Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Less than 18 hours after the Arkansas Tech baseball team got to celebrate a walk-off home run to defeat Southeastern Oklahoma, the Wonder Boys got to experience the feeling again, as Mark Vaughn lined a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to send his team to an 11-8 victory in the first game of Saturday's Great American Conference doubleheader at Tech Field before the Savage Storm came back to earn a 6-5 win in the nightcap.

After two quick outs in the ninth, Caleb McKinnon — who was making his first appearance after originally having the opener off — worked a 10-pitch at-bat into a walk, and John Lassiter drew a walk as well, moving pinch runner Rafiel Johnson up to second. With two outs on the scoreboard, leadoff hitter Vaughn got his chance to play hero, as he smashed the 1-1 offering into the bleachers in left field to set off a wild celebration for the second game in a row for the Wonder Boys (16-11, 5-6 GAC).

The scoring started off quickly in the opener, as the first three Tech batters of the day reached base, with Mark Vaughn singling on a hard-hit ball to the third baseman, Marcus Wilson working a full-count walk, and Kris Ayers getting hit by a pitch. With Patrick Castleberry at the plate, a wild pitch scored the game's first run, and Bryan Heward plated Wilson with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0. The Wonder Boys added another in the second, as Cole Fergus lifted his fourth home run of the year over the wall in right.

The Wonder Boys held that lead thanks to the work of starter Trent Armstrong, who didn't allow a hit over the first two frames, got out of a jam in the top of the third unscathed after allowing a pair of leadoff hits, and held Southeastern (10-12, 6-7 GAC) scoreless again in the fourth. Armstrong worked his way into the seventh inning, finishing his day with five hits, three runs, just two earned, two walks and two strikeouts over six innings of work.

Tech was able to tack on another run in the fourth, as Keenan Jumper was hit by a pitch leading off, was moved over by an Collin O'Neil sacrifice bunt, and came around to score when Cole Fergus blasted a ball to the wall in right center and legged out a triple, making it 4-0. The Storm finally got on the board with two runs in the fifth, but the Wonder Boys extended their lead again in the sixth, as O'Neil walked, Fergus doubled to right center and O'Neil came around to score on a Vaughn sac fly.

The Storm would battle its way to four runs in the top of the seventh, but the Wonder Boys would respond quickly, as Castleberry struck out but scampered to first on the dropped third strike. Heward followed, correcting a long foul ball down the left field line two pitches later with a homer that wrapped just inside the foul pole to make it 7-6. John Lassiter extended the lead in the eighth, starting off with a bunt single and coming around to score when Castleberry reached on an error to keep the inning alive. The run was crucial, as Southeastern scored twice in the ninth to tie it before Vaughn's bottom of the ninth heroics.

Ryan Vruggink picked up the win after working the final 2 1/3 innings, picking up four strikeouts—including two that ended innings with runners in scoring position—and just a pair of hits. Fergus went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, Vaughn had a pair of hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, and Heward posted three RBIs and a run to go along with his lone hit.

Saturday's evening series-ender appeared to be going much like Friday's opener, as Southeastern scored twice in the first and added another in the third to grab a 3-0 advantage that they held onto until the bottom of the fifth. There, Lassiter singled with one out, McKinnon reached on an error, and Lassiter scored on a balk. McKinnon moved up to second, and wound up scoring on an error that got Ayers on base, pulling the Wonder Boys within one. Still trailing in the bottom of the sixth in the seven-inning contest, Heward singled to start and scored on an O'Neil single, followed by Fergus launching his second triple of the day to drive in O'Neil and give the hosts their first lead. Fergus scored to make it a two-run advantage when the Storm catcher was called for obstruction trying to field a Lassiter bunt.

Southeastern would score two in the top of the seventh though, and Tech couldn't manage a third-straight miracle as the game went to extras, where the Storm scored once in the top of the eighth and held off the Wonder Boys in the bottom half.

McKinnon, Jumper and Heward each popped two hits in the second game of the day. Starter Aaron Johnson went 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs while striking out five. He settled down after the first to give the Wonder Boys a shot at their comeback.

Tech is back in action Tuesday evening, as they travel to Oklahoma Christian for a nonconference matchup at 6 p.m.