Box Score

ENID, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas baseball team opened up play in the 2014 Great American Conference Baseball Tournament on Saturday evening as the No. 3-seed and took on the No. 4-seed Harding University.
 
The opening round matchup between SAU and Harding was the final game of the day played at the David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla. and it would turn out to be a tight pitcher's duel that ended with the Bisons (27-22) coming away with a 2-1 win.
 
The Muleriders (34-17) would fall behind early in the game as the Bisons would plate a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning. After that, however, starting pitcher Dylan Lynn would hold the Bisons' lineup in check as he only allowed two hits over the next six innings as he worked through eight complete innings.
 
While Lynn was working his way through the Harding lineup, the Bisons' starter Logan Holthaus was doing the same to the Muleriders' lineup. It was not until one out in the sixth that the Muleriders would notch their first hit off of Holthaus.
 
In the seventh, the Muleriders would put together a two-out rally that was started by a Korey Keith double to left field.  Following that double, the Bisons would make a pitching change, but Justin Buchanan would greet that reliever with a single to centerfield, tying the game at one-all.
 
With the score still knotted at one-all through eight innings, the Bisons pushed ahead in the top of the ninth on the strength of a leadoff homerun by Noah Chandler. A double in the next at-bat chased Lynn from the start, bringing in Preston Gray. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runner over to third, Gray would strikeout the next two batters to escape the inning and keep it a one-run game.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, however, the Muleriders would not be able to get anything going as Cameron Walker, the pitcher who relieved Holthaus in the seventh, would retire the side in order.
 
With the loss, the Muleriders drop into the loser's bracket of the GAC Tournament and will take on No. 6-seeded Ouachita Baptist on Sunday, May 4 at 4 p.m. The game will be an elimination game for the Muleriders, but will not be for Ouachita Baptist as they upset top-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 3 Arkansas Tech by a score of 6-3 earlier on Saturday.