MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Baseball enters the last week of the regular season in the driver's seat of the Great American Conference with the regular season title on the line, and the team's final regular season road trip sends fifth-year head coach Justin Pettigrew's Muleriders to Alva, Oklahoma, for a three-game series with Northwestern Oklahoma. SAU, a game up in first place on this weekend's opponent as well as Oklahoma Baptist and Arkansas Tech, controls their own destiny as the postseason begins to loom. The series begins with a Friday doubleheader scheduled for a 3 p.m. start with Saturday's finale slated for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
One of eight teams, and the lone GAC school, under consideration for the Central Region Tournament, the Muleriders hold the GAC tiebreaker over Oklahoma Baptist after taking two of three from the Bison in Magnolia on April 17 and 18. A series win over the Rangers would obviously give SAU the edge over NWOSU. Arkansas Tech took two of three from the Muleriders in Russellville on March 6 and 7.
 
Since the Rangers joined the GAC for the 2012-13 season, Southern Arkansas holds a heavy advantage in the series at 20-4. The Muleriders have won 12 of the past 13 meetings with the lone loss coming last season in a 2-1 decision in Magnolia. In Alva, SAU has claimed eight of nine meetings, including the last seven.
 
Southern Arkansas carries a .293 batting average into the weekend series with NWOSU. Four players are hitting north of .300 with senior Austin Baker leading the way with a .388 average. Baker leads the team in hits (54), runs scored (43), doubles (14), triples (2), walks (20), stolen bases (18) and a league-best on-base percentage (.503). Senior Kobe Morris' 84 total bases are a team best, while sophomore Brett McGee leads the club in home runs (10), RBI (34) and slugging percentage (.630).
 
Over the past month and a half of play, sophomore Riley Orr has seen his average climb 119 points to its current clip of .310. Orr is one of seven Muleriders with at least 30 hits and ranks third on the team with 39 base knocks; a third of which have went for extra bases.
 
For the Muleriders, who rank near the lower middle of the GAC in average and hits, reaching base regardless of contact has been key for the team which leads the league in walks (201), hit-by-pitch (67), on-base percentage (.418), and stolen bases (76). The team's 200+ base on balls rank sixth nationally, while the 67 times that a Mulerider has been plunked ranks 15^th in Division II. The steals total is currently the 13^th most in the country. McGee leads the team in walks with 34 which ranks ninth in DII. Baker's 14 HBP rank 15^th nationally. Baker, Morris and sophomore Ty Manning have combined for 48 of the team's 78 stolen bags.
 
As a team, SAU's ERA ranks 32^nd in DII and second in the GAC at 4.35. Sophomore Jacob Womack leads the team with a 6-1 record and along with freshman reliever Santos Sosa have appeared in a team-leading 12 games for the Muleriders this spring. Womack's 66 strikeouts lead the team, while senior Zach Smith's 75.1 innings pitched are a team high. Womack has went at least 6.0 innings in his last six starts, while Smith has went 6.0 innings in seven of his past eight starts.
 
Sophomore Remy Bilodeau is 5-1 with six starts and 11 total appearances. He is the lone pitcher on the staff with a complete game win and a save. Fifteen pitchers have thrown an inning for Southern Arkansas this season. Sosa leads all SAU relievers with a 2.12 ERA and owns a 4-2 record in 12 appearances. His 29 strikeouts are also a bullpen-high. Junior James Janco and sophomore Maddux Solomon have combined for 33 innings and 36 strikeouts.
 
NWOSU is currently hitting .311 as a team with the second-highest slugging percentage in the GAC at .527. Blake Hoffman leads the GAC in average (.437) and slugging percentage (.793). Marques Paige is the team-leader in RBI with 42, leads the GAC in home runs with 15 and ranks fifth in the league in slugging percentage at .733. Daschal Johnson's 53 hits rank tied for sixth in the league, while his 38 runs scored and 38 RBI both rank in the GAC's top 10.
 
On the mound, the Rangers enter the final weekend of the season with a 5.22 team ERA. Scott Creedon leads the team in ERA (3.80), opposing BA (.251), innings pitched (66.1) and wins (6). Creedon has allowed just ten walks. Reliever Kaleb Honea is the GAC leader in saves with ten, ranks third in appearances with 17; all of which were in games that he finished which ranks as the league's best.
 
2021 GAC BASEBALL STANDINGS
                                                GAC                 OVER.
Southern Arkansas *         21-9     0.700  25-12    0.676   
Northwestern Okla. St*     20-10    0.667   25-12    0.676   
Oklahoma Baptist *           20-10   0.667   23-13    0.639   
Arkansas Tech *                 20-10   0.667   23-14    0.622