CARY, N.C. – (3) Southern Arkansas and (6) Rollins will meet for the third time all-time and for the second time in five days as the two programs square off in an elimination contest in game #9 of the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship from beautiful Coleman Field inside the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. First pitch was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT, but has been moved up three hours to 10:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. Magnolia, Ark. time) due to potential weather issues on Wednesday evening. Live coverage links including live stats and the Hall of Famer Dan Gregory's KVMZ 99.1 radio broadcast are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
In Saturday's opener, Southern Arkansas (47-12) used a three-run blast off the bat of junior
Conner Allen with two outs in the second inning and a complete game effort from consensus first team All-American and National Pitcher of the Year
Jeremy Adorno to edge the Tars 3-1. Read more about SAU's tournament-opening win
here.
BOX SCORE | (3) Southern Arkansas 3, (6) Rollins 1
On Monday night against (2) Point Loma, the Muleriders were faced with a handful of opportunities offensively, but were unable to break through as the Sea Lions scored four in the second and added five more in the ninth as part of an 11-3 win. Read more about the tough defeat
here.
BOX SCORE | (2) Point Loma 11, (3) Southern Arkansas 3
Rollins kept its tournament hopes alive with a tight 3-2 win over Illinois-Springfield on Monday afternoon. The Tars scored one run in the first, added two more in the third and held off the Prairie Stars in the eighth inning to advance in the elimination bracket. Read more about RC's elimination victory
here.
BOX SCORE | (6) Rollins 3, (7) Illinois-Springfield 2
In two games in Cary, the Muleriders have recorded a dozen hits and plated six runs. Of the 12 hits, three have went for extra bases with doubles by junior
Brett McGee and freshman
Brandon Nicoll joining Allen's game one homer. McGee has a fourth of those hits to lead the team and is one of just two Muleriders with a walk drawn.
On the mound, Adorno's CG allowed for the bullpen to stay intact entering Monday. SAU dipped into its reliever pool and received 3.1 innings of relief from junior
Jack Liddell who worked around five hits and an earned run.
The winner of Wednesday's elimination tilt will matchup with (2) Point Loma in the top bracket final and will need to beat the Sea Lions twice to advance to the National Championship game. First pitch of Thursday's contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.
