MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A Great American Conference Tournament Champion, the league's 12^th, will be crowned at a new location on Saturday afternoon as Dickey-Stephens Park, the North Little Rock home of the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, serves as host for four Natural State foes, all of which enter the double-elimination tournament with NCAA postseason implications weighing heavily. Southern Arkansas, the league's No. 5 seed and the only road team to make it out of the conference's opening weekend of tournament play meets longtime rival and the GAC's top tournament seed in Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday, May 9 at 1 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Dickey-Stephens Park is a cashless facility (purchase tickets here: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/team.asp?sponsorid=17458), and the Travelers have a clear bag policy for all events. For more info, please visit https://www.milb.com/arkansas/ballpark/know-before-you-go.
 
The Muleriders (30-18) and Weevils (29-21) meet for the fifth time this season. SAU won a nonconference, run-rule affair 11-0 on April 2 and the Weevils took two of three from the Muleriders in the regular season series finale. SAU and UAM have met 53 times on the diamond since 2012 when both became charter members of the GAC. The Muleriders lead the series 31-22 during that time. The two programs meet in the GAC Tournament for the fifth time with SAU having won the first four matchups. Friday's matchup will be the 46^th GAC Tournament game played by the Muleriders.
 
(2) Arkansas Tech (35-16) and (3) Harding (35-15) meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The league rivals meet for the fifth time this season. Harding took two of three from Tech in the final regular season series of the year, while ATU topped the Bisons 11-10 in ten innings in a nonconference affair on February 27.
 
#theGAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Thursday, May 9-Saturday, May 11
[4-Team, Double Elimination; Games Played at Dickey-Stephens Ballpark]
 
G1: 5/9 1:00 PM || #1 Arkansas-Monticello vs. #5 Southern Arkansas
G2: 5/9 5:00 PM || #2 Arkansas Tech vs. Series #3 Harding
 
G3: 5/10 11:00 AM || Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
G4: 5/10 3:00 PM || Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
G5: 5/10 7:00 PM || Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
 
G6: 5/11 Noon || Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
G7: 5/11 (If Necessary) || Second Championship Game
 
Mulerider Notables
 >>> The Muleriders are 20-9 overall in games played away from Magnolia this season. SAU is 3-1 in neutral site affairs and over half of the team's wins have come in a true road environment.
>>> Trace Shoup is riding a 20-game reached base safely streak and he holds the longest hit streak by a Mulerider this season at ten games, while his 18 multi-hit games and six three+ hit games both lead the club.
>>> Brandon Nicoll paces SAU in hits with 60, total bases with 111 and a slugging percentage of .597 and is matched by Shoup and Jaden Woolbright in doubles with a dozen. His 17 multi-hit games follow only Shoup. Nicoll's 13 home runs lead a Mulerider squad that has hit 59 this season.
>>> Nicoll and Will Richardson have each collected 43 RBI and four other Muleriders have delivered 30 or more. Richardson leads the team in multi-RBI games with a dozen and Nicoll follows with ten.
>>> The aforementioned four players all boast averages north of .300 led by Shoup at .341.
>>> Mikel Howell's nine wins are the most by a GAC arm and are the 15^th most in DII.
>>> Tim Ruffino caries the league's second-lowest walks allowed per 9 rate at 1.33 which stands as the 16^th best mark in Division II. Howell follows at 2.47 which ranks fifth in the GAC.
>>> Ruffino ranks third in the GAC in WHIP at 1.16 with eight of the top nine arms in the category set to throw in NLR. The mark trails league leader Maddox Long (1.08) of Harding and Tech's Grant Shahan (1.14). Ruffino's K-to-BB ratio (4.75) rates 32^nd nationally and third in the GAC.
>>> Jeremy Adorno's 95 strikeouts are the second-most in the GAC behind Long's 100 and the eighth-most nationally. He is five punchouts away from becoming the first pitcher in program history with three seasons of 100+ strikeouts.
>>> Arms ranked 2 through 6 on the GAC's ERA list pitch for final four squads. Shahan boasts the top ERA of those pitchers at 2.45 and Ruffino follows at 3.15.
>>> Several arms have seen significant bullpen usage this season with three registering at least a dozen appearances in relief. Sean Sieve boasts a 1.72 ERA in 14 appearances with three saves and 25 strikeouts. Austin Adair (23.1 IP), Hayden Oglesby (20.0 IP) and Nate June (32.1 IP) all have double digit relief appearances.
>>> Isaiah Haynes leads the team with five saves over 14.0 IP with an ERA of 1.93 and a near 3-to-1 K-to-BB ratio.
>>> Stetson Bishop has pitched 25.1 innings across nine appearances with four starts and carries an ERA of 1.07. He has allowed just three extra base hits in 109 batters faced.
 
