ADA, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas baseball team snapped a three-game skid in an emphatic way on Saturday as the Muleriders scored 30 runs and banged out 36 across both ends of their doubleheader against East Central.
 
In the opener, the Muleriders (27-16, 17-12 GAC) scored 10 runs on 15 hits en route to a 10-3 win over the Tigers (14-26, 13-16 GAC). While that run and hit total for the game were impressive, the Muleriders came close to exceeding that production in one inning alone in the second game of the twin-bill.
 
That inning was the third, and in it, the Muleriders scored 13 runs on 13 hits. Of those 13 hits, five went for extra bases with three of those leaving the yard altogether. In fact, the Muleriders had a couple of plate appearances in which they could have hit for the natural homerun cycle as Trevor Rucker hit a solo homerun to lead off the inning, two batters later, Billy Germaine hit a two-run homer, and later in the inning, David LaFleur hit a three-run bomb.
 
At one point in that inning, 13-straight Muleriders reached base safely with 11 of those being base hits of some variety. The other two hitters to reach during that stretch came on an error and on a base on balls. After that surreal streak ended and the first out of the inning was recorded, the next three hitters reached base safely before a pair of strikeouts ended the frame.
 
Prior to that monster inning, the Muleriders actually trailed in the game as the Tigers scored a run in the bottom of the first to take a modest 1-0 lead. After the top of the third and a two-run bottom of the inning by the Tigers, the Muleriders had a double-digit lead 13-3.
 
SAU added a pair of runs in the fourth and a single run in the sixth on the strength of two homeruns, the first a two-run homerun by Keaton Miller and the last another solo homer from Rucker; his second.
 
ECU plated their fourth and final run of the game in the bottom of sixth.
 
Meanwhile, the Muleriders matched that output in the seventh as they scored four runs in the inning to push their total to 20 runs. Accounting for the runs in the inning were a RBI single to left field off the bat of Rucker and a three-run homer off the bat of Germaine; his second of the game and third of the doubleheader.
 
As a team, the Muleriders hit .439 with 36 hits in 82 at-bats. The Muleriders also racked out 16 extra-base hits with seven doubles, a triple and eight homeruns.
 
Individually, the Muleriders had eight players with multiple hits on the day with six having four or more hits. Additionally, six batters drove in multiple runs while five Muleriders belted homeruns with Germaine and Rucker connecting multiple times (Rucker twice and Germaine three times). Germaine also drove in 11 runs and added three doubles to post a staggering 2.375 slugging percentage for the day.
 
The Muleriders will now go for the series sweep over the Tigers tomorrow as the series finale is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Ken Turner Field in Ada.