MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas and Christian Brothers baseball teams are set to meet on the diamond for the first time since 2011 as the Muleriders are traveling to Memphis to take on the Buccaneers in a non-conference mid-week affair on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
SAU and Christian Brothers used to be conference foes when the Muleriders were members of the Gulf South Conference, but SAU became a charter member of the Great American Conference prior to the 2012 season, halting the all-time series that has been dominated by SAU, 29-2, since the 2001 season.
The Muleriders head into the contest with Christian Brothers 19-5 overall having won 11-straight and 13 of their last 14 after sweeping Southwestern Oklahoma this past weekend at home. The Muleriders are also now ranked No. 16 in Division II according to the latest Collegiate Baseball Top-30 poll released on Monday.
Statistically, the Muleriders will enter play on Tuesday hitting .318 as a team and have a 3.56 team ERA. Through 24 games, the Muleriders have scored 186 runs offensively while the pitching staff has tossed three shutouts.
Individually, the Muleriders have five players hitting over .350 with recently-named
GAC Player of the Week,
Cortland McPherson leading the club at .407 (24-for-59).
Mark Fontenot is next on the club at an even .400 clip (32-for-80).
Trevor Rucker is behind Fontenot at .388 (33-for-85), and
Jacob Richardson is just off that pace at .372 (35-for-94).
Blake Hall is the final batter over .350 as the redshirt freshman is currently hitting .369 (38-for-103) from the leadoff spot in the order.
Rucker leads the team in home runs with nine while Fontenot paced the club in RBIs with 26.
On the mound,
Dalton Algiene leads the team in wins (6), ERA (1.52), innings pitched (41.1), and strikeouts (53). In terms of relief appearances,
Makenzy Larsen has appeared in the most games (10) and he is 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched.
The Buccaneers enter with a 9-18 overall record and are coming off of a 2-1 series defeat by Mississippi College over the weekend. As a team, the Buccaneers are hitting .249 with 35 doubles, two triples, 13 homeruns, and 142 runs scored. On the mound, the Buccaneers have a 6.23 team ERA and have struck out 153 opposing batters while issuing 106 bases on balls.
The Buccaneers' leading hitter is Riley Kilgore at .360 (18-for-50). The leading RBI man is Taylor King with 25 on the year. King is also tied for the team lead with Casey Goodwin in homeruns with four.
On the mound, the Buccaneers have thrown 13 different arms with seven receiving starts. Gil Erwin and Peyton Sanderlin lead the team in victories with three each. The top strikeout pitcher on the club is Sanderlin with 39 in 46.0 innings pitched.
