MAGNOLIA, Ark. – #2 Southern Arkansas returns to action this weekend in Arkadelphia for a pair of games at the Henderson State Invitational. The Muleriders, fresh off of a 3-1 opening weekend at the Dugan Invitational, will face Missouri Western at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, February 10 and then close out the weekend with an 11 a.m. first pitch against Lane College. Live coverage links including live stats and live video are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Last weekend, the Muleriders plated 13 runs over four games behind a collective 23 hits of which three went for extra bases. SAU hitters accounted for a dozen RBI, while tallying ten walks and six HBP. The Muleriders were successful on six of eight stolen bases.
 
A trio of players in sixth-year senior Riley Orr, sophomore Brandon Nicoll and junior Chris Lyles have combined for 15 of SAU's near two dozen hits. Orr leads with a .667 average and an OPS of 1.381 to go along with four hits. Nicoll leads the team in hits (6), RBI (5) and total bases (9) and is the lone Mulerider to leave the yard so far this campaign. Lyles follows with five hits and has one of the team's two doubles on the season. He has an RBI and is perfect on a pair of stolen base attempts this season.
 
On the mound, the Muleriders received quality action from both starters and bullpen staff in Hot Springs to start the season. Despite not earning the win, senior Wyatt Marr tossed a team-high 6.1 innings allowing zero earned runs with six strikeouts to no walks. Junior transfer Mikel Howell owns a staff-low WHIP at .60 and in five innings he has struck out six with one walk and allowed just two hits. No Mulerider arm allowed more than two runs last weekend.  Sophomore Hayden Hable has allowed just one hit in 1.2 innings of work. Junior Isaiah Haynes pitched two innings earning a save both times as he has faced just eight batters and allowed no hits.
 
The staff holds a WHIP of 1.00 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 5-to-1. Opponents have managed just six extra base hits in 129 plate appearances against Mulerider arms.
 
SAU won its first three games of the season and all three were by a single run. Since taking over as head coach for the 2017 season, Pettigrew's Muleriders have won 35 of the 63 one-run ballgames that SAU has been a part of.
 
Southern Arkansas (3-1) meets Missouri Western (0-0) for the 11^th time since the 2005 season with the Muleriders holding a 10-0 advantage in the series. It will be the eighth meeting between the two programs since the start of the 2019 campaign, the third matchup in Arkadelphia in that time frame and second consecutive season that the two squads face off. The Griffons open their season on Thursday against Ouachita.
 
MWSU went 13-23 last spring which included a season-opening loss to the Muleriders. The Griffons were picked 11^th in this year's MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. Head coach Buzz Verduzco enters his 23^rd and final season at the helm of the Griffon Baseball program. Verduzco has won over 600 games as head coach at MWSU and over 425 in the always-competitive MIAA.
 
Missouri Western returns over two dozen players from last year's roster including All-MIAA honorable mention performer Jared Munk (50 hits, 15 XBH, 18 RBI, 25 runs scored) who led the team in average last season at .329. Brenden Andersen (.925 OPS) is the top returner for the Griffon offense in RBI, home runs and doubles from a season ago. Hunter Reumachik (.318 AVG, 42 hits, 11 XBH, 21 RBI) and Will Courtney (26 hits, 19 RBI, 15 runs scored) round out the list of returners that saw ample playing time in 2022. On the mound, Jacob Weirich (1.65 WHIP) and Robert Farrell (31 strikeouts) return. Weirich led the team in punchouts with 52 last season and Farrell recorded a pair of saves.
 
SAU and Lane College meet for the first time on the diamond. The Dragons went 10-27 last spring and are off to an 0-4 start this season. Head coach Donny Crawford is in his first season at LC after nearly a dozen years leading fellow SIAC member Stillman College to multiple league championships.
 
Through four games, Zion LaGrone is leading the team in average at .417 and Dakotah Danner follows at .333. LaGrone paces the club in hits (5) and total bases (5). Matt Kucera's three RBI is tops for the offense. Four other players have recorded at least two hits this season. LC is currently -30 in run margin and the Dragons have managed just one extra base hit in 147 plate appearances.
 
Six Dragons have tossed over four innings this season, but none of the six have thrown over five. Ben Cardella, T'Shaun Bridgeforth and Julian Ortiz have all collected three strikeouts.