Box Score

KINGSVILLE, Texas – The No.13-ranked Southern Arkansas baseball team completed a series sweep against No. 4-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sunday as the Muleriders took the third and final game of the series by a score of 7-3.
 
The first run of the afternoon for the Muleriders (6-1) came in the top of the second inning when Justin Buchanan singled to right field to score Trevor Rucker. An inning later, the Muleriders opened up the game with four runs on three hits in the third.
 
In that inning, Jackson McCurdy hit a RBI double to right-centerfield that scored Tyler Cameron, who led off the inning with a single through the left side. Three batters later, Buchanan came back to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Buchanan wasted no time in clearing the bases as he doubled to left field on the first pitch he saw in the at-bat. The inning would end there, however, as Buchanan was caught trying to stretch it into a triple.
 
Having already kept the Javelinas (2-3) off the scoreboard and allowing just one hit over the first two innings, SAU starter Cory Roper, settled deeper into the start after his offense gave him a five-run lead. Over the next four innings, Roper would allow no runs and just three hits as he worked himself through seven complete innings.
 
In the top of the eighth, the Mulerider offense spotted Roper two more runs of support as Chase Harvey and Buchanan scored on the error by the Javelinas' third baseman that allowed Cameron to reach first base.
 
Those added runs of support would come in handy as the Javelinas broke through and scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 7-3 game. One of those runs would be charged to Roper as he came out and started the eighth inning, but was pulled with one on and one out in the inning. Colton Strother, who came on in relief of Roper, would be charged with the other two runs (one earned) before working out of the inning.
 
After the Muleriders were kept off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth, Janson Carr came on in a non-save situation in the bottom of the frame looking to secure the win for the Muleriders. After surrendering a leadoff single, Carr recorded the next two outs with relative ease on consecutive strikeouts. Now with two outs in the inning, Carr induced a harmless fly ball to left field for the final out of the game.
 
The Muleriders will now prepare for a mid-week meeting with GAC-rival Ouachita Baptist on Tuesday, February 11. The game will not count towards GAC standings and will have a scheduled first-pitch of 2 p.m.