MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Friday night's Great American Conference Tournament opener between #30 (2) Southern Arkansas and (7) Henderson State certainly felt like a postseason tilt from the outset as the Muleriders clung to a 4-2 lead through five innings of play which saw the host plate three runs in the home half of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. However, it was a five-run sixth inning for the Reddies that included a two-out grand slam which followed a fielding error that gave HSU a 7-4 lead that the visitors would turn into a 9-6 final as they used superb relief pitching down the stretch to stymie the SAU offense.
 
The Muleriders (27-14) employed All-GAC First Team pitcher Jacob Womack to duel the Reddies' (24-17) own All-GAC First Team arm Spencer Taack. Both pitchers finished with no decisions as Womack went 5.1 innings spreading ten hits and one walk with two strikeouts and three earned runs, while Taack allowed five hits, four walks, four earned runs with four strikeouts in four innings of work. Southern Arkansas struck for three of those runs on three hits in their first trip to the plate.
 
In that first inning after HSU took advantage of a leadoff double, senior Austin Baker singled through the left side and senior Kobe Morris singled Baker to third and advanced to second on a fielding error in right field. After a walk to junior Jacob Martinez, sophomore Brett McGee earned a tough RBI as he was hit-by-pitch with one out to plate SAU's first run. With two outs, senior Zach Muldoon singled into left field to push across a pair of runs and stake Womack to a 3-1 advantage.
 
The Reddies responded in the third inning with a single run, but in the bottom of the fourth Muldoon hammered a pitch and following a lengthy deliberation he rounded third and headed for home after it was determined that the no-doubter did indeed hit the signage in left centerfield.
 
Womack's day ended with one out in the sixth inning as freshman Santos Sosa relieved the starter. With two outs, an RBI single brought the Reddies to within a run of the lead at 4-3 and following a fielding error a grand slam put HSU up 7-4. Henderson State added two more runs in the seventh, but the Muleriders earned those two back as McGee singled home Martinez and Manning doubled home McGee. Following Manning's at bat, Southern Arkansas would put just one more runner on in the final nine plate appearances of the game.
 
Senior Zach Smith tossed the final 3.0 innings as he worked around three hits, one walk and a single run to fan six. The Reddies' Brayden Beebe and Taylor Langston combined for the final 5.0 innings and surrendered just four hits, two runs and a walk, while striking out 11.
 
Martinez and Muldoon each had two hits with the latter recording a team-best three RBI. McGee collected two RBI and Martinez scored two of the team's six runs.
 
Southern Arkansas' regional tournament chances hang in the balance. The Muleriders entered the GAC tournament "under consideration" for the NCAA postseason with seven other Central Region teams. Six teams earn berths to the regional tournament: three automatic qualifiers and three at-large qualifiers.