RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas Tech baseball will open the 2018 season this weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas, as the Wonder Boys compete in the 2018 Air Hogs Division II Classic. The Wonder Boys will play in four games, beginning with a 4 p.m. contest against Angelo State on Thursday, Feb. 1.
Tech will follow its first game of the season with a Friday game against Central Oklahoma at 4 p.m. The Wonder Boys will then take on Emporia State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, before closing the tournament with a 10 a.m. contest with Washburn on Sunday. All four games will be played at the Ballpark in Grand Prairie. Live statistics are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
The Wonder Boys are coming off a 2017 season that ended with a 34-21 record overall and 24-9 record in Great American Conference action. Arkansas Tech finished second in the GAC regular season standings, before reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Seven of nine players from Tech's primary starting lineup in 2017 return for this season. All-region selection Dylan McDearmon returns after ranking seventh in the GAC with a .354 batting average last season. McDearmon led the Wonder Boys in batting average, runs scored, doubles and total bases. Korey Thompson hit .307 in 2017, and Mark Vaughn started 53 of 55 games while posting a .291 average.
Isaac Hale's 49.2 innings in 2017 are the most by a returning pitcher this season. Hale finished last season with a 4-5 record and 4.17 earned-run average. Cody Wescott spent time in the field and on the mound for the Wonder Boys last year, batting .276 with 14 doubles and maintaining a 3.14 earned-run average in 14.1 innings pitched.
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