MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (8-6, 4-2) head to Clinton Mississippi for their first midweek action of the year against the Mississippi College Choctaws (7-6, 3-3) on Tuesday, February 25th with first pitch set for 2:00 PM.
Series History vs. Mississippi College
The Muleriders currently hold the advantage over the Choctaws with an 11-3 record overall in the series. The two teams first squared off on April 5th, 1996, a 12-2 win for the Muleriders. The most recent game between the two came on February 27th, 2024, a 14-1 win in seven innings for SAU.
A Look at SAU
The Muleriders are coming off a 2-1 weekend in Bethany, Oklahoma which saw SAU win the series against the Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm. SAU won game one with a massive 21-6 victory then narrowly lost game two of the Sunday doubleheader by a final score of 7-6 as SNU walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to a bases loaded hit by pitch. The Muleriders then rallied to win game three of the series by a final score of 15-7 and win their second GAC series of the season.
The Muleriders offense came to life in the first game behind the bat of
Jayden Hill and
Grant Roosma who each belted two homeruns in the game. Hill finished game one going 3-for-3 at the plate with two homeruns and six RBIs while Roosma finished going 3-for-5 with two homeruns and four RBIs.
Jack Roubik also had three RBIs in the game.
Peyton Ballard also had a homerun in the game as well as
Clay Burrows who crushed a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to put the game on ice.
Jayden Hill then continued his hot streak in game two of the series going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two more homeruns.
Grant Roosma also added to his homerun total in game two with another homerun for his third of the day. The Muleriders fell just short in game two and set up the rubber match for game three. Game three took extra innings to decide who won the series.
Lee Matsuzaki came to bat in the top of the tenth inning and put the nail in the coffin with a grand slam to put the game out of reach for the Crimson Storm as the Muleriders won the rubber match and clinched their second series in a row.
Lee Matsuzaki still leads the team with his .350 batting average and 60 at bats along with a 1.044 OPS and .650 slugging percentage.
Brandon Nicoll is another offensive weapon for the Muleriders boasting a .346 batting average with 18 hits, two homeruns and eight RBIs. After a huge weekend for
Jayden Hill, he now leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (15).
Austin Adair currently leads the Mulerider pitching staff with a 1.31 ERA and a 4-0 record with 20.2 innings pitched. Adair has also fanned 14 hitters on the season.
A Look at Mississippi College
The Choctaws are coming off of a 1-2 weekend that saw them steal one of three games from No. 25 ranked Montevallo. Mississippi College would fall in game one 7-1 then win game two 8-6 followed by a 10-9 loss in game three of the series. The Choctaws also faced two GAC teams in the preseason losing 2-3 to UAM but defeating Arkansas Tech by a final score of 13-10.
Korey Cooper currently leads the Choctaws offense with a .419 batting average. Bryce LaRocca also provides firepower for the offense with a .385 batting average and leads the team in hits with 20 through 13 games. LaRocca is also tied for the team lead in homeruns with Jordan Evans as each have four this season. Holland Townes leads the pitching staff for the Choctaws with a 4.97 ERA and 25.1 innings pitched.
Broadcast Information
You can catch all the action streaming live or by following live stats on the Mulerider Athletic website. For links to Tuesday's midweek click
here.
