ARKADELPHIA – A pair of crooked-number innings was the difference in Tuesday's non-conference matchup between Ouachita Baptist University and No. 15 Southern Arkansas University with the Tigers falling by a final score of 5-4 at home.
The Muleriders (15-7) scored three in the fifth inning and two in the seventh to account for their run production. Otherwise, the Tigers (12-8) held the preseason favorite in the league scoreless on just two hits in the other seven frames of Tuesday's game at Rab Rodgers Field.
Ouachita opened the scoring with a crooked number of its own in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI groundout by
Dustin Bermudez followed by an RBI single from
Isaac Nowell. The Tigers got one more across in the fifth on a squeeze bunt by Bermudez, and then finalized the scoring by cutting the deficit down to just one run in the seventh with an RBI groundout by
G. Allen to score
Jud Arrington, who doubled to lead off the inning.
Arrington turned in Ouachita's only multi-hit game with a 2-for-3 day at the plate. The two through five spots in the lineup all accounted for one hit each in the loss.
Cade Crossland and
Jacob Bowman each had quality outings on the mound. Crossland kept SAU scoreless on just one hit with six strikeouts in the first four innings in his no-decision. Bowman tossed two shutout innings to close the game, only giving up one hit, but still facing the minimum number of batters after picking off the only SAU player to get on base during his time on the bump.
The Tigers hit the road this weekend to take on East Central University in a three-game Great American Conference series in Ada, Oklahoma.
