MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Power against power will be the theme this weekend as the #9 Southern Arkansas University baseball team will make their third and final trip to the Sooner State, as they are set take on the Bison of Oklahoma Baptist University in a three game Great American Conference series in Shawnee, Okla.

The GAC leading Muleriders come into this weekend's series with a 29-8 (21-3 GAC) record, and have yet to lose a GAC series. SAU has earned sweeps in five of the eight GAC series they have played. Oklahoma Baptist is currently 6^th in the GAC standings and comes into the weekend with a 19-16 (13-11 GAC) record. The Bison have won four GAC series out of eight played and are coming off of a midweek contest against Southeastern Oklahoma State in which they won 16-6.

The Muleriders took down Ouachita 16-5 in a non-conference game this past Tuesday. SAU cranked seven home runs in the process, three of which came off of the bat of Grad Transfer Cameron Lang to go along with his eight RBI. SAU will look to put some more balls into orbit this weekend in Shawnee as they have 65 total home runs on the year, only second in the conference to OKBU who leads the GAC with 87.

SAU's bats have stayed hot all season, as they have six players with a .315 batting average or higher. Riley Orr leads the team with a .398 avg, followed by outfielder Ty Manning who carries a .366 clip. Transfer utility man Jakob Machuca is hitting .358, while the Canadian Brandon Nicoll is hitting .337. Chris Lyles (.333) and Tucker Burton (.318) round out the Muleriders top averages.

Nicoll leads SAU in hits (55), and RBI (48). Burton, Orr and Manning all have 41 base knocks, while Machuca and Brett McGee both have 38, followed by Chris Sutton with 37. Burton leads the team with 12 home runs, followed by Nicoll and McGee who both have nine bombs. Manning, Mahuca and Conner Allen all have five home runs.

Following Nicoll in the RBI category is McGee with 47. Burton has drove in 44 runs, followed by Orr (37), Manning (29), and Sutton with 23. Nicoll and Sutton have both scored 46 runs, while Manning has crossed home 40 times. McGee and Orr both have 38 runs scored.

The Muleriders have done a great job of getting on base anyway they can, as they have been belted by 80 pitches and have drawn 219 walks. Manning and McGee have both been hit 18 times, while Sutton has worn 16 balls. McGee and Sutton have both drawn 34 walks, while Tucker Burton has drawn 30.

Jeremy Adorno earned his 5^th GAC Pitcher of the Week award after another impressive outing last weekend at Harding to move to 10-0 on the year. The freshman sensation tossed 8.0 innings of three hit ball while picking up 11strikeouts. Adorno leads the pitching staff in innings pitched (66.2), strike outs (91), complete games (four), and shutouts (three), while also carrying a 2.02 ERA. Jacob Womack is second on the Mulerider pitching staff with 6 wins to go up against one loss. The senior ranks second on the team with 63.0 innings pitched and 76 strikeouts.

Transfer Wyatt Marr continues to impress has he is 5-0 on the year in his nine starts. Marr has tossed 47.0 innings and has struck out 36 batters. Jack Liddell picked up his first career win at SAU on Tuesday has he came out of the pen to pitch 2.0 innings. He struck out one batter, allowed two hits and two runs in the victory. Chance Bolter has also done well out of the pen has he carries a 3-0 record and 1.13 ERA. The sidearm throwing right hander has only given up one run in 8.0 innings pitched and has struck out four.

OKBU comes into this weekend's series batting .320 as a team and they have outscored their opponents 334-254. Isiah Lissade leads the team with 55 hits, followed by Dan Pruitt and Ramon Gozmen who both have 48. Alex Schroeder leads the Bison with 50 RBI, followed by Pruitt (44), and Lissade (40).

The Bison have plenty of power as stated above, as they have four players with 10+ home runs. Pruitt leads the team with 17 bombs, followed by Schroeder with 16.

OKBU has a team ERA of 6.46. They are led by Brek Galbreath who is 5-2 on the year with 49.2 innings pitched under his belt. He has struck out 55 batters and given up 59 hits and 37 runs (31 earned). Bo Dallas leads the team with 62.2 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts. Dallas is 4-3 with a team best 2.73 ERA.

The three-game series will get started tomorrow afternoon with a double-header that is slated for a 4:00 p.m. start. The two teams will wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon with a noon first pitch. You can find live links to this weekend's series here.