ENID, Okla. –Southern Arkansas' Jon Mark Abbey threw the second complete-game shutout in the two-year history of the Great American Conference Baseball Championships and the Muleriders eliminated Henderson State with a 7-0 victory on Monday from David Allen Memorial Ballpark.
Abbey held the Reddies’ offense to five hits. He allowed only one walk in his 104-pitch effort. He improved to 8-3 and threw his sixth complete game of 2013. Abbey joined Southeastern Oklahoma State's Brandon Marris as the only pitchers in GAC Baseball Championship history to record a complete-game shutout.
Box Score
Offensively, Brady Capshaw and Chris Quinn led the way for SAU (38-15). Capshaw drove in three runs and Quinn scored four times. The Muleriders notched single-run tallies in both the first and third innings as Quinn scored both times.
In the seventh inning, the Muleriders broke the game open thanks to a three-run rally. With one out, Jason Dahl singled; a pitch hit Quinn and David Harris walked. Dahl came home on a wild pitch and one out later, catcher Ryan Dardenne delivered his first hit of the GAC Championships, a double, that plated Quinn and Harris.
The best scoring threat for Henderson State (24-27) came in its half of the seventh inning. The Reddies put together a two-out rally when Ben Wainwright singled and Austin Coble doubled. Abbey retired Michael Schell on a comebacker to the mound.
The Muleriders capped the scoring with two runs in the ninth. Capshaw doubled in Quinn and Harris. Through three GAC Championship games, Capshaw has recorded five of the team’s 13 RBI and he owns a .400 batting average.
Southern Arkansas will face Arkansas-Monticello at 7 p.m. tonight with a berth in the tournament final up for grabs.