MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Mulerider baseball team earned a midweek non-conference win with a 9-3 victory over NAIA 16
th ranked LSU-Shreveport on Tuesday evening inside Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field.
The Muleriders (23-12) collected 14 hits offensively as all nine starters registered at least one base knock. On the mound, SAU dealt by committee as four pitchers saw time, allowing for only three runs on eight hits.
The Pilots (23-9) plated a pair of runs off of SAU starter
Janson Carr in the top of the first on consecutive sole homeruns. SAU, however, answered back in the bottom half on an RBI groundout by
Korey Keith that scored
Chase Harvey.
Carr induced an inning-ending double play in the second and the Muleriders responded with a run in the home half as
Jon Phillips reached on a fielder's choice that resulted in a throwing error; scoring
Justin Buchanan.
Yumezo Densaki used a double play to work a quick third inning in relief of Carr, before Southern Arkansas took their first lead of the game on
Billy Germaine's sixth homerun of the year; a solo shot to left field that made the score 3-2.
The Pilots answered with a run in the fifth inning, but SAU broke the 3-3 ballgame with an RBI double by
Carver Rademacher and added their fifth run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Chris Quinn. Densaki worked around a two-out bases loaded situation in the top of the sixth and a wild pitch pushed the SAU lead to 6-3 in the home half.
Jared Fielden made his fifth appearance in relief to start the seventh inning and worked a scoreless seventh and eighth. After the stretch,
Byron Reichstein added the first of three, late insurance runs with an RBI single in the seventh that increased the SAU lead to 7-3.
Trevor Rucker plated the final two runs for Southern Arkansas with a left field double in the eighth, before
Hunter Mayo issued two strikeouts as he worked a perfect ninth to put the Pilots away.
Phillips led the way with three hits while Harvey, Keith and Buchanan added a pair of hits apiece. Rucker's double in the eighth plated a team-leading two runs and the sophomore also captured his sixteenth stolen base of the year. Eight Muleriders scored a run, including two by Germaine.
The Muleriders hit the road this weekend for a pivotal Great American Conference series with 2014 GAC regular season champion Arkansas Tech. The three game set from Russellville, Arkansas, is scheduled to begin on Friday, April 3, at 7 p.m. and conclude on Saturday with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.