MEMPHIS—No. 4 Southern Arkansas scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back as they rolled to a 17-4 win over the Christian Brothers University Bucs Saturday afternoon, all but clinching a Gulf South Conference Tournament berth.

The Muleriders (36-7, 14-1 GSC West) loaded the bases with none out in the first inning, and Brandon Graves hit a bases-clearing double off the fence in center to give SAU a quick lead.  Graves later scored to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Muleriders tacked on two more in the second before the Bucs (8-28, 0-12) scored when Caleb Burrow (Bartlett, Tenn./Bartlett HS) grounded into a force play to score Joseph Kaminski (Sherwood, Ark./Little Rock Catholic HS), who had the first of three straight singles for the Bucs.

After scoring once in the fifth, SAU put it on ice in the sixth, scoring nine runs before an out was made as they ran away to a 17-1 lead.

The Bucs scored three in the bottom half of the inning to set the final margin.  Alan Wright (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) hit a one-out single, and a Josh Shelton (Rosemark, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) double put runners on second and third.  Will Britt (Oxford, Miss./Oxford HS) drove in a run with a groundout in his final at-bat on Senior Day, and Kaminski launched a two-run homer into the parking lot in left-center.

Kaminski pitched the seventh inning, retiring the side on two groundouts and a flyout in his first college appearance on the mound.

The Bucs close out their home schedule Tuesday afternoon as they take on Lyon for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.