MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (13-8, 8-4) are set to host their first midweek at home against the fourth-ranked University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (19-5, 19-5).
Series History
The Muleriders currently lead the all-time series history against the Patriots with a 3-2 record overall. The first meeting between the two teams came on March 16th, 2021, a 5-4 Muleriders victory. SAU has won the last two meetings with their most recent win coming on April 23rd, 2024, a 9-3 victory for the Blue and Gold.
A Look at SAU
The Muleriders are coming off their first conference series sweep of the season collecting three wins against Ouachita with two of them coming in walk-off fashion. In game one of the series the Muleriders went into the bottom of the ninth inning down two runs looking for a comeback.
Brandon Nicoll played hero in game one crushing a grand slam over the left field wall to claim game one for the Muleriders. In game two of the doubleheader,
Beau Leonards was the star for SAU having himself a career night. Leonards threw a seven-inning complete game surrendering two runs but no earned while fanning 13 hitters and walking one. His 13 strikeouts and seven innings pitched were both career highs. Leonards also earned GAC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance. Game three of the series was another thriller as the Muleriders faced a similar situation to game one being down two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. This time
Jayden Hill played hero for the Blue and Gold as he doubled down the right field line with the bases juiced to win the game and clinch the series sweep for the Muleriders.
Lee Matsuzaki currently leads the SAU offense with his .367 batting average and 10 doubles this season. Lee also leads the team in hits with 33 and total bases with 54.
Jaden Woolbright is second on the team with his .347 batting average and tied for second on the team with 26 hits. The SAU offense currently has seven hitter batting over a .300 batting average.
Austin Adair leads the pitching staff for the Muleriders with a 6-0 record and a 2.00 ERA. Meanwhile,
Jeremy Adorno leads the Muleriders in strikeouts with 41 followed closely behind by
Beau Leonards with 32.
A Look at UT-Tyler
The Patriots are currently the number four ranked team in the country by DII baseball and the seventh-ranked team by the NCBWA. UT-Tyler is coming off of a 2-2 weekend in Lone Star Conference play that saw them split the series with No. 21 ranked West Texas A&M. The Patriots lost the first game of the series then picked up two wins in the doubleheader on Sunday but dropped their final meeting Monday by a score of 8-9. Despite their struggles this weekend, the Patriots hold a 19-5 overall record tabbing them as a top-five team in the country.
Drew Schmidt leads the Patriots offense with his .465 batting average and 40 total hits through 24 games played and started this season along with four triples. Justin Williams is currently second on the team with his .414 batting average and is tied with Schmidt for the RBI lead with 23 RBIs each. Conner Clark rounds out the list of Patriots hitting at .400 or above this season as he has collected 28 hits and two home runs this season.
Broadcast Information
You can catch all the action streaming live or by following live stats on the Mulerider Athletic website. For links to all games this weekend click
here.
