WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Baseball saw a 5-0 lead slip away in a 9-6 loss to Southern Arkansas in Saturday's rubber match, giving the Muleriders a 2-1 series victory.
 
The Bulldogs controlled the game early. Garrett Folmar held SAU to one hit across five scoreless innings, backed by a run in the first and a four-run third that built a 5-0 advantage.
 
Southern Arkansas finally broke through on Folmar in the sixth. With two outs, the Muleriders strung together four hits to cut the lead to 5-3. Another two-out RBI — a pinch-hit triple in the seventh — made it 5-4 before SAU took the lead for good in the eighth.
 
In for Folmar in a fresh eighth inning, Kaegan Baker (L, 1-5) recorded two quick outs before the inning unraveled. A walk and back-to-back singles tied the game, and after a pitching change, two more singles gave SAU the lead. A double added an insurance run, pushing the margin to 8-5.
 
SWOSU threatened in the bottom half of the inning. A bases-loaded walk brought in a run, but a ground ball double play following a pitching change ended the rally.
 
Southern Arkansas added another run in the ninth. The Bulldogs brought the tying run to the plate in their final at-bat but could not complete the comeback.
 
SWOSU finished with nine hits — seven coming in the first three innings — while SAU totaled 13, including 12 from the sixth inning on.
 
Zach Makarewich drove in the game's first run with a groundout in the opening inning, scoring Landon Meyer. Meyer (1-for-3) also helped spark the third inning, reaching on a walk before SWOSU strung together four hits to score four runs and build the early lead.
 
Kotaro Wakui, Nolan McCrossin, and Keaton Fisher each recorded two hits. Wakui and McCrossin both doubled.
 
The loss drops SWOSU to 15-15 overall and 7-11 in GAC play. The Bulldogs return home Tuesday to face Science & Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) before traveling to East Central for conference play next weekend.