MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The middle portion of the 2021 NCAA Baseball season continues this weekend for head coach
Justin Pettigrew's Southern Arkansas Baseball team as the Muleriders carry a five-game win streak and some midseason momentum across state lines and into Oklahoma for a Great American Conference series with Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant. Friday's series opener is set for a 2 p.m. first-pitch, while Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. start time. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
The Muleriders (12-5, 8-4 GAC) have won eight of their past nine games and currently sit in a tie for third place with Southwestern Oklahoma State in the GAC standings; two games back of league-leading Arkansas Tech (13-6, 10-2 GAC) and a single game back of second-place Oklahoma Baptist (10-6, 9-3 GAC). The Savage Storm (11-6, 7-5 GAC) are just one game back of SAU in the standings and are tied with Harding (10-5, 7-5 GAC) for fifth place.
Since the two programs' first meeting as members of the GAC in 2012, Southern Arkansas holds a 16-9 series lead over Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Muleriders won the only two games played in 2019 and enter the weekend series having won seven of their past eight games against the Savage Storm.
Four Muleriders are hitting over .300 through 17 games this season. Seniors
Kobe Morris and
Austin Baker are both hitting .365 this season and are tied for the team lead in hits with 23. Morris' 16 RBI and 36 total bases lead the club, while Baker's 20 runs scored are the most for SAU this spring. The pair has combined for 18 stolen bases led by Baker's 11.
Four other Muleriders have recorded at least ten RBI, while six additional players have scored at least a dozen runs. Sophomore
Brett McGee leads the team in home runs with six and his eight extra base hits are tied for the team lead with junior
Tucker Burton. McGee and Burton are 1 and 2 on the team in slugging percentage as both hitters are swinging at over a .600 power clip.
Morris leads the team with six multiple-hit games, while Baker and Burton follow with five. Sophomore
Riley Orr leads three other players with four multiple-RBI games as three of those games have resulted in at least three RBI. Morris has reached safely in 17-straight games and McGee follows with 16-straight. Morris has recorded a hit in his last 15 games played.
On the mound, five players have recorded at least two wins. Freshman
Santos Sosa has earned three wins in six relief appearances and his 2.57 ERA along with sophomore
Remy Bilodeau's 2.08 ERA are bullpen bests. Senior
Zach Smith's 2.94 ERA leads the team among starting pitchers. SAU ranks third in the GAC in team ERA at 3.87. Smith's 24 strikeouts are a team-high and sophomore
Jacob Womack follows as the only other pitcher with 20 or more strikeouts.
At the plate, the Savage Storm are led by Wichita State-transfer Seth Morrow who leads the team with a .526 batting average, 30 hits, seven doubles, six home runs, 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, 1.000 slugging percentage, and three stolen bases in addition to a team-low three strikeouts among everyday players. Three other players are hitting above .300 as Colton Buckner follows Morrow with a .364 average, 24 hits, nine extra base hits and 17 RBI.
The Savage Storm own a team ERA of 5.19 with Jacob Potter's 2.57 ERA tops among SOSU starters. Mason Whitmarsh leads the team with three wins, while Potter and Tyler Dean follow with two each. The three starters have combined for 67 strikeouts led by Potters' 32.
