SEARCY, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas baseball team dropped both ends of Sunday afternoon's doubleheader on the road at Harding. The Bisons came-from-behind to beat the Muleriders 6-5 in the opening game of the day, and staved off a seventh-inning rally to hold on for a 4-2 win to complete the twin-bill sweep.
LINE SCORE – GAME 1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
SAU Muleriders (25-12, 17-8 GAC) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
3 |
HU Bisons (21-19, 12-13 GAC) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
7 |
2 |
PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 1
W – Reed Roberts (2-3)
L –
Eric White (0-1)
S – NONE
ON THE MOUND
- Hunter Vasquez started the opening game of the series for the Muleriders and pitched 6.0 quality innings against the Bisons, but did not factor into the final decision.
- Over his time on the mound, Vasquez scattered three hits and walked two while striking out five.
- The biggest blemish on his line was a solo home run by Christ Taylor to begin the bottom of the fifth
- Vasquez then gave way to Tanner Vaught in relief to begin the seventh. Vaught would retire the first man he faced, but a single and two walks loaded the bases and prompted another pitching change.
- Nick Starr was next out of the bullpen and got the next two batters out, but a run did score for Harding on the first of Starr's recorded outs to make it a 4-2 game.
- Starr remained in the game to pitch the eighth with now a 5-2 lead as the Muleriders plated a run in the top of the inning. Harding would score twice in the bottom half, however, to pull to within a run, 5-4.
- In the ninth, Eric White was called upon to close out the game. A leadoff walk, however helped the Bisons final inning rally take shape.
- That leadoff walk eventually came across to score and tie the game thanks to a RBI single through the left side by Grant Guest.
- Following a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, White intentionally walked Luke VanDover to put runners on the corners with one out in hopes of an inning-ending double play. In the next at-bat, however, Harding completed the comeback victory as David Butterfield reached on an error that allowed the winning run to cross the plate.
AT THE PLATE
- Jacob Richardson opened up scoring for the Muleriders with a two-run home run out to left-centerfield in the top of the first inning. It was Richardson's 10th homer this season, which ties him for the second-most in the GAC.
- In the fourth inning, Zach Muldoon singled to left field to plate Sam Mrstik and give SAU a 3-0 lead.
- After not scoring in the fifth and sixth innings, SAU added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to account for their five runs in the game.
- Collectively, SAU had seven hits in game one with five of them coming from the first three batters in the order.
- Austin Baker and Jake Tisevich each went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the game. Jacob Richardson was 1-for-5 with a two-run home run to his credit. Zach Muldoon was the other Mulerider with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3 in the opener.
LINE SCORE – GAME 2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
SAU Muleriders (25-13, 17-9 GAC) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
HU Bisons (22-19, 13-13 GAC) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
X |
4 |
3 |
0 |
PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 2
W – Jackson Ward (6-1)
L –
Kenneth Tabor (8-2)
S – Mason Faulkner (3)
ON THE MOUND
- Kenneth Tabor was the only Mulerider to pitch in game two as he registered his third complete game of the season.
- In the start, Tabor battled through 6.0 innings of work and allowed just three hits, but issued a season-high seven walks. Tabor did strikeout three, but four runs scored (three earned) as he suffered just his second defeat of the year.
AT THE PLATE
- The Muleriders out-hit the Bisons in the second game 6-3.
- Austin Baker added another multi-hit game to his ledger as he went 2-for-3. He now has 12 multi-hit games this season, which is second on the team.
- Baker's second hit came in the top of the seventh and produced SAU's second run of the game as he singled through the left side to make it a 4-2 game.
- Jacob Richardson, Sam Mrstik, James Trevanion and Zach Muldoon each had one hit in the game.
ON DECK
The Muleriders will take a break from NCAA competition this week for their mid-week game as SAU has picked up a road game against NAIA perennial power LSU-Shreveport. SAU and LSUS have been familiar foes over the last decade playing each other 17 times since 2008. In that time SAU is 11-6 against the Pilots.