MAGNOLIA, Ark. – After dropping a tournament opener for the second time this postseason, No. 14 Southern Arkansas again handed the ball to senior Jacob Stroder in the following game and on Friday morning the right-hander delivered once more as he tossed eight strong innings, while allowing just one run, to keep the Muleriders alive in Central Region Tournament play as SAU topped fourth-seeded Pittsburg State, 5-1 in the tourney's first elimination game from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field.
 
Southern Arkansas (37-18) backed Stroder's efforts by providing early run support as junior Dakota Wright singled through the left side with two outs in the top of the first inning to plate senior Jacob Richardson for the game's first run.
 
A one-out solo home run from the Gorillas' Colton Pogue in the third inning proved to be the only blemish on an otherwise tremendous outing from Stroder as he picked up his 11^th win of the season. The victory makes Stroder the 15^th pitcher in program history to win at least 11 games in a single-season.
 
With the game tied at one, the Mulerider offense regained the lead in the fourth inning and added three insurance runs in the fifth inning.
 
A leadoff walk to senior Cortland McPherson to start the fourth inning proved to be the go-ahead run as McPherson raced home four batters later on a one-out sacrifice fly off the bat of redshirt sophomore Zach Muldoon to give the Muleriders a 2-1 lead that proved to be enough by game's end.
 
Three more runs crossed for SAU in the fifth inning as back-to-back doubles by classmates Jake Tisevich and Richardson plated the former to provide Stroder with a two-run cushion. McPherson followed the consecutive doubles with a no-doubt, two-run home run out to left field that measured 422 feet in distance.
 
Now with a four-run lead, Stroder continued to dominate as he manufactured perfect sixth and seventh innings on the hill, before working around Gorilla baserunners at second and third in the eighth inning to get out of the jam. Junior Nick Starr took over for Stroder in the ninth and after inducing a groundout to the leadoff batter in the frame, Starr sat the next two PSU hitters down swinging.
 
Tisevich, Richardson, Wright and redshirt freshman Cole Boyd all registered two hits, while Richardson and McPherson each scored twice. McPherson drove in a team-high two runs; both coming on his 11^th home run of the season.
 
The No. 14 Muleriders return to action tomorrow and continue their journey out of the Central Region Tournament loser's bracket as they battle the loser of Friday night's game between (6) St. Cloud State and (2) Central Missouri at 3 p.m. on Saturday 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.