Weevil Notables
 >>> Freshman Camden Tanner leads the league in average at .407 which ranks inside the top 50 in Division II.
>>> Tanner and Parker Dorrance, along with Arkansas Tech's Christian Olea, all rank ninth in the GAC in doubles with 14.
>>> Tanner's 72 hits lead the Weevils and rank fourth in the conference. He ranks in the league's top eight in runs scored (50), total bases (125), on-base percentage (.505) and slugging percentage (.706) and is tied for the most home runs among players in the tournament with 13. Nicoll along with ATU's Keaton Ranallo have matched the first-year Weevil's long-ball output.
>>> Tanner ranks second in the GAC in toughest to strike out (12.6 at bats). Tech's Brendyn Bard leads the league at 13.5. UAM's Chaz Poppy ranks fourth at 9.1.
>>> Poppy leads UAM in RBI (54); the sixth-most in the GAC, and has hit a dozen home runs for a team that ranks inside the top 30 nationally with 65.
>>> Charles Peacock leads the league and is second nationally in Ks/9 with 13.73. Six of the top nine GAC arms in the category are in action this weekend.
>>> Connor Irvine is sixth among all GAC arms in ERA with a team-leading 3.73. He, along with Maxim Mrakovcic, have started a team-high 14 games. Irvine ranks ninth in the GAC in hits allowed per 9 at 8.45 and sixth in WHIP with a team-best mark of 1.29. His eight wins trail only Howell for the league lead and he holds a top 50 mark nationally, one of five arms in the tournament that do, in strikeouts (77), while his 8.45 Ks/9 rank 12^th in the GAC.
 
Wonder Boy Notables
>>> Tech enters with a slash of .299/.400/.453. The team's marks in average and on-base percentage are tops among the four-team field.
>>> ATU's 493 hits lead the field and are the third-most among any GAC team this season.
>>> Ranallo top's the field in hits with 74 and RBI with 58, each the third-most in the GAC in 2024. His 128 total bases are the fifth-most by a GAC player this season.
>>> Mason Griffin's six saves are the second-most by GAC reliever this season.
>>> John Gray's 7.6 hits allowed per nine are the third-fewest among arms in the field and the fourth-lowest rate in the GAC this season.
 
Bisons Notables
>>> Harding enters with a slash of .285/.386/.432.
>>> The Bisons' 8.29 hits allowed per nine as a staff leads the GAC and ranks 14^th nationally. ATU (8.31) and UAM (8.36) follow nationally at 15^th and 17^th, respectively.
>>> Harding's K-to-BB ratio of 2.69 is a league-best mark and the eighth-highest total in DII.
>>> Long, Merritt Jay and Davis Welch all land inside the league's top ten in Ks/9. Jay's 10.19 leads the team, ranks fourth in the GAC and is the highest per 9 punchout rate among arms in NLR. Long follows at just under 10 at 9.89 and Welch rates ninth in the GAC at 8.90.
>>> Michael Dewald has stolen 15 bases this season matched by only ATU's Shane Poe among players in the tournament field.
 
