WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Trace Shoup delivered his third-straight three-hit day and finished a single shy of the cycle, Southern Arkansas answered an eight-run bottom of the fifth from Southwestern Oklahoma with a three-run sixth and a four-run seventh, but the Muleriders would be unable to hold down the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon as SWOSU won the Great American Conference series finale 16-9 to take the series.

The Muleriders (24-16, 16-11 GAC) recorded twelve hits with half of those coming in the aforementioned innings. Down 10-1, with SAU's single tally coming from Shoup who scored on a wild pitch following a one-out triple in the first inning, Chris Lyles homered with one on in the sixth to cut the deficit to seven. With two outs, Clay Burrows scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-4.

SAU's next trip to the plate brought the visitors to within two runs of the lead. Shoup homered, his third of the series, to lead off the pre-stretch seventh and Jaden Woolbright hooked a three-run blast inside the left field foul line to cut the SWOSU advantage to 10-8. However, SAU stranded the bases loaded with one out in the frame.

SWOSU responded with four runs of its own following the stretch and added two more in the eighth to cushion its win in the finale.

The Muleriders used five arms in the loss. Tim Ruffino suffered the defeat after 4.1 innings with six hits and four earned runs. SWOSU recorded 18 hits, the most allowed by the Muleriders this season, with 14 of those coming in the fifth through eighth innings.

Southern Arkansas turns its attention to Tuesday and a midweek tilt with Mississippi College. The Muleriders and Choctaws meet in Magnolia at 3 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.