SEARCY, Ark. – Senior Tucker Burton recorded seven RBI in a 3-for-6 effort at the plate on Friday night, Southern Arkansas overcame an early 4-0 deficit to cap the night with 14 runs over the final three innings, and the Muleriders bounced Harding 17-7 in the Great American Conference series opener from Jerry Moore Field. The win is No. 20 for the Muleriders in league play and it improves the club's overall record to 27-7. SAU also improves to 14-2 this season when scoring at least ten runs.
 
Sophomore reliever Isaiah Haynes earned his second save in as many appearances in the span of two days and he did it in striking [out] fashion as the right-hander fanned eight of the 11 batters he faced in three innings of work. Haynes allowed just two hits and a run.
 
Mulerider starter Jacob Womack worked around six hits, four walks and six runs with only three earned in six innings of work. From the third through fifth innings, Womack allowed only one hit and stranded four baserunners which gave his offense enough time to respond and it did, beginning in the fifth inning with three runs on three hits to cut the Harding down to 4-3. Sophomore Chris Sutton pushed across SAU's first two runs of the night with a one-out single through the right side and freshman Brandon Nicoll followed with an RBI double into left center field that pulled SAU to within a run.
 
The Bisons pushed across two runs in the home half of the sixth inning, but SAU answered with a game-changing five runs prior to the stretch to take an 8-6 lead.
 
Freshman Bryson Rhodes led off the seventh with his first career hit and four more base knocks would follow in the frame. Rhodes and Sutton scored on a hit through the left side by junior Brett McGee and McGee, along with Nicoll, were plated on Burton's 11^th home run of the season which put the Muleriders out front for the first time on Friday night and for good.
 
Burton was far from done as the senior singled in two more runs with an eighth-inning hit that placed SAU up 10-6. That would have been more than enough cushion considering Haynes' outstanding mound work, but the Muleriders exploded with seven runs on only three hits with the aid of two errors to carry a ten-run lead into the final half inning of action.
 
McGee chased home a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 11-7 with two away in the ninth, Nicoll reached on an error to load the bases and set the table for Burton who's fifth two bagger of the campaign plated a pair to run the advantage to 14-7. Lyles finished off what was left as a three-run blast, his fourth of the season, cemented the victory.
 
Burton and Nicoll each recorded three hits with both players doubling. All nine hitters scored at least once with Sutton leading the way with three runs scored and six other players scoring twice. Sutton also walked three times and has registered 31 base on balls this season. McGee and Lyles each recorded three RBI and Sutton added two, while Burton's aforementioned seven were two more than the Bisons produced as a team.
 
Southern Arkansas and Harding will decide the series winner on Saturday in a doubleheader scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.