MONTICELLO, Ark. - The University of Arkansas at Monticello baseball team is set to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas to compete in the second weekend of Great American Conference Championships play. The No. 1 seeded Boll Weevils will take on the rival No. 5 seeded Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University for the opening game of the double elimination tournament.

The opening game of the tournament will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 9.

All games will be live streamed on the GAC Sports Network and will have live stats available throughout the entirety of the weekend. Both are available as clickable links on the 2024 baseball schedule at uamsports.com.

ATTENDANCE
Day passes for the tournament can be purchased online through ticketreturn.com. VIP Admission will be $10 a ticket for each day of the event. Those hold a GAC pass will get free admission to the games.

Dickey-Stephens Park is a cashless facility, and the Travelers have a clear bag policy for all events For more info, please visit https://www.milb.com/arkansas/ballpark/know-before-you-go.  

UAM vs. SAU HISTORY
Heading into the tournament, the all-time series between Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas leans towards the Muleriders, with SAU holding a 119-47 record over the Weevils. Since joining the Great American Conference in 2012, Monticello has a record of 17-22 in conference match-ups against Southern Arkansas. At Weevils Field, the record is split 10-12 UAM since joining the conference.

Earlier this season, UAM won the series against SAU, take game one of the series, and splitting day two, winning the final game in walk-off fashion 1-0.

The largest margin of victory came on April 29, 2017 when UAM reigned victorious in a 15-4 victory in game three of their conference series. The Weevils would drop the series 2-1.

PREVIEW
Heading into tournament play, (#1) Arkansas-Monticello (29-21) and (#5) Southern Arkansas (30-18) are heading in the tournament as the 1st and 5th seeds in the Great American Conference Tournament. The Boll Weevils are coming off a 2-1 series win over (#8) Oklahoma Baptist this past weekend, during the opening round of the GAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Muleriders are heading into Thursday after a two game sweep over (#4) Henderson State.

In terms of offensive showcase, UAM is third in the conference with a team batting average of .302. SAU trails in tenth, with an overall batting average of .276. When it comes to fire power at the plate, the Weevils prevail over the Muleriders in multiple categories. Monticello has a 104-86 advantage on doubles, a 63-59 lead in home runs, and a .494 slugging percentage compared to Southern Arkansas' .465.

Monticello sits at first in the conference for least amount of strikeouts with only 292, while Southern Arkansas is sitting at sixth with 370 heading into the weekend.

On the bump, UAM has the fifth lowest ERA in the GAC with a 5.64 throughout the 2024 season. SAU sits at first in the conference with a 4.37 ERA among their staff so far this year.

OFFENSIVE SHOWCASE
• Redshirt Freshman Camden Tanner leads the offense for Monticello, holding a conference leading .409 average throughout the year. Tanner also leads the team in slugging percentage with a .710, hitting a team-high of 72 hits, including 14 doubles and 13 home runs. He also leads UAM in On-base percentage with a .507.
• Newcomer Aidan Garrett has proven a big part of the Boll Weevil offense, boasting a .322 average on the year. Garrett has five doubles and 11 home runs, while holding a .577 slugging and a .442 on-base percentages.
• Kirk Woolf has also made a name in the Boll Weevil's offense, with a .310 average on the year. Woolf has 11 doubles, eight home runs, and one triple on the year, while holding a .570 slugging and a .462 on-base percentages.
• The Muleriders' top three hitters are Trace Shoup, Brandon Nicholl, and Will Richardson. Among the three are 30 doubles, 29 home runs, and five triple's throughout Southern Arkansas' 2024 campaign.

PITCHING SHOWCASE
• Connor Irvine has the lowest ERA of starters on the Boll Weevil staff, boasting a 3.73 on the year. Irvine has a 8-1 record on the season with 77 strikeouts through 82.0 innings pitched in 2024.
• Charles Peacock has the second lowest ERA of the weekend starters with a 6.24 on the year. Peacock has a 3-4 record on the season with 88 strikeouts through 57.2 innings.
• Southern Arkansas is lead by Tim Ruffino and Jeremy Adorno. Ruffino holds a 3.15 ERA with a 4-3 record on the year while striking out 38. Adorno has a 5-5 record through 14 starts with 95 strikeouts and a 4.41 ERA.

All live streams and live stats will be available as clickable links on the UAM Baseball schedule.

How to follow the Weevils: For more information on Arkansas-Monticello Weevils Baseball, visit www.uamsports.com and follow the team's social media channels by searching "Weevils Baseball" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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