MAGNOLIA, Ark. – (RV) Southern Arkansas was forced to rally twice on Sunday afternoon from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field in order to complete the four-game series sweep of Central Region foe Missouri Western. It took a seven-run eighth inning to top the Griffons with all of those runs coming with two outs in the frame as the Muleriders defeated MWSU 12-9 in a back-and-forth affair to improve to 8-0 on the young season.
 
With two away in the home half of the eighth and trailing 7-5, the Muleriders loaded the bases, with a Ty Manning single, a Brett McGee HBP and a Riley Orr walk, for the top of the order in senior second baseman Austin Baker. Baker then pushed a pitch from Griffon reliever Brian Tan into right field that dropped just under the glove of a diving Zach Hanlan to give the three-year starter a base-clearing, three-RBI double as the Muleriders took an 8-7 lead.
 
However, Southern Arkansas was not done scoring as Baker touched home on an RBI triple off the bat of senior Kobe Morris which put SAU up 9-7. With Morris at third, junior Jacob Martinez singled into right field to score a run as the Muleriders moved out to a semi-comfortable 10-7 lead. The final blow by the Mulerider offense came in the following at bat as senior Mason Peterson hammered a pitch from new Griffon reliever Brock Wrolstad into the outfield parking lot pushing the SAU advantage to 12-7 as Martinez scored on Peterson's third detonation of the season.
 
The Griffons would scratch two runs in the top of the ninth before reliever Matt Kortendick, the sixth pitcher of the day for Southern Arkansas, maneuvered around the minimal damage to lock up the win for fellow bullpen mate junior Tanner Vaught. Vaught saw the most action of the six arms used by SAU on Sunday as he went 2.2 innings and scattered four hits with a walk, while fanning five of his 13 batters faced.
 
The scoring opened as Missouri Western struck for two quick runs in the top of the first inning off of SAU starter Jacob Womack. A leadoff home run to Gustavo Gonzales and a two-out RBI single from the bat of Colby Tam gave the Griffons their first lead of the series in the visiting half of the first. The Muleriders would respond in the bottom half of the inning as Martinez singled into left field with two outs in the frame. A wild pitch moved Martinez to second, before Peterson picked up his eighth RBI of the season with a base hit through the right side that chased home Martinez.
 
In relief of Womack, sophomore reliever Remy Bilodeau tossed two perfect innings in the second and third frames as he faced the minimum, while striking out the side in his first inning of work.
 
MWSU added a single run in the top of the fourth inning off of Mulerider reliever Jack Liddell as a two-out home run to center field by Colby Tam made it 3-1 Griffons.
 
In the home half of the fourth inning, Southern Arkansas took the lead. Peterson led off the inning with a standup double to left center field and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A triple off of the bat of Manning scored Peterson and the former was batted in on a no-doubt two-run blast that McGee parked in the lot behind right field to give the Muleriders a 4-3 lead.
 
Trouble struck for SAU in the top of the sixth inning as the Griffons pushed across four runs in the frame to take a 7-4 lead. Orr homered on a 2-2 pitch that left the yard quickly following the stretch for SAU's lone run in the inning and in the eighth the Muleriders used the aforementioned two-out rally to stake claim to their final lead of the series.
 
Of the team's 13 hits, over half went for extra bases as McGee, Orr and Peterson all homered, while Morris and Manning tripled and Baker and Morris doubled. Peterson finished 3-for-5 and three other Muleriders recorded two hits. Four different players scored at least two runs, while seven of the nine starters all crossed home. Baker and Peterson each delivered three RBI and the pair combined for five runs batted in in the eighth inning.
 
With 40 years of verified game-by-game records going back to the 1981 season, Sunday's sweep-clinching victory marks the first time that the Muleriders have taken an entire four-game series from an opponent.
 
Southern Arkansas remains at home inside Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field this coming weekend as Great American Conference play begins with the Muleriders hosting Henderson State. The series opener is scheduled for Friday, February 14 at 6 p.m. with SAU seeking its first 9-0 start to a season since the 1986 campaign, while Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.