CARY, N.C. – It was nothing but fight from (3) Southern Arkansas in the ninth inning of Wednesday morning's NCAA DII Baseball Championship elimination game between (6) Rollins from beautiful Coleman Field inside the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The Muleriders, down 7-2 heading into the final frame, pushed across three runs on four hits, but left the tying run at second as the program's historic 2022 season came to an end on DII Baseball's biggest stage. SAU's campaign, under sixth-year head coach Justin Pettigrew, closes at 47-13 overall which includes both the Great American Conference regular season and tournament titles as well as the Central Region title; the first regional championship in the program's 26-year membership of the NCAA.
 
Through eight innings of action, the Muleriders pushed across two runs, both by sophomore Chris Sutton who's second-inning RBI groundout pushed across SAU's first run, while his two-out solo blast in the fifth inning cut the deficit to just a single run at 3-2. Classmate and lifelong friend Chris Lyles led Southern Arkansas with a 3-for-4 effort with two runs scored.
 
The third of Lyles' three-hit day came in the ninth and followed a leadoff single by senior Tucker Burton, who recorded two hits in his final game as a Mulerider, on the first pitch he saw in the inning. Junior Conner Allen then singled on a 0-2 pitch to load the bases for junior Riley Orr who delivered a deep sacrifice fly on a full-count pitch out to centerfield to plate Burton, while both Lyles and Allen tagged and advanced.
 
With two outs in the frame, junior Brett McGee was hit-by-pitch on the seventh pitch of his at bat which again loaded the bases. The late action around the base paths by the Muleriders prompted a pitching change from the Tars, but it did not phase freshman Brandon Nicoll who delivered his team-leading 26^th double of the season down the right field line on a 2-2 count. McGee moved to third as both Lyles and Allen scored, but the rally would end there as Rollins' Chase Achuff managed to maneuver around the threat.
 
Junior Parker Abrego went five innings and held off the Tars offense as long as he could highlighted by a tough effort in the second that saw him strand runners at second and third with no outs. He received a double play in the fourth that turned away Rollins in the frame. Abrego finished with two strikeouts and dispersed eight hits, but a two-run home run from RC which was down to its final strike in the fifth grew the lead to four.
 
Freshman Hayden Hable worked three innings in relief of Abrego. The lefthander was solid allowing only two hits, two walks and an unearned run as he faced three over the minimum.
 
More on Mulerider Baseball's historic run will be posted in the following days on www.MuleriderAthletics.com and Mulerider Athletics social media channels.