CLEBURNE, Texas – It was a successful day in central Texas for (RV) Southern Arkansas as the Muleriders picked up two more wins behind a sterling pitching performance in Saturday's opener and a high-powered offensive performance in the nightcap to improve to 3-0 on the young season. SAU landed Newman 3-1, rolled (RV) Wayne State 15-5 (7) and exits bracket two unscathed. On Sunday, the Muleriders will play Colorado Christian at 1:30 p.m.
 
In the first game of the day, the second-straight 9 a.m. first-pitch for the Muleriders, SAU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as a one-out walk to senior Kobe Morris set the table for the game's first run. Junior Jacob Martinez singled through the right side and a heady Morris took third base to put runners at the corners. With two outs, a passed ball resulted in Morris crossing home to give Southern Arkansas a 1-0 lead.
 
With the way senior transfer Zach Smith pitched against the Jets, one run was surely enough. In his Mulerider debut, the right-hander fired seven innings of two-hit baseball which saw him carry a no-hitter through five innings of work. Smith finished with ten strikeouts, the second Mulerider starter in as many days to post a double-figure K total, to just one walk as he faced 23 batters.
 
The Muleriders added a single run in the sixth inning in support of Smith as senior Mason Peterson blasted a two-out solo home run, his first of the season and second as a Mulerider, to right centerfield. Peterson would score again in the eighth inning as his second extra base hit of the game, a one-out double down the leftfield line, preceded a wild pitch which moved him to third base before an RBI base knock by junior Cooper King chased home the former.
 
Senior reliever Matt Kortendick picked up his first save of the season with a two-inning stint that saw the right-hander work around two hits, two walks and run to register a pair of strikeouts and close out the game against the Jets.
 
In the nightcap, an early season in-region affair with potential postseason ranking implications, the Muleriders pushed across four runs in the first three innings in support of SAU starter Parker Abrego. SAU entered the top of the fourth inning with a 4-1 lead before the Wildcats scratched for two more runs to pull within a run of tying the game at 4.
 
However, in the bottom of the fifth inning the Muleriders distanced themselves from their Central Region foe with a five-run frame that included two-RBI doubles by freshman Chris Sutton and senior Austin Baker and an RBI-single from the bat of Peterson as SAU took a 9-3 lead into the sixth inning.
 
Abrego scattered six hits in the win, the sixth of his career, with three of the five runs being earned. The right-hander nearly became the third starting pitcher in as many trips to the mound this season to record 10 or more strikeouts as he posted a career-high nine Ks to just two walks. It was just the third time the sophomore pitched into the seventh inning in a start.
 
WSC pushed two more runs across in the top of the seventh inning, before the Muleriders ended the game in the bottom half of the frame by employing the run rule as six runs were played on five hits and an error. SAU's lone run-rule win last season didn't come until April 15 in a 14-3 (7) win over Arkansas Tech.
 
In the final half inning, Southern Arkansas saw junior Jacob Martinez homer; a three-run blast which plated Baker and Morris. Sophomore Brett McGee singled home King and would later score, along with sophomore Ty Manning, on an error in freshman Chris Sutton's at-bat which ended the game.
 
McGee finished the day with four hits, while Peterson, Morris, and Manning each recorded three. Baker led the team with four runs scored and Martinez recorded three RBI.