Leading OffThe Southern Arkansas baseball team is back at home after spending their last six games on the road. The first five of those games away from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field were played as part of the QuikTrip DII Classic, which was held in Grand Prairie, Texas and was hosted by Southern Arkansas. SAU would go 3-2 over the course of that classic with a pair of extra-inning walk-off wins off the bat of
Chris Quinn and a collective 11-run, 11-hit attack against Pittsburg State in the Muleriders' final game.
Most recently, the Muleriders took on NAIA perenial national power, LSU-Shreveport in a non-conference game at LSUS. The Muleriders would notch eight hits in the contest, but stranded 14 runners as the NAIA No. 10-ranked Pilots held SAU out of the run column on the scoreboard and ultimately beating the Muleriders 9-0.
Up next for the Muleriders is their final non-conference weekend of the season as they are set to play a pair of games against No. 22-ranked Central Missouri on Friday and then play single nine-inning games against Lincoln University on Saturday and Sunday.
Last season, Central Missouri went 35-16 and won the regular season crown in the MIAA, but were eliminated from post-season play during the opening series of the MIAA Tournament, ending their run of 20-consecutive trips to a regional tournament. For Lincoln, last season was a difficult one as they went just 2-41 overall and winless in the MIAA, going 0-36.
This year, however, both Central Missouri and Lincoln are under the direction of new head coaches in Kyle Crookes at UCM and Mike DeMilia at Lincoln.
SAU NOTESPreseason Favorites For the fourth-straight year, the Southern Arkansas baseball team has been picked by the head coaches of the Great American Conference to finish the season as the top team in the league. The top-nod comes on the heels of the Muleriders' thrid-consecutive GAC Tournament Championship and also in the return of six All-GAC players from last year's team.
Rucker Wrecking CrewLast season
Trevor Rucker was nearly a one-man wrecking crew as he burst onto the scene for the Muleriders in his GAC Freshman of the Year campaign. In that first year, Rucker would hit .342 (64-for-187) with 15 doubles, two triples, six homeruns, and 37 RBIs. While the numbers were certainly impressive at the conclusion of the year, they are even more stout when you consider the fact Rucker was hitting .261 with four doubles, one triple, one homerun, and 19 RBIs on March 25. But, over the final 26 games of the year, Rucker would hit .414 (41-for-99) with 11 doubles, one triple, five homeruns, and 18 RBIs.
Muleriders Running WildWith the bats in college baseball being tempered over the past few years, speed on the base paths has been as important as ever before. Along those lines, the Muleriders contiuned to be a team that put pressure on defenses when on base as they swiped 90 bases for the second-striaght year and have stolen 90 or more bags in seven of the last eight years. Spearheading the theft last season was
Trevor Rucker as he stole 35-of-38 bases. Returning centerfielder
William Townsend and now former shortstop
Tyler Cameron added 29 combined steals as they each swiped over 10.
Buchanan Battery MatesEntering into their junior seasons, twin brothers Justin and Timothy Buchanan will likely make one of the more unique Pitcher/Catcher battery combos as Timothy is a left-handed starting pitcher and Justin is a right-handed throwing catcher. Last season, the brothers were starting pitcher and catcher 13 times. In those games Timothy go 7-2 with a 4.29 ERA while Justin would hit .349 (15-for-43). On April 19, the two would share a remarkable moment as Timothy tossed a No-Hitter and it was Justin who caught the final pitch of the No-No as Timothy fanned his 12th batter.