Tournament Notables
 >>> SAU is a collective 5-6 this season against the league's three regular season champions. In addition to splitting four games with UAM, the Muleriders dropped four games to Arkansas Tech and swept a three-game series at Harding. ATU owns a 9-3 combined record against the other three opponents. UAM is 6-6 and HU holds a 3-8 mark against the trio…>>> All four teams hold top 10 NCAA Central Region rankings as the Wonder Boys are third, UAM is sixth, Harding is seventh and the Muleriders are currently on the outside looking in at ninth…>>> Thirty years ago, in the final published Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) Review of Sports (1993-94), the 15-member All-AIC Baseball team was announced and 14 of those members represented the four former AIC schools vying for the '24 GAC tournament title…>>> DSP and NLR represent the fifth different location that has hosted the GAC championship and the fourth in the state of Arkansas joining Hot Springs' Majestic Park, Henderson State's Clyde Berry Field and fellow Texas League North Division foe Northwest Arkansas Naturals' Arvest Ballpark…>>> While all four teams have showcased the ability to push across runs this season (all four are scoring at least 6.5 runs per game), pitching, at least on paper, highlights the tournament field as none of the four teams rank lower than fifth in the GAC in hits allowed per 9 and K-to-BB ratio. ATU, SAU and HU carry the league's top three team ERAs, UAM, HU and ATU hold the league's top three Ks per 9 rates with all four teams boasting a sub-1.50 WHIP and SAU and HU ranking one and two in walks allowed per 9…

MULERIDER BASEBALL ALL-TIME IN GAC TOURNAMENT
($) - GAC Tournament Champions (7)

All-time record in GAC Tournament: 32-13

2024 | Arkadelphia, Arkansas (Opening Round)
W, 7-4 vs. (4) Henderson State
W, 6-5 (11) vs. (4) Henderson State

$2023 | Springdale, Arkansas (Final Site)
W, 7-6 vs. (6) Oklahoma Baptist ($)
W, 6-1 vs. (6) Oklahoma Baptist
W, 4-2 vs. (4) Henderson State
 
2023 | Magnolia, Arkansas (Opening Round)
W, 12-2 (7) vs. (8) Southeastern Oklahoma
W, 14-7 vs. (8) Southeastern Oklahoma
L, 3-5 vs. (8) Southeastern Oklahoma
 
2022 | Hot Springs, Arkansas
W, 17-9 vs. (2) Henderson State ($)
W, 9-4 vs. (8) Arkansas Tech
W, 7-5 vs. (5) Ouachita
W, 17-2 vs. (8) Arkansas Tech
 
2021 | Magnolia, Arkansas (Opening Round)
L, 6-9 vs. (7) Henderson State
 
2019 | Enid, Oklahoma
L, 6-8 vs. (6) Harding
L, 2-8 vs. (5) Oklahoma Baptist
 
2018 | Enid, Oklahoma
W, 16-3 vs. (3) Oklahoma Baptist ($)
W, 5-2 vs. (3) Oklahoma Baptist
W, 9-7 vs. (4) Henderson State
W, 15-6 vs. (1) Arkansas-Monticello
L, 3-9 vs. (5) Arkansas Tech
 
2017 | Arkadelphia, Arkansas
L, 5-9 vs. (4) Henderson State
W, 11-3 vs. (2) Arkansas Tech
L, 5-13 vs. (4) Henderson State
 
2016 | Arkadelphia, Arkansas (Opening Round)
L, 5-9 vs. (4) Henderson State
L, 2-6 vs. (4) Henderson State
 
2015 | Enid, Oklahoma
W, 6-3 vs. (4) Henderson State ($)
W, 6-2 vs. (4) Henderson State
W, 4-2 vs. (2) Ouachita
L, 5-8 vs. (3) Harding
W, 10-3 vs. (6) Southeastern Oklahoma
 
2014 | Enid, Oklahoma
W, 6-2 vs. (2) #17 Arkansas-Monticello ($)
W, 4-3 vs. (4) Harding
W, 6-5 vs. (1) #3 Arkansas Tech
W, 15-10 vs. (6) Ouachita
L, 1-2 vs. (4) Harding
 
2013 | Enid, Oklahoma
W, 11-2 vs. (5) Arkansas-Monticello ($)
W, 11-2 vs. (5) Arkansas-Monticello
W, 7-0 vs. (4) Henderson State
L, 4-5 vs. (3) Arkansas Tech
W, 9-6 vs. (6) Harding
 
2012 | Enid, Oklahoma
W, 4-3 vs. (5) Ouachita ($)
L, 3-4 vs. (5) Ouachita
W, 15-11 vs. (2) Southeastern Oklahoma
W, 6-4 vs. (3) Southwestern Oklahoma
W, 7-6 vs. (6) Henderson State