RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – After pulling off a big upset over top-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma (33-15) in Weatherford, Oklahoma this past weekend, the No. 8 seed Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys baseball team (23-28) will travel to Arkadelphia for the next round of games in the Great American Conference Tournament this week.
 
The Wonder Boys will open the tournament on Thursday, May 12 against No. 4 seed and host institution Henderson State (29-23) at Clyde Berry Field. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
 
Tech is coming off two of its biggest wins of the season in the opening round of the GAC Tournament. The Wonder Boys defeated Southwestern Oklahoma 5-3 in the opening game of the series on May 6 before finishing off the Bulldogs 13-6 in the second game on May 7.
 
In the opening game, Wonder Boys ace Zach Skelton outdueled Bulldogs ace Jon Chidester to help lead the Wonder Boys to victory. Skelton gave up just three earned runs in 7-2/3 innings pitched. Skelton got out of jams the entire game, as he allowed four hits and seven walks, but struck out 10 batters to get out of multiple jams against one of the most prolific offenses in the GAC during the game.
 
With the game tied up at 2-2 in the sixth inning, Josh Watkins hit a two-RBI triple to left center to give the Wonder Boys the 4-2 lead. Watkins finished the game 2-for-4 from the plate with a pair of RBIs and a run scored.
 
The second game of the series provided a lot more offense, but a late push went in Tech's favor. After falling behind 6-2 through the first five innings, the Wonder Boys scored 11 unanswered runs through the final four frames to come away with the victory.
 
In the seventh inning down 6-5, Seth Wheeler hit a clutch two-out, two-RBI single to right field that gave the Wonder Boys the lead for good at 7-6. In the very next at-bat, Marcus Wilson crushed a three-run home run to left center to expand the lead to 10-6. Collin O'Neil added a pair of insurance runs with RBI singles in the eighth and ninth inning to put the game away.
 
The 13 runs the Wonder Boys scored was the second-most this season and the first time Tech had scored double-digit runs since a 13-2 win over Ouachita Baptist back on February 20. The 15 hits recorded was the third-most by Tech this season and the most since an 8-4 win over Southeastern Oklahoma on March 26.
 
Wilson led the Wonder Boys with a 3-for-6 day from the plate, hitting a home run to go with four RBIs and four runs scored. O'Neil also finished 3-for-6 from the plate with two RBIs, and Parker O'Dell and Connor Brady each tallied two hits and two runs apiece.
 
Live stats and video for the Wonder Boys' games in the GAC Tournament will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com.