WEATHERFORD, Okla. — Picking up 16 hits from its offense — including a 4-for-5 day from Patrick Castleberry — and a complete-game effort from starter Trent Armstrong, the Arkansas Tech baseball team got off to a fast start with a 9-4 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma in the first game of a three-game Great American Conference series Friday afternoon.

Castleberry added two RBIs and a pair of runs scored, leading a lineup that saw Caleb McKinnon go 3-for-4 and Mark Vaughn, Bryan Heward and Cole Fergus all chip in two hits and two RBIs for the Wonder Boys (21-17, 8-10 GAC). Armstrong tossed 129 pitches to go the distance in the nine-inning affair, spreading around 10 hits while allowing four runs, just two of them earned, and striking out three as the Wonder Boys turned back the Bulldogs (16-21, 9-13 GAC).

Singles by Heward and Castleberry in the top of the first didn't result in any scoring for Tech, but it didn't take long to change that in the top of the second. Keenan Jumper reached on an error to lead off the frame and was sacrificed over to second by Collin O'Neil. McKinnon singled then stole second to get a pair in scoring position with one out, and after a Rafiel Johnson walk, Vaughn shot a single back up the middle to plate a pair. Heward followed with a sac fly to right to push Johnson across and give the guests a 3-0 lead. After reaching on his second single of the day to start the third, Castleberry came around to score after a Fergus double and a throwing error to make it 4-0.

As the Tech offense was getting to work, Armstrong was holding SWOSU's at bay, getting through a perfect first inning, picking up a double play to help in the second and watching as Fergus cut down a runner trying to score to end the third. The hosts got a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, with a couple groundballs and Jumper throwing out an attempted steal ending the threat. Heward's seventh home run of the season got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth, and Armstrong worked through two quick innings to keep it 5-1 heading to the seventh.

There, Heward drew a one-out walk, followed by back-to-back singles from Kris Ayers and Castleberry to increase the Wonder Boys lead once again. Southwestern scored two in the bottom half of the frame, and a scoreless eighth by both sides took it to the final inning with Tech leading 6-4. A leadoff double from Vaughn looked as if it was going to be wasted after the next two Wonder Boys struck out, but an RBI single from Castleberry and a two-run homer by Fergus gave Tech a five-run lead that Armstrong easily held onto to close out the victory.

The Wonder Boys and Bulldogs are back in action with a doubleheader starting at noon Saturday to close out the GAC series.