MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (3-1, 0-0) hit the road for the second week in a row as they play a four-game schedule at the Henderson State Invitational to round out non-conference play.
 
Weekend Slate
The Muleriders will play four games in Arkadelphia this weekend kicked off against #17/#9 Augustana (SD) Friday, February 7th at 1:30 PM. SAU will then play Emporia State University on Saturday, February 8th at 10:00 AM followed by the University of Central Oklahoma Saturday, February 8th at 5:00 PM. The Blue and Gold will clos out their non-conference schedule against the University of Central Oklahoma on Sunday, February 9th at 1:30 PM. All games this weekend will be played at Clyde Berry Field.
 
A Look at SAU
The Muleriders are coming off of a 3-1 weekend at the Dugan Invitational in Hot Springs, Arkansas. SAU dropped their season opener to #11/#17 Missouri Southern but quickly bounced picking up a 7-1 victory over UAFS a tightly contested 2-1 victory over Washburn then flexing their offensive muscles against Washburn in the final game of the tournament picking up a dominant 11-2 win. Despite their early offensive woes against Missouri Southern, the bats came to life the rest of the weekend scoring 20 runs over the next three games outscoring opponents 20-4. The Blue and Gold's pitching staff also flexed their muscles after a rough start against Missouri Southern as they only allowed four runs the remainder of the weekend.
 
Lee Matsuzaki led the offense for the Muleriders at the Dugan Invitational going 7-for-15 at the play with a .467 batting average. Lee also hit his first homerun of his Muleriders career against Washburn in the final game of the tournament and led the team in total bases with 14. Jaden Woolbright also had a good weekend at the plate for the Blue and Gold finishing with a .417 batting average going 5-for12 on the weekend with a .967 OPS.
 
Jeremy Adorno made the first start of his 2025 campaign against UAFS throwing six complete innings only allowing two hits and collecting seven strikeouts. Adorno would win GAC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance in the game. Joshua Flaugher made his first start on the mound in a Muleriders uniform this weekend in the first game against Washburn. Flaugher threw seven complete innings with four strikeouts and allowed one run in the outing.
 
A Look at Augustana
The Vikings will kick their 2025 campaign off at the Henderson State Invitational. Augie comes into the garnering preseason rankings of No. 17 and No. 9 by NCBWA and DIIbaseball.com respectively. Augustana is coming off of a 47-10 campaign in 2024 and will certainly look to continue their winning ways this weekend. The 2024 campaign for Augie would also see them win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) tournament and advance to the NCAA Central Regional where they would win both games over the University of Central Oklahoma but drop both meetings with Central Missouri.
 
The Vikings return four key players from last years roster including Jack Hines, Jason Axelberg, Joe Kolbeck, and Trevor Winterstein. The four returners combine for 163 starts and will certainly look to propel the offense again this season. Jack Hines returns after being the top hitter in 2024 for the Vikings boasting a .445 batting average smashing 21 homeruns and collecting 93 hits.
 
A Look at Emporia State
The Hornets come into this weekend riding a three-game winning streak after going 3-0 at the Edmond First Pitch Tournament last weekend. Emporia picked up wins over MSU Denver, Southeastern Oklahoma State, and East Central on their way to an undefeated start to the season.
 
Noah Steele currently boasts the hot bat in the Hornets lineup after going 5-for-9 last weekend with a .556 batting average and one homerun. TJ Racherbaumer is another dangerous bat for the Hornets with a .300 batting average but collected two homeruns last weekend. The pitching staff is currently led by Graeme Rios as he threw three complete innings and did not allow a run.
 
A Look at Central Oklahoma
The Bronchos also spent their opening weekend at the Edmond First Pitch Classic coming out with a 2-2 record after dropping games to Missouri St. Louis and MSU Denver to start the season but bouncing back to pick up wins over Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central to end the tournament.
 
Garrett long leads the offense for the Bronchos boasting a .500 batting average after going 5-for-10 at the plate while crushing two homeruns and collecting a team leading seven RBIs. Long also leads the team in slugging percentage (1.100), OPS (1.683), and total bases (11). Caleb Burchfield leads the pitching staff with a 0.00 ERA after tossing five complete innings and collecting four strikeouts on his way to his first win of 2025.
 
Broadcast Information
Fans can watch all the action on the Henderson State University YouTube page or follow live stats through the links on the Mulerider Athletics website. To find links for this weekend's games click here.