RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Wonder Boys baseball begins the second weekend of Great American Conference play on Friday, hosting Northwestern Oklahoma for a three-game series. Arkansas Tech takes on the Rangers on Friday at 7 p.m., before finishing the weekend with a doubleheader set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live statistics, audio and video for all three games are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Arkansas Tech is 10-2 against Northwestern Oklahoma State, dating back to 2013. The Wonder Boys won two of three games last season.
 
SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech (5-6, 3-0 GAC) are 3-0 in the GAC for the first time since 2014, and Tech is currently one of just three teams coming off a sweep in the conference's opening weekend. The Wonder Boys followed the series victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State with a 12-4 loss to Missouri Southern on Tuesday.
 
The Wonder Boys are fourth in the conference with a .258 team batting average and third with 66 runs scored this season. Defensively, Tech has the fourth lowest opponent batting average in the GAC.
 
Zach Klockowski paces the Wonder Boys with a .385 batting average, seventh-best in the conference. Klockowski is first in the conference in runs batted in and total bases, while ranking second in slugging percentage and home runs. Dylan McDearmon follows with a .351 batting average and a team-high five doubles.
 
Trent Armstrong has posted a team-best 2.55 earned-run average in 17.2 innings this season, while Kyle Wilson leads the Wonder Boys with 14 strikeouts. Wilson is coming off a complete-game victory over last season's regular-season conference champions, striking out 12 batters over seven scoreless innings.
 
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma State (4-8, 1-2 GAC) enters the weekend after splitting a midweek doubleheader with Oklahoma Christian on Tuesday. The Rangers also drop two of three games to Harding last weekend to open place in the GAC.
 
The Rangers are batting .209 as a team this season, 12^th in the conference. NWOSU leads the GAC, however, with 20 stolen bases on 26 attempts. Nathan Kane leads the Rangers with a .350 batting average and six steals. Arturo Castro is hitting .316 so far this season, while he and Jorin Van Amstel lead the team with five runs batted in each.
 
Matt Bickford has appeared in five games, striking out a team-high 14 batters in 12.1 innings. Bickford has posted a 2.92 earned-run average, while Brandon Colbert leads the Rangers with 14.1 innings and has recorded a 7.53 ERA this season.