RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Tech baseball team suffered a pair of losses to Henderson State in a weather-delayed doubleheader start to a three-game Great American Conference series, falling 8-6 in the opener before dropping an 8-3 decision in the nightcap Saturday evening at Tech Field.

The Wonder Boys (4-9, 0-5 GAC) saw Keenan Jumper post a 5-for-6 day at the plate, cracking a pair of doubles, while Mark Vaughn chipped in with three hits and Kris Ayers added two hits, two runs and three RBIs.

The No. 13 Reddies (8-1, 4-1 GAC) pushed out to a 2-0 lead quickly in the first game, getting single runs in the first and third innings, but Tech answered with a vengeance in the bottom half of the third. Marcus Wilson started things off with a one-out double, followed by a double down the left field line from Vaughn. Bryan Heward's flyout was the second out of the inning, but deep enough to plate Wilson to pull within one. Ayers followed with a two-run double, pushing across Patrick Castleberry and Vaughn to push the Wonder Boys ahead 3-2. Collin O'Neil reached on an error, after which Jumper and Blake Owen added back-to-back singles to finish a complete turn through the lineup for Tech, during which it blasted five hits and scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead.

Henderson tied it with three runs in the top of the fifth, but the Wonder Boys manufactured a run in the sixth to go back in front, as John Lassiter picked up an infield single, stole second, was pushed up to third on a deep fly ball out from Wilson, and scored when the Reddies couldn't turn a double play to end the frame. That lead would be short-lived though, as Henderson tied it again in the seventh then took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the eighth.

The two sides were locked in a tight one for nearly all of the second game of the doubleheader, as it was Cody Jones vs. Cody Jones in a matchup of two of the better pitchers on either team. The Wonder Boys got started quickly, snapping Henderson's Jones' streak of 13 innings without allowing an earned run in the first inning, when Heward's single up the middle scored Cole Fergus to let Tech take a 1-0 lead. The Reddies plated three in the third inning, but Tech answered in the bottom half, as back-to-back doubles from Fergus and Ayers scored one run, followed by a single by Jumper. When Henderson muffed an Owen grounder, it allowed Ayers to race home with the tying run.

The Wonder Boys couldn't get much going after that though, managing only two hits the rest of the way in the seven-inning contest. The Reddies went ahead 4-3 in the sixth, and they tagged on four insurance runs in the top of the seventh to make a Tech comeback that much harder.

Jones put forth a solid effort for the Wonder Boys, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out seven over five innings of work. In the opener, Nate Rutherford went a perfect five outs to finish off the game, striking out two. Geofferey Birkemeier tossed three innings, with four strikeouts and a lone run against him.

The Wonder Boys and Reddies return to action Sunday at noon back at Tech Field for the finale of their three-game set.