MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Two of the top four teams in the Great American Conference meet tonight in a nonconference tilt as No. 25 Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech face each other on the diamond in Russellville for the first time this spring. First-pitch from Tech Field is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage for the matchup is available here.
 
The Muleriders (22-9) have won three games in a row and nine out of their past 11, which as of late has SAU positioned in second place in the league standings. The Wonder Boys (21-11) have won four straight games and nine out of their past 11 ballgames as well. Tech took three of four from the Muleriders last season and Tuesday night's meeting will be the first of four games between the two programs this season as they are scheduled for a three-game league set on April 20 and 21 in Magnolia.
 
SAU is slashing .282/.388/.480 and is led by four hitters in the everyday lineup that own averages north of .300. Seniors Jacob Richardson and Jack Tisevich boast the top two averages for the Muleriders. Richardson leads the team in average (.362), slugging percentage (.681), hits (42), home runs (9), RBI (79) and total bases (79), while his RBI, home run and total base numbers rank in the top 5 in the GAC.
 
Tisevich is hitting .354 and is one of three players with 33 or more hits for Southern Arkansas this season. His 12 doubles lead the team and are tied for second in the GAC. Redshirt sophomore Zach Muldoon (.308) and sophomore Austin Baker (.305) have seen their respective averages blossom as of late. Muldoon owns a team-best .500 on-base percentage, while Baker is second on the club in hits (36) and has stolen a team-leading nine bags.
 
The Mulerider pitching staff has proved to be one of the best in the region as the unit leads the Great American Conference in team-ERA (4.33), fewest hits allowed (225) and saves (9) and is second in the conference in walks allowed (98) and strikeouts (295).
 
Seniors Kenneth Tabor and Hunter Vasquez have been largely responsible for the staff's success this season as the duo ranks 1^st and 2^nd respectively in ERA. Tabor (1.94 ERA) and Vasquez (2.58 ERA) have combined for a 12-2 start to the season, while fellow weekend starter Jacob Stroder has tallied a 6-2 start. Vasquez, the two-time reigning GAC Pitcher of the Week, leads the league in strikeouts with 72 and Stroder ranks fourth with 62 punch outs.
 
Junior Eric White has been dominant in relief this season. The hard-throwing righty owns a 12-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has not allowed an earned run in nine appearances over 17.0 innings. White has tallied a pen-best five saves and opponents are hitting just .130 against him. Classmate Nick Starr has picked up three saves this spring and is tied with White with a pen-leading 24 strikeouts.
 
For Arkansas Tech, six players are hitting .300 or better for a team that owns a .301 batting average; the third-best in the GAC. As a team, Tech has struck out a league-low 161 times. The Wonder Boys own a staff-ERA of 5.02 and rank third in the GAC in strikeouts with 267.
 
Riley Hickerson, the league's reigning Hitter of the Week, leads the team with a .372 average and 45 hits, and ranks in the top three of the GAC in RBI (37) and triples (4). Jake Harvey and Harry Gard are both hitting over .350 this season and the two have combined for 49 hits and 24 RBI.

The Tech pitching staff has been led by Hayes Cox, who owns a starter-best 3.37 ERA and a team-leading five wins. Cox's ERA ranks seventh in the GAC and Michael Mueller's 63 strikeouts rank third. Isaac Hayes, Jared Droll, and Nolan Withrow are the top options for the Wonder Boys out of the bullpen.