MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The East Central University baseball team lost the series finale against No. 2 ranked Southern Arkansas University on Saturday in Magnolia, Arkansas.
 
The game was tight in the early going as ECU broke through against the Muleriders to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. 
 
Mason Glowacki led off with a walk and, with two outs, scored on an RBI triple down the right-field line by Nolan Herchock. Herchock then scampered home on a throwing error to score the second Tiger run.
 
ECU starting pitcher Carson Thomas held the Muleriders scoreless through three innings, giving the Tigers a chance to add to their lead in the fourth. With one out, Dawerlyn Amancio singled, and Kyle Busker's RBI double plated Amancio to push the lead to 3-0. 
 
In the home half of the fourth, the Muleriders were able to break open the game with a big, two-out rally to score 10 runs on 6 hits, 4 walks, and one Tiger error.
 
SAU scored two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to extend their lead before the Tigers got two runs back in the seventh. Nick Blankenship led off with a single, and Nolan Herchock doubled to get both runners in scoring position. Duncan Key and Tanner Collins had back-to-back sacrifice flies to drive in the runs for ECU. 
 
The Muleriders would get a 2-run homer in the eighth to close out the game for a final score of 15-5. 
 
Nolan Herchock led the Tigers' attack at the plate, getting three hits with an RBI. Dawerlyn Amancio and Kyle Busker had two hits each, while Nick Blankenship added a hit. 
 
Carson Thomas took the loss on the mound for ECU, going 3 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs on five hits, five walks, and three strikeouts. Caleb Dent threw 3 2/3 innings in relief, giving up seven runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts.