RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Southern Arkansas junior pitcher Landon Simpson was brilliant once again on Friday night as he scattered seven hits and struck out five batters en route to firing his fourth shutout of the season; this one against an Arkansas Tech team that had been averaging close to 10 runs per game (9.75 r/g) over their last 12 contests.
 
Defensively, the Muleriders (24-12, 12-7 GAC) were solid behind Simpson as they did not commit an error and also turned a pair of key double plays to erase traffic on the base paths for the Wonder Boys (19-15, 6-9 GAC). The first of the twin-killings came in the bottom of the first inning as Simpson got ATU's Cole Fergus to ground into a 5-4-3 double play following a lead-off single in the at-bat prior. The second DP ended the sixth inning as Simpson continued to cruise in his start. 
 Offensively, the Muleriders would score four runs of support of Simpson as he moved to 6-3 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.51 in the process of his Wonder Boy shutout.
 
Three of the four SAU runs on Friday night were driven by Simpson's battery mate, Justin Buchanan as the junior backstop picked up a clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the fourth and then a sacrifice fly RBI in the sixth. Prior to Buchanan's RBIs, the Muleriders scored in the first inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Billy Germaine.
 
The three-game series between the Muleriders and Wonder Boys is set to conclude on Saturday with a doubleheader that is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Tech Field in Russellville.