MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The final month of the regular season is here for consensus national top ten Southern Arkansas and the Easter weekend schedule has the Muleriders in Russellville for a three-game Great American Conference series with the driver's seat of the league standings on the line. First-pitch in Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday's twin bill slated for a noon start. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
The Muleriders (24-10, 16-5 GAC) and the Wonder Boys (23-13, 16-5 GAC) met in a midweek tilt on February 21 with ATU topping SAU 16-15 in the latter's home opener. The two clubs are each two games up on third-place Ouachita and four games ahead of a current three-way tie for fourth place as the Natural State side of the league currently occupies the top six spots in the standings.
SAU and Tech have previously met 47 times since the 2012 season; the first for each program in its charter membership of the GAC. In that time span, the Muleriders hold a 27-20 advantage in the series. In Russellville, the Wonder Boys are 12-8. SAU has played in Russellville just once in the past seven meetings.
As a team, the Muleriders are hitting .304, slugging .492 and carry an on-base percentage of .430; 18
th nationally. SAU is +113 in run differential which comes behind a top 20 mark in runs scored with 291. Of the team's 329 extra base hits, 122 have went for extra bases. Southern Arkansas has drawn 179 walks and been hit-by-pitch 73 times; the ninth-most nationally. SAU is 47-of-59 on stolen base attempts.
Brandon Nicoll holds a top 30 mark in RBI with 44 this spring. His 44 hits lead the team.
Riley Orr follows with 42 hits. Nicoll,
Will Richardson and
Chris Lyles have combined for 32 doubles this season to lead an offense that has hit 76 two-baggers; the 18
th most in DII.
Brett McGee, who became the GAC's career HR leader with 52 in Tuesday's midweek loss at Delta State, ranks in the top 20 nationally in walks (16
th) and hit-by-pitch (11
th). His 11 home runs this season rank 24
th in Division II. McGee follows Nicoll in RBI with 43. Both have totaled 78 bases.
Conner Allen, one of eight Muleriders with 30+ hits, one of six with 25 or more RBI and one of five with 30+ runs scored, leads the team in swiped bags with 11 in 13 attempts.
On the mound, the Muleriders carry a team ERA of 4.84 with a staff WHIP of 1.44. In 273.1 innings this season, SAU has recorded 286 strikeouts to 118 walks; a strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranks 25
th nationally and leads the GAC. SAU's 9.4 strikeouts per nine rank 30
th nationally. Opponents have recorded 275 hits and are hitting .259 against the group.
Jeremy Adorno's 75 strikeouts rank fifth nationally.
Isaiah Haynes has accounted for eight of the team's dozen saves. The eight saves are the second-most nationally. Adorno and fellow weekend starter
Mikel Howell rank first (1.12) and second (1.21) in the GAC in WHIP. Howell and
Wyatt Marr follow Adorno in strikeout with 49.
Jack Liddell's 21 strikeouts pace the 'pen as do his 19.0 innings pitched in ten relief appearances.
Santos Sosa has totaled 15.1 innings and has earned three saves with 18 strikeouts to four walks.
The Wonder Boys are hitting .314 as a team, slugging .467 and have an on-base percentage of .415. ATU is +56 in run differential. Tech has 384 hits, a top 20 total in DII, with 117 extra base hits and 152 walks with 75 hit-by-pitch; the seventh-most nationally and tops in the GAC. The Wonder Boys have stolen 51 bags in 64 attempts this season.
Seven players are hitting north of .300 led by Nick Jones' .377. Keaton Ranallo leads the team with 50 hits and four others follow with 40+ base knocks. Sawyer Duddleston has scored a team-leading 43 runs and driven in a team-high 41 RBI.
Tech holds a staff ERA of 6.95 with a WHIP of 1.66. In 286.1 innings pitched, the Wonder Boys have struck out 250 batters, while allowing 134 free passes.
Emiliano Mata and John Gray each have four wins for Tech this spring. Both have started nine games. Gray leads the team in innings pitched with 51.0 and in strikeouts with 47. Mata follows in punch outs with 30. Four other players have recorded at least 19 strikeouts. Mason Griffin leads with six saves and holds a 17-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 appearances totaling 16.0 innings.
