|
|
|
#24 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
19-9 (13-5 GAC) |
OUACHITA
TIGERS
10-21 (6-12 GAC) |
|
GAME NOTES (PDF)
Leading Off
Southern Arkansas (19-9, 13-5 GAC) concludes a seven-game home stand inside Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field this weekend with a three-game Great American Conference series with Ouachita (10-21, 6-12 GAC). The Muleriders have won five of their last six games against league opponents and with a month to go in the regular season are currently in third-place in the conference standings. For Ouachita, the Tigers have won a pair of league series' this season and sit in ninth-place in the league standings.
As a team, the Muleriders are slashing .277/.381/.473 in 28 games this season. Three players are swinging at .300 or better. Seniors
Jake Tisevich and
Jacob Richardson are the top two hitters for Southern Arkansas. Tisevich owns the top average at .368 and Richardson follows at .349. Richardson's 37 hits, 27 runs scored, eight home runs, 29 RBI, 69 total bases and .651 slugging percentage are all team-bests. Tisevich ranks in the top three on the team with 32 hits, 21 runs scored, 53 total bases, a .609 slugging percentage and a .423 on-base percentage.
In the month of March, sophomore
Austin Baker has seen his average rise 75 points as he is hitting .306 as of late. Baker joins Richardson with 27 runs scored and is second on the club with 33 hits, while also being one of five players with six or more doubles. His eight stolen bases lead the team.
On the mound, Southern Arkansas has been led by a trio of senior arms that have helped the Muleriders claim the conference's lowest team-ERA to this point in the season at 4.45. Senior lefty
Kenneth Tabor owns a league-best six wins to go along with a league-low 1.96 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched. Tabor has struck out 44 batters and opponents are hitting just .136 against him. In eight starts this season, senior
Hunter Vasquez has logged a 4-1 record with three complete games. His 2.78 ERA ranks third in the GAC as do his team-high 58 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched. Senior
Jacob Stroder has collected five wins for the Muleriders this spring and his 53 strikeouts are the league's fifth-most.
Junior hard-throwing, right-handers
Eric White and
Nick Starr have provided stout late inning relief this season. White has tossed 15.0 innings and allowed just six hits and a single run, while striking out 20 batters to just one walk. In addition, White has recorded four saves and opponents are hitting .128 against him. In 16.1 innings pitched, Starr has recorded two saves, while striking out a bullpen-high 22 batters.
Ouachita is slashing .260/.356/.400 as a team. The Tigers have hit the fourth-most doubles in the league with 54 and are one of five teams to have stolen 30 or more bases. Four players are hitting .300 or better led by Louis Steen's .389 average. Ten of Steen's 21 hits in 15 starts this season have went for extra bases and he owns a team-high .759 slugging percentage as well as a .469 on-base percentage. Austin White is hitting .326 and slugging .539. Tyler Riebock, the lone Tiger to play in and start 30 games for Ouachita this season, follows with a .325 average and leads the team in hits (38), doubles (8), RBI (27), and total bases (57). Five Tigers have recorded 25 or more hits this season and seven have registered at least a dozen RBI as a dozen players have made a dozen or more starts.
On the mound, Brandon Matros owns the best ERA for Ouachita at 2.31 in 11 relief appearances. His older brother John Franklin owns the lowest ERA among Tiger starters at 3.16, which is currently the eighth-best in the GAC. J.F. Matros owns a 2-2 record in eight starts and has tossed a team-high 51.1 innings pitched with a team-best 39 strikeouts. Kaden Tollet has picked up almost a third of Ouachita's wins this season in relief, while also being the only Tiger to have recorded a save.
Since 2012, when the two programs became charter members of the Great American Conference, Southern Arkansas owns a 22-7 record against the Tigers. In Magnolia, the Muleriders hold a 9-3 mark against Ouachita. The two programs have met in the postseason four times with each program claiming a pair of wins. In conference play, SAU leads the series 13-5.
