MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Two hundred and forty-nine days will have passed since sixth-year head coach
Justin Pettigrew's Southern Arkansas Baseball team last competed, but the anticipation of a new season following a tough loss on the final day of play in the 2021 NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament; the program's 13
th postseason appearance since 2004, is over. The 27
th season of NCAA competition for the tradition-rich Muleriders is underway Saturday in the Spa City as three games over three days highlight the action for SAU at the Dugan Invitational from Majestic Park. Live stat links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
The Muleriders, who are coming off of a Great American Conference regular season championship and a 30-16 record overall in 2021, are ranked No. 11 in the NCBWA DII Preseason Top 10, hold the No. 5 spot in the CBN DII Preseason Top 40 and are preseason favorites in the GAC.
Twenty-nine players return from the 2021 roster, including All-GAC first team honorees in
Brett McGee (C) and
Jacob Womack (SP). NCAA.com's Wayne Cavadi listed the Muleriders as a top 15 team in the country and with McGee and Womack, "two of the best players in the GAC last year [are] both are back to make the Muleriders strong favorites for the conference crown."
All-GAC honorable mention selections
Tucker Burton (DH/OF) and
Ty Manning (OF) also return as does
Riley Orr (SS),
Jacob Martinez (OF),
Santos Sosa (RP),
Parker Abrego (SP),
Maddux Solomon (RP) and
James Janco (SP). All six aforementioned position players started at least 42 of the team's 46 games a year ago, while the five mentioned arms combined for 206.2 of the team's 383.0 innings a season ago.
In order to make another deep postseason run, the Muleriders will undoubtedly rely on new additions with one being third baseman
Brandon Nicoll, a Galveston College transfer, that "has shown plus power and the ability to barrel the baseball at a high rate [and] he is expected to be a middle-of-the-order bat" for SAU in 2022.
Notably, Pettigrew sees pitching and defense as a key for the Muleriders this season. With 28 pitchers on the roster, including eight transfer newcomers, multiple, reliable arms will be vital come May.
"We look forward to seeing what our deep pitching staff can accomplish in 2022. Our lineup will be dynamic and be able to score with a blend of power and speed."
This weekend's matchups feature three MIAA teams beginning first with Northeastern State on Saturday at 11 a.m. SAU plays Missouri Western at 2 p.m. on Sunday and closes out the opening weekend on Monday at noon against Northwest Missouri.
The Riverhawks are coming off of a runner-up showing in the MIAA regular season last spring and finished the campaign at 26-16. NSU placed third in the MIAA Preseason Poll with one first place vote. The Griffons posted a 10-29 record a season ago and are tabbed to finish 11
th in the competitive league, while the Bearcats return its top hitter and three experienced arms from a 13-26 showing in 2021.
Under Pettigrew, the Muleriders are a collective 6-1 against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri. SAU is 8-0 all-time against MWSU, 7-0 since 2013 and 6-0 with Pettigrew at the helm. The Muleriders swept a four-game series against the Griffons in Magnolia during the second weekend of the 2020 season. SAU is 1-1 all-time against NWMS. The Bearcats topped SAU 16-13 in the programs' most recent meeting in Arkadelphia during the 2019 season. It will be the first meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Riverhawks.
