#14 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS 11-5, 3-0 GAC	SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA BULLDOGS 4-9, 2-4 GAC
Friday, February 27 | 2 p.m. - Saturday, February 28 | DH | Noon Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field | Magnolia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

 

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GAME NOTES | SAU | SWOSU

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Leading Off
The Southern Arkansas baseball team enters play this weekend with an 11-5 overall record and are 3-0 in the GAC this season. The Muleriders are coming off of a thouroughly dominating series sweep over Southern Nazarene. In that series, the Muleriders' offense would hit .410, going 48-for-117 with nine doubles, two triples, and
six homeruns. On the mound, the Muleriders were just as dominant as they had a 1.57 ERA over the three-game series. In 23.0 innings pitched, the Mulerider pitching staff
would allow just six runs (four earned) on 19 hits. Even more impressive was SAU's 18 strikeouts compared to just one walk for the entire weekend.

The Southwestern Oklahoma baseball team enters play this weekend with a 4-9 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the GAC. This past weekend, the Bulldogs took two of three from Southeastern Oklahoma, winning the series-opener and the rubber game.

Statistically, the Muleriders are hitting .284 as a team and have five starters hitting .300 or better. Chase Harvey currently leads the team in average at .371 (23-for-62). Billy Germaine leads the team in RBIs with 18 and homeruns with four. Jon Phillips leads in doubles with nine. In terms of pitching, SAU has a 2.27 team ERA and their three conference starters have ERAs in under 2.75. Preston Gray leads the staff in wins (3). Hunter Mayo in four appereances (two starts) has the lowest ERA (0.59). Among starters, Timothy Buchanan sports the lowest ERA at 2.27. Buchanan also leads the staff in strikeouts with 23

For SWOSU, they hit .261 as a team and have four players over .300. Chrisitian Perez has notched the most hits thus far with 17. In terms of pitching, SWOSU has
a 4.63 team ERA. Jon Chidester leads the team in wins with two. Chidester also leads the team in strikeouts with 21.

Preseason 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 Crew
Last 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.

Germiane GAC POW
SAU junior tranfer Billy Germaine was named GAC Player of the Week (2-24) after a monster week at the plate. In each game against SNU, Germaine would record multiple hits, culminating with an impressive 5-for-5 (all singles) effort in the series finale. Additionally, Germaine scored multiple runs in each game while also registering at least one RBI per contest. All told for the week, Germaine would go 9-for-13 with eight runs scored, one double, two homeruns, and six RBIs.

Buchanan Battery Mates
Entering 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. T his season, the Buchanans have been starting battery mates once. In that game, Timothy would pick up the win after working 8.0 innings, scattering five hits, walking none, and allowing one unearned run while striking out six.

A"Ward" Winning Debut
True freshman Trevor Ward made his collegiate debut for SAU against Lincoln on Feb. 14. In his debut, Ward would get hits in each of his first three at-bats and was inches away from hitting for the cycle as well in his last at-bat after Lincoln's right fielder made a diving catch on a would-be double.