MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The top-seeded Southern Arkansas baseball team staged a furious ninth inning comeback effort against No. 8-seed Emporia State on Thursday afternoon as the Muleriders scored six runs in the frame and sent the tying run to the plate, but the rally ultimately fell short as SAU dropped their opening game of the 2018 Central Region Tournament by a score of 8-6.
 
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Southern Arkansas accounted for five hits and had two other batters reach base via walks as the Muleriders trailed by five with the bases loaded in the inning. An RBI-single from the bat of Riley Orr put SAU on the board and Austin Baker followed with a two-run single. A one-out sacrifice fly by Cortland McPherson cut the deficit to 8-4, before Dakota Wright doubled home a pair of runs to bring the tying run to the plate before the Hornets escaped the jam.
 
ESU's runs came off of just five hits and a pair of SAU fielding errors. The Hornets plated two runs in the third, a single run in the fourth and added three more in the fifth inning, before adding what turned out to be premium insurance runs in the seventh and ninth innings to hold onto the win.
 
Mark Fontenot went 3-for-4 for Southern Arkansas, while Baker and Jacob Richardson each collected two hits. SAU stranded nine baserunners in the loss.
 
The No. 14 Muleriders return to action tomorrow and will begin their journey out of the Central Region Tournament loser's bracket as they battle fourth-seeded Pittsburgh State at 10 a.m. from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field. Live coverage links for all the day's action can be found here: http://muleriderathletics.com/sports/2018/5/13/2018-ncaa-dii-baseball-central-region-tournament.aspx.