MAGNOLIA -- Redshirt sophomore catcher Zach Muldoon and the Southern Arkansas Muleriders defeated the eventual Division II baseball national champion Augustana last month only to lose the deciding game against the Vikings and watch them lift the trophy on Saturday as the victors of the Division II College World Series.
Southern Arkansas (41-19) was ranked No. 1 in the final NCAA Division II Central region rankings of the season after winning the Great American Conference Baseball Championship tournament in Enid, Okla. The ranking allowed the Muleriders to host the Magnolia Regional at home at Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field.
Augustana (52-9) entered the 2018 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship as the champion of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and with the least losses in the Central region, but the Vikings were seeded fifth among the eight teams. The Magnolia Regional included two teams from the Northern Sun, two GAC teams and four from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
The Vikings outscored their first three opponents in Magnolia, 22-12, but Southern Arkansas handed Augustana its only loss of the postseason, 5-3, in the first of two games on May 21. The Muleriders trailed, 3-1, until the seventh inning, when they scored one run, and they added three more in the eighth inning off of senior relief pitcher Zach Reeg (4-1), who had a 0.00 ERA through 25 previous innings across 19 appearances.
Augustana immediately jumped on the GAC Pitcher of the Year, Southern Arkansas senior Hunter Vasquez (6-6, 3.34), and stifled the Mulerider lineup in the second game. The Vikings advanced to the national championship finals with a 6-3 victory and did not lose during their week in North Carolina. Augustana defeated Columbus State (48-15), 3-2, on Saturday to win the program's first-ever national title at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
"It's just knowing that you're that close to taking the next step and try to push for a national title, that's what hurts the most," Muldoon said. "We fought all the way back through the loser's bracket, and we beat them one time, but we had to beat them again. How they are doing in the College World Series makes it hurt even more."
The season began with uncertainty for both Muldoon, of Lake Hamilton, and coach Justin Pettigrew, who is also a Lake Hamilton alum. Pettigrew entered his second season as head coach with the task of replacing a group led by All-American Trevor Rucker, who batted .393 and hit 20 home runs, from a 39-16 team in his first season.
Muldoon entered the season as the third string catcher. He said he did not expect to play in 48 games after playing in only five games and registering four at-bats as a redshirt freshman. He redshirted his first season on campus in 2015--16.
Arkansas Baptist College recruited Muldoon out of Lake Hamilton, and Arkansas-Monticello offered him a walk-on spot. Muldoon said he was excited about an offer from former Southern Arkansas coach Steve Browning.
"I said, 'Yes, I would love to come play for SAU,'" Muldoon said. "I really didn't have too many looks out of high school."
Pettigrew was the pitching coach for Southern Arkansas for 10 seasons before he became head coach. Muldoon said the coaching change was a smooth transition for him after he traveled with the team as the bullpen catcher in his first season.
Junior Kane Koenigseder, of Bentonville and a transfer from Connors State College, entered the year as the team's top catcher but suffered an arm injury in the preseason. Junior Jake Goodson, of Vilonia and a transfer from Seminole State College, split time with Muldoon early in the season. Goodson played in 16 games and started six.
"When that shot came, I just took it and ran with it, but I definitely could have been better prepared with my body and in better shape," Muldoon said.
Muldoon played in 48 games, started in 46, hit .275 in 142 at-bats, scored 25 runs and had 23 RBIs with four home runs. He led the lineup with 28 walks for an on-base percentage of .403, tied for third-best on the team, despite his batting average fluctuating throughout the season. He improved his average to .324 midway through April, but it fell to .260 early in the GAC tournament several weeks later.
"I lost my approach in the last two series against Arkansas Tech and UAM," Muldoon said. "I was really struggling with that. I just really saw the ball at the GAC Tournament, and I felt really confident in my swing.
"It was like something clicked. You have ups and downs throughout your season. Mine was toward the end of the season at Arkansas Tech, but I felt like I got better throughout the postseason."
Muldoon said something also clicked for the team after suffering back-to-back losses to Southern Nazarene (11-30, 7-25) early in the season, including a 14-1 loss in Magnolia on March 10. The Muleriders were 13-7 at the time and went 28-12 the rest of the way.
"There is a lot of stuff that could have distracted us," Muldoon said. "With me, it has never been a hard thing to cut out off the field time. My role on the team was to block everything. Don't let a ball get past me and make sure the pitchers are confident with you being behind the plate."
The Muleriders lost their first game in Enid but won four games in three days to win the tournament. Muldoon said they were still unsure of their postseason fate.
"As a team, we thought no way we were going to be able to host a regional with how our season went," Muldoon said. "Somehow, we ended up No. 1. It was a great feeling."
Southern Arkansas again lost its first game in the tournament, but it won five games over the next four games to set up the winner-take-all final with Augustana. Muldoon was 8-for-20, .400, in the first five games of the regional before the last two against Augustana.
"I don't know why we lose the first game," Muldoon said. "It would be a lot easier on all of us if we didn't, especially me, catching all of the games."
"For him to be able to catch seven games in the heat there in the regional tournament was pretty impressive," Pettigrew said.
Southern Arkansas will again have to replace several top players, including the GAC Player of the Year, third baseman Jacob Richardson. Top returners include leadoff sophomore second baseman Austin Baker, junior center fielder Dakota Wright, freshman shortstop Riley Orr and redshirt freshman left fielder Cole Boyd.
Pettigrew said Muldoon did an "outstanding job" in his first feature season. He said he told Muldoon he exceeded the coach's expectations.
"He has a lot of talent," Pettigrew said. "He is going to have to continue to work to be a guy that is going to be first-team all-conference, first-team all-region and, if possible, All-American.
"I think he has gotten a little bit of a taste of that, what it is like to be an every day guy that is counted on in a lineup of top 15 program in the country. I am looking forward to what he is going to be able to do next year because he was outstanding."
Muldoon said he hopes to be stronger mentally and physically with the prospect of being the team's starting catcher again in 2019.
"I took a lot of ice baths," Muldoon said. "I am really thankful for our trainer, Marcus (Wyatt). He would stretch me out before every game, and he would stay with me every practice and let me get ice baths. It's a real strain on your body. I am going to work on it this summer, making sure my body is more prepared for it. I'll work more toward it in the fall."
Sports on 06/07/2018