Box Score

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The No. 4-ranked Southern Arkansas baseball team picked up an 8-6 win against Henderson State in non-conference action on Tuesday night at Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field.
 
The Muleriders (25-7) would fall behind early in the game as the Reddies (12-20) pushed across an unearned run in the top of the first inning. The Muleriders would grab a slim 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning as they played a pair of runs. Both runs came across to score for SAU without the benefit of a hit as the Reddies committed a pair of error, hit three batters, and walked in a run.
 
A half inning later, Henderson grabbed themselves another one-run lead as they scored twice in the top of the third. The first run came home on a sacrifice fly and the second on a straight steal of home plate.
 
In the bottom of that inning, the Muleriders gave themselves a lead they would relinquish as they scored four runs on four hits to make it a 6-3 SAU lead. Carver Rademacher led off that inning with the Muleriders' first hit of the game as he singled in to right field. Ryan Dardenne followed suit with a single up the middle. On that play, Rademacher advanced to third base on a misplayed ball in centerfield by the Reddies. During the next at-bat, Dardenne moved himself into scoring position as he advanced to second on a wild pitch.
 
Current GAC Player of the Week, Trevor Rucker, then drove in Rademacher on a groundout to the shortstop. In the next at-bat Korey Keith would strike out swinging, but reached first base on a wild pitch. That set the table for the big knock in the inning as Jackson McCurdy belted a line drive double into left-centerfield. William Townsend would pick up the other RBI that inning as he reached on an error by the second baseman.
 
The Muleriders would add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it an 8-3 game. Rademacher and Dardenne would be responsible for driving in those runs as Rademacher had a RBI double which was then followed by a sacrifice fly by Dardenne.
 
The Reddies would rally in the top of the seventh inning, however as they scored three runs to cut the deficit in half and make it an 8-6 game.
 
With the game now a tight two-run contest, the Muleriders went to the bullpen for closer Preston Gray to start the top of the eighth inning. Gray would look sharp in the eighth as he retired the side in order. The Muleriders would be held off the board in the bottom of the eighth, so Gray returned to the mound in the top of the ninth with a two-run cushion in which to work with.
 
The first man Gray faced in that inning would flair a single into right field. Gray then quickly worked around that hit as he got the next three batters to secure his seventh save of the season.
 
The Muleriders will now prepare for a home conference series with Southeastern Oklahoma this weekend. The three-game set is scheduled to start on Friday, March 28 and have a first-pitch time of 6 p.m.