SAU rides offense to advance in NCAA Division II regional

MAGNOLIA — Southern Arkansas won, 11-5, an elimination game for the second day in a row Saturday, advancing in the loser’s bracket of the Magnolia Regional past St. Cloud State.

The Muleriders (38-18) had 17 hits and earned four walks en route to 11 runs at Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field. Senior Kenneth Tabor allowed five runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts in eight innings. Redshirt freshman Hunter Lewis threw a scoreless ninth inning to seal the win.

St. Cloud State (30-17) lost to Central Missouri (38-15),

15-0, on Friday to move into the loser’s bracket. Southern Arkansas lost, 8-6, to Emporia State (33-22) to start the tournament on Thursday, but advanced on Friday with a 5-1 victory against Pittsburg State

(33-20).

St. Cloud took an early

2-0 lead on Saturday, but the Muleriders answered with two runs in the second inning and four more in the third. Another run for the visitors in the fourth inning made the score

6-3. Southern Arkansas scored again in the fifth inning before pulling away with four runs in the sixth.

Redshirt sophomore Zach Muldoon, of Lake Hamilton, and leadoff second baseman Austin Baker led the Muleriders at the plate, each hitting 4-for-5. Baker had one RBI, while Muldoon had two RBIs and one run scored. The team is coached by Justin Pettigrew, who is also a graduate of Lake Hamilton.

Southern Arkansas is scheduled to face Central Oklahoma (37-20) at noon today. Augustana (46-8) and Central Missouri met Saturday night to move into Monday’s finals. The loser will meet the winner of Southern Arkansas and Central Oklahoma later today.