Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers lost their first two conference games of the season on Sunday, losing to the Southern Arkansas Muleriders 8-0 and 9-7. Reuben Miller led the Tigers with three runs batted in on the day.
 
In game one, both teams were held scoreless through the first six innings. SAU's Landon Simpson went the distance for the Muleriders (17-9, 7-4 GAC), earning the complete-game shutout while striking out 10 batters.
 
Connor Reed started on the mound for Ouachita and allowed only two hits until the seventh inning. In the seventh, six consecutive Muleriders reached base safely. Southern Arkansas recorded only one hit in the inning but scored two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Reed was then replaced by Tripp Cecil, who pitched the final two innings.
 
SAU built on its lead in the eighth, scoring two runs on two hits. The Muleriders then added four runs in the top of the ninth on four hits and one error to increase their lead to eight. Simpson then recorded three consecutive outs to secure the win for Southern Arkansas.
 
Will Wallace led the team with two hits in the game, while Parker Norris and Matt Sinclair were the only other two batters to record a hit. Despite only giving up three hits and two runs, Reed was handed his first loss of the season.
 
Ouachita took a commanding lead early in the second game, when Norris led off the bottom of the first inning with a single to right field. After Jace Melby singled and Wallace was hit by a pitch, Miller singled to right field to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead. Sinclair immediately followed with another single to score Wallace, and Preston Speers later hit a two-run single to put Ouachita head 5-0.
 
The Tigers recorded six hits in the inning before SAU's Hunter Mayo was replaced by Colton Strother and the Muleriders finally got out of the inning.
 
After a five-run first inning, Ouachita scored one run in the second when a sacrifice bunt by Miller allowed Justin Weigle to score from third. SAU joined in on the scoring in the fourth inning, scoring one run on one hit. John Franklin Matros, who started at pitcher for the Tigers, struck out the third out, however, leaving two Muleriders on base.
 
Ouachita responded in the bottom of the fourth with a run that came on a single to left center field by Wallace. Melby scored the lone run in the inning for the Tigers, after he singled to right center and stole second base.
 
Matros held Southern Arkansas scoreless in the fifth inning but allowed three consecutive batters to reach base in the top of the sixth. Lance Cullum then came in to pitch for Ouachita but two hit batters, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly allowed SAU to bring the score to 7-4 with one inning to play.
 
In the top of the seventh, Cullum allowed four hits and walked one batter which allowed Southern Arkansas to score five runs and take a 9-7 lead. Josh Reeves then replaced Cullum and recorded the third out after walking one batter.
 
In the bottom of the final inning, Wallace reached first after being hit by a pitch, and Miller moved him to second with a single. A double play would end the game, however, and the Muleriders stole the victory.
 
Matros was on the mound for five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) and six walks. He struck out six batters. Cullum was handed the loss for the Tigers, allowed five runs (four earned).
 
Strother earned the win for SAU, and Travis Johnson picked up his third save after pitching for the final inning.
 
For the day, Wallace had a team-high four hits, batting 4-6 with one run and one RBI. Miller went 2-4 in the two games, scoring one run and hitting in three RBI. Melby led the team with two runs scored.
 
The Tigers (10-7, 6-2 GAC) will play the Muleriders again on Tuesday, March 17, in a midweek, nonconference game. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Ouachita will then travel to Monticello, Ark. for a three-game series against the University of Arkansas at Monticello. That series will begin on Friday, March 20, with the first game beginning at 2 p.m.