MAGNOLIA, Ark. – One of four teams unbeaten through the opening weekend of Great American Conference play, #20/#16 Southern Arkansas (8-3, 3-0 GAC) carries the conference's top scoring offense into Oklahoma for a weekend series against East Central (1-12, 0-3 GAC). First pitch in Friday's opener is slated for 2 p.m. with Saturday's twin bill scheduled for high noon from ECU's Ken Turner Field. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Southern Arkansas and East Central have met 34 times since the two programs became charter members of the GAC starting with the 2012 season. The Muleriders are 28-6 and have claimed ten of the 11 series which includes six sweeps. SAU enters the weekend having won 15-straight against the Tigers and are 17-1 against ECU under head coach Justin Pettigrew.
 
In true road games under Pettigrew, the Muleriders are 88-49 overall with a 59-27 record against GAC foes. In the previous seven seasons, Southern Arkansas is 16-5 in the first GAC road series of the season.
 
SAU is coming off of a 10-6 setback on the road at Russellville on Tuesday. Southern Arkansas struck for five-first inning runs behind home runs from Brandon Nicoll, Mikey McGinnis and Trace Shoup, but the Muleriders would be unable to hold onto that advantage as the Wonder Boys answered with four runs in the bottom of the first and then produced three-run frames in the fifth and seventh innings to snap a four-game losing streak to the Muleriders.
 
The Muleriders boast the top scoring offense in the Great American Conference averaging 9.6 runs per game which ranks 16^th nationally. SAU has pushed across ten or more runs five times this season, while the squad's 106 total runs ranks tenth in DII. Southern Arkansas' GAC-leading on-base percentage of .447, the 19^th-highest mark in the country, comes behind 108 hits (5^th GAC) and top 30 marks nationally in hit-by-pitch (24; 20^th) and base on balls (63; 26^th). Additionally, SAU carries a slugging percentage of .507 which ranks 30^th in DII as a result of 37 extra base hits which includes 21 doubles and 13 home runs.
 
Junior Brandon Nicoll's .444 average ranks third in the GAC as do the Canadian's 31 total bases and on-base percentage of .562. His slugging percentage of .861 and RBI total of 17 both rate second leaguewide, while the 16 runs scored both by him and senior Chris Sutton are the second-most in the GAC and two back of the lead in the Central Region.
 
Junior Trace Shoup's five doubles make him one of eight players with a handful of two-baggers. Junior Grant Roosma's 11 walks are the second-most in the GAC, while senior Chris Lyles and Nicoll both join the first-year Mulerider in the statistic's top ten with 10 and 9, respectively.
 
Southern Arkansas holds top 25 DII marks with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.64 which rates third in the GAC and 24^th nationally and a strikeouts per nine innings rate of 10.1 which also ranks third in the conference and is currently the 24^th-highest K/9 clip in the nation.
 
Junior Jeremy Adorno's 19 strikeouts rank in the top 30 nationally. Reigning NCBWA Central Region Pitcher of the Week Isaiah Haynes follows with a dozen strikeouts in five innings pitched. He is coming off of a four-appearance week and three-save weekend. Opponents, in there 17 at bats, have managed two hits and are hitting .118 off of the senior closer.
 
Adorno leads the team in innings pitched with 16.2. Senior Mikel Howell follows with 13.0 innings pitched. Eleven pitchers have recorded at least four innings of work this season with seven of those having not started a game. In three starts covering seven innings, junior Tim Ruffino has recorded nine strikeouts to no walks. Eight different arms have accounted for the wins for the Muleriders through 11 games.
 
East Central enters this weekend's action winless against Division II opponents and 1-12 overall. The Tigers beat Randall 14-9 On February 8. ECU was outscored 54-9 across four games at the season-opening UCO First Pitch Classic, dropped a tightly-contested four game series against Fort Hays State, was shutout against top 15 Central Oklahoma and was swept in three games by Arkansas-Monticello to open conference play.
 
Nick Blankenship paces the offense with 13 hits, seven runs scored and 19 total bases. Five other players are responsible for at least six hits. Christian Whitaker leads the team in RBI with seven. Six other players have registered two or more RBI.
 
As a staff, ECU has recorded 76 strikeouts led by Beau Driggers and Chat Hayes' 11 each. Driggers has allowed four hits and three walks in 6.1 relief innings and boast the top ERA of all ECU arms at 4.26. Clayton Solomon is the top starting arm with 17.0 innings pitched and an ERA of 5.29 in three starts.
 
SAU in the National Rankings
NCBWA DII Top 25
PRE: #17 (3^rd CR)
W1: RV (4^th CR)
W2: 20 (4^th CR)
 
DII BSB Insider
PRE: #16
 
Weekly Honors
GAC Player of the Week
2/6 | Will Richardson
 
GAC Pitcher of the Week
2/20 | Isaiah Haynes
 
NCBWA Central Region Pitcher of the Week
2/21 | Isaiah Haynes
 
SAU records under Pettigrew
2017 season through 2-22-24
Overall: 246-108
At home: 120-42
At home (GAC): 84-24
GAC opening home series: 21-3
On road: 88-49
On road (GAC): 59-27
GAC opening road series: 16-5
Neutral: 42-17
Postseason: 31-17