ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (4-3, 0-0) split their two games today at the Henderson State Invitational first defeating Emporia State University (4-2, 0-0) then falling to the University of Central Oklahoma (5-2, 0-0) in the night cap.
Vs. Emporia State
The Muleriders broke the ice first against the Hornets after a lead off hit by pitch from
Clay Burrows followed by a stolen bag put a runner in scoring position with no outs for the offense.
Lee Matsuzaki would come to the plate with one out and a runner on second and single up the middle to open the scoring and put the Muleriders up 1-0.
After a scoreless second inning for both teams, the Mulerider's offense would strike again thanks to a
Brandon Nicoll home run over the centerfield wall to take a 2-0 lead. The Hornets would finally get on the board in the bottom of the third inning with a run of their own making it a one run ballgame after three complete innings. SAU would tack on again in the top of the fourth inning as
Trace Shoup would come to the plate with the bases loaded and one out lining out to the centerfielder and scoring
Josh Phillips from third.
Emporia State would not go away quietly as they would knot the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run homerun. After a scoreless seventh and eighth inning from both teams the squads headed into the ninth inning still knotted at 3-3. With one out in the top of the ninth inning,
Lee Matsuzaki would come to the plate and double off the left center wall to put a man in scoring position for
Jayden Hill. Hill would make the most of his at bat crushing the first homerun of his Muleriders career over the right field wall giving SAU a two-run lead, 5-3.
Josh Phillips would enter the game to pitch with one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth inning proceeding to shut down Hornet's offense and securing the 5-3 win for the Muleriders.
Eli Hutcherson would record his first win of 2025 on the mound and
Josh Phillips would record his first save of the year.
Top Performers:
Lee Matsuzaki: 3-for-5 and one run scored
Jayden Hill: 2-for-5, three RBIs, homerun
Tyler Abrego: 2-for-4
Brandon Nicoll: 2-for-5, one RBI, one homerun
Eli Hutcherson: Five innings pitched and three strikeouts
Vs. Central Oklahoma
SAU would draw first blood yet again in their second game of the day this time striking for two runs in the bottom of the first inning against the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma taking a 2-0 lead. The Bronchos would not let the lead last long as they answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second inning to knot the game at 2-2.
Jared Rhodes would lead off the bottom of the second inning with a solo shot to right center field putting the Muleriders back on top, 3-2. Central Oklahoma would answer right back in the top of the third inning with a homerun of their own to tie the game at 3-3. SAU's offense would answer right back in the bottom of the third inning as
Trace Shoup led off with a solo shot to right centerfield to retake the lead, 4-3.
Lee Matsuzaki would then step to the plate and promptly double to right center field. With one out and runners on first and second base,
Josh Phillips would reach on a fielder's choice allowing
Lee Matsuzaki to score from second base after an error by the first baseman on the play. After three complete innings, SAU would hold a 5-3 lead.
The Bronchos would answer right back scoring three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning
Jayden Hill would lead off with a single through the left side and promptly steal second to put a runner in scoring position. With two outs in the inning,
Brandon Nicoll would step to the plate crushing a triple off of the left center field wall to score Hill from third tying the game at 6-6. UCO would strike again in the top of the seventh inning with two runs and one run in the top of the eighth inning to take a 9-6 lead. The Muleriders offense would not go away quietly as they were able to scratch a run across with the bases loaded as
Tyler Abrego walked to cut into the lead, 9-7.
The Bronchos would score another run in the top of the ninth inning to seal the game for UCO as the Mulerider offense was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth falling by a final score of 10-7 in an offensive shootout that saw a combined six homeruns and 24 hits.
Top Performers:
Brandon Nicoll: 4-for-6, two runs scored
Trace Shoup: 2-for-4, one RBI, one homerun
Next Up:
The Muleriders will be back in action for their final game of the Henderson State Invitational Sunday, February 9th against the University of Central Oklahoma. First pitch is set for 1:30 PM. You can catch all the action on the Muleriders Athletics website with links to watch the game live and live stats.
