CLINTON, Miss. – #4 Southern Arkansas finished up its twice-rescheduled Great American Conference series in Weatherford, Oklahoma around 4 p.m. on Monday and twenty-two hours and 664 miles later, the nationally-ranked Muleriders took care of business to the tune of an 8-1 decision on the road at Mississippi College for its 12
th straight victory. SAU pushed across more runs in the win than hours slept in their own beds in the past three days as the cross-region trek saw Southern Arkansas log 35 innings of action since Sunday's doubleheader.
SAU's 12 consecutive victories are the most since the 2017 season when the Muleriders strung together 16 straight wins from March 3 to March 28.
The Muleriders (12-1) recorded nine hits in the win with senior
Tucker Burton collecting three including his third homer of the past two days and fifth of the season which opened scoring in the top of the second inning from Frierson Field. Burton then responded in the third inning and broke a 1-1 tie on the 13
th pitch of the at bat with a single through the right side that plated freshman
Brandon Nicoll and junior
Brett McGee.
Sophomore
Chris Sutton walked in a run in the sixth and McGee doubled down the line in right field a couple of at bats later to push across junior
Riley Orr and freshman
Junior Torres. A sacrifice fly from Sutton in the eighth scored Torres and cushioned the lead to 7-1 and one more crossed in the ninth as a foul out behind the bag at first base scored freshman
Jakob Machuca.
Seven of the squad's eight RBI came from the 1 through 4 hitters in the Muleriders' order. Burton led with three and Sutton and McGee each added a pair. Burton went 3-for-3 with a walk and Nicoll recorded a pair of doubles. SAU walked seven times in the win.
It was four arms that held the Choctaws' offense quiet as MC recorded just one extra base hit and saw the leadoff batter reach just once in nine tries. Junior
Jack Liddell received the ball to start and went 3.0 innings allowing only two hits and the lone run, while fanning three batters. Senior
Reed Osborn, who picked up the win in relief, matched Liddell's three innings and allowed just two hits, while striking out one. Junior
Parker Abrego worked the seventh and eighth innings facing just one over the minimum, while sophomore
Isaiah Haynes tossed the ninth and stranded the bases loaded to bring the evening to a close.
The Muleriders prepare for an early season test this weekend from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field. Southern Arkansas welcomes in Arkansas Tech for a three-game Great American Conference series beginning with a single nine-inning affair slated for a 6 p.m. start on Friday, March 4. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.