CONWAY, Ark. ­­– After dropping the first two games of the Great American Conference series against Henderson State on Saturday, the Southern Arkansas baseball team received a strong starting pitching performance from left-hander Colton Strother as SAU avoided the sweep with a 5-3 win in the series finale on Sunday evening at the University of Central Arkansas' Bear Stadium.
 
Strother's solid outing would take him into the ninth inning with a shutout in hand and just four scattered hits to that point. The Reddies (15-8, 8-6 GAC), however, would rally for three runs on three hits in the final frame to force Strother (2-0) from the start with two outs. SAU closer Travis Johnson then came on in relief and picked up the final out for his fourth save of the season.
 
Behind Strother, the Muleriders (19-11, 9-6 GAC) were perfect defensively as SAU did not commit an error. Offensively, the Muleriders backed Strother with five runs on 10 hits.
 
Three of those Mulerider hits were off the bat of Trevor Rucker as he went 3-for-4 with a RBI on Sunday. Also notching multiple hits was Carver Rademacher as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI.
 
The scoring got started for SAU in the second as they plated a pair of runs on two hits while also benefitting from an error by Henderson State. Two more runs came home in the third as the Muleriders extended their lead out to 4-0.
 
After neither team scored in the fourth, SAU added what turned out to be an important insurance run in the fifth on a single to right-centerfield off the bat of Rucker.
 
Over the next three innings, Strother would allow just two hits as he pitched his way into the ninth. In the top of the ninth, HSU would collect a leadoff double then a one-out single and walk to load the bases before the Reddies broke up the shutout bid of Strother on a groundout to Chase Harvey at second base.
 
Another walk issued by Strother re-loaded the bases and spelled the end of his otherwise brilliant outing. Strother's final line would take a slight hit in the next at-bat as two runs came home on a seeing-eye single through the right side of the infield. In all, Strother would work 8.2 innings while scattering six hits, walking four, allowing three runs and striking out four (all looking).
 
The Muleriders and Reddies are scheduled to play once more in a non-conference affair on Wednesday, March 25 at Clyde Berry Field in Arkadelphia. The game was originally scheduled for the day prior, but the decision was made to push back in order to allow for further drying out with expected sunny conditions to start the week. First-pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 1 p.m.