MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The season within the season begins on Saturday for RV/#16 Southern Arkansas as Great American Conference play begins leaguewide. The Muleriders (5-2), preseason favorites to win the GAC, welcome in Southeastern Oklahoma (6-2), selected for an eighth-place finish by the league coaches, for a three-game series beginning with a single nine-inning affair on February 17 at 3 p.m. followed by a Sunday afternoon twin bill slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 
 
Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma meet for the 12^th regular season series since the 2012 season when both universities became charter members of the GAC. During that time, the Muleriders have claimed nine of those series, including three of four at home. SAU is 7-5 in regular season games played against the Savage Storm in Magnolia. In addition to the dozen regular season meetings, the two programs have met in GAC postseason play five times including last season's three-game series in the league's opening round of the tournament in Magnolia. SAU overcame a game one loss to SE to sweep a day two doubleheader and advance to the final four where they would win the tournament title. 
 
SAU is 117-42 overall at home as Pettigrew coaches into his eighth season at the helm of the Mulerider Baseball program. In GAC-opening series, Southern Arkansas is 18-3 under Pettigrew and the Muleriders own a GAC home record of 81-24 since the start of the 2017 season.
 
The Muleriders are coming off of a 15-9 midweek win at Delta State that saw SAU use nine pitchers and record 13 hits, including four from senior Chris Lyles, to win for the 32nd time over the Statesmen since the two longtime foes first met as Gulf South Conference opponents in 1996.
 
The baker's dozen hits for SAU in the victory marked the fourth time in seven games that the Muleriders reached that threshold, and the 15 runs are the fourth time SAU has eclipsed 14 or more in a game this season. Southern Arkansas enters GAC play averaging 11.3 runs per game behind 10.5 hits per game. On the mound, the Muleriders have allowed four or fewer runs four times so far this season and are averaging nine strikeouts and less than four free passes per game. 
 
A pair of Wake Village, Texas products sit atop the team's list in batting average. Senior Chris Sutton leads with a .480 average and an OPS of 1.349 in seven starts at second base. His dozen hits, which includes two doubles and two triples, make him one of just eight players in the league to have reached that mark so far this season. Sutton has accounted for a team-leading 11 runs scored and six RBI. Lyles is hitting .450 after a big Wednesday afternoon in Mississippi. He carries an OPS of 1.283 and has recorded nine hits with nine runs scored and eight RBI. Lyles leads the team with three stolen bags and is one of three players with eight or more walks and one of six Muleriders that have been hit-by-pitch no less than twice.
 
Senior Will Richardson leads SAU with 11 RBI and junior Brandon Nicoll follows with ten. Nicoll is currently fourth among all NCAA players (Div. 1, 2 & 3) in RBI with 163 for his career. Three other Muleriders join Sutton and Lyles with nine or more hits. Nicoll has matched Sutton in plate crossings with 11 and junior Grant Roosma has crossed ten times. Sutton (14^th) and Nicoll (25^th) are ranked inside the top 25 in runs scored among DII active career leaders. Together, the pair has combined for 280 runs. As a team, the Muleriders have drawn a total of 70 free passes with 51 walks.
 
Junior ace Jeremy Adorno will look for his first win of the season this weekend. His 23 career victories are currently the sixth-most among active NCAA pitchers (All Divisions). He has tossed 10.2 innings this spring with 13 strikeouts to just four walks in two starts. His 272 career strikeouts rank fifth among all active NCAA arms. Senior Mikel Howell is 1-0 in two starts totaling 9.2 innings pitched with eight strikeouts. Nine bullpen arms have tossed no fewer than 2.0 innings this season. Five other relievers have at least an inning of work under their belt in 52.0 innings pitched by the Muleriders this season.
 
Tim Ruffino has been very serviceable for Southern Arkansas in two starts. Over 5.0 innings of work, he has allowed just three hits and a run with nine strikeouts and an opponent average of .158. Hayden Oglesby has worked around just three hits in three innings of work. Chance Bolter has not allowed a run in facing 11 batters. Isaiah Haynes owns a bullpen-best six strikeouts. Despite not having a save opportunity to take advantage of, Haynes is third among all-division NCAA closers in saves with 17.
 
Southeastern Oklahoma opens GAC action winners of six of their first eight games of the season which includes series sweeps of UC-Colorado Springs and Newman. The Savage Storm suffered home and away midweek setbacks to Northeastern State for their lone blemishes in the season's early going. 
 
SE has pushed across nine runs or more in six of their eight games, crossing over the double-digit threshold five times. Southeastern Oklahoma is hitting .300 on the season with 79 hits and 73 total runs scored. Of the nearly 80 knocks, 32 have went for extra bases with 18 of those leaving the yard. Nick Hill leads the offense with a .545 average and ten RBI. Hill is one of three players with ten or more hits as he has a dozen and trails Damon Burroughs by a one. Burroughs leads with a dozen runs scored. Reid Rice is tops in home runs with three as is Wesley Mitchell who also matches Hill's ten runs scored.
 
As a pitching staff, the Storm are allowing five runs and more than eight hits per game. SE has recorded 54 strikeouts to 28 walks. Cameron Hauch is 2-0 on the season and has not allowed an earned run in a dozen innings of work. He has recorded 11 strikeouts to just three hits. In 9.0 innings over two starts, Dylan Turner has allowed two earned runs and eight hits. Brody Logsdon has the highest bullpen usage for the Storm at 6.1 innings of work allowing four hits and two runs with three strikeouts. Coby Langford has not allowed an earned run in 4.0 innings. Eight bullpens arms have tossed at least 4.0 innings for the Storm this season.