, Timothy Buchanan.
 
An inning after Dardenne's go-ahead homerun, David Harris drove in the first of his five RBIs on the night as his single to left field scored Jason Dahl. In Harris' next at-bat in the fifth, the unanimous GAC Player of the Year belted a solo homerun out to left field.
 
In the next inning, Harris would make GAC Tournament history as he registered the tournament's first inside-the-park homerun. The homerun, which did not leave the field of play, went down as a three-run homerun as Dahl and Ryan Bell both scored on the play. With his earlier homerun, Harris also became the first player in tournament history to hit multiple homeruns in a game.     
 
Now staked to a 10-1 lead through his first five innings pitched, Buchanan would go out and keep the Boll Weevils off the scoreboard over the next three innings as he would eventually pitch eight strong innings en route to his ninth win of the season.
 
The Muleriders will now play the winner of the Harding-UAM game, which is scheduled to be played at noon on Tuesday afternoon.