SAU Baseball ranked in the Top 15 nationally in pair of prominent polls

 

March 15, 2019



MAGNOLIA, Ark. – With the recent release of a pair of national Division II Baseball polls, the Southern Arkansas Muleriders now hold the No. 12 ranking in the country according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America and in the first weekly Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 Poll, SAU enters at No. 11 nationally. It is the second-consecutive Top 15 placement for the Muleriders this season.

Southern Arkansas (14-7, 9-3 GAC) has lost three of their past four games, but enters the weekend in good shape. SAU is currently second in the NCBWA's Central Region Top 10 and also holds a second-place ranking in the Great American Conference standings; one game back of Arkansas Tech.

In the NCBWA Top 25, Southern Arkansas is joined by Central Region foes No. 7 St. Cloud (12-2), No. T19 Missouri Southern (15-5), RV Central Oklahoma (12-6), RV Augustana (6-3), and RV Arkansas Tech (16-8).

The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, which released its preseason poll in mid-December and placed Southern Arkansas at No. 13, announced its first weekly poll of the season on Monday. The Muleriders, ranked No. 11 in the CBN Top 30, are the second-ranked Central Region team behind No. 6 St. Cloud State and are joined by familiar region foes No. 18 UCO, No. 23 Central Missouri, No. 27 Augustana and RV Missouri Southern.

As a team, the Muleriders are hitting .265 as a team and are led by three hitters with averages north of .300. Austin Baker (.384), Josh Walker (.333) and Brett McGee (.324) have all recorded a team-leading 15 RBI this season. Baker leads the team with 33 hits with McGee and Cooper King following with 24 and 23 hits, respectively.

The pitching staff owns a 4.93 ERA and has six pitchers with at least two wins. Matt Kortendick owns a 3-1 record and has five saves in 20.2 innings pitched. His ERA of 0.44 is a bullpen best and he has allowed just two extra base hits in 81 batters faced. The weekend rotation of Garrett Walker, Hunter Brantley and Tanner Vaught have combined for 92 strikeouts.

Southern Arkansas will look to bounce back in Great American Conference play as they host East Central (3-20, 3-8 GAC) this weekend from Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, while Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m. Live coverage links are available at http://www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

 

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