RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech baseball travels to Monticello, Ark. this weekend to play in its final road games of the regular season. The Wonder Boys will face off against No. 13 Arkansas-Monticello. The series will begin with a nine-inning game on Friday, April 19 at 3 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20 scheduled to start at noon.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live video and statistics for all three games are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Arkansas Tech holds a 106-47 advantage in the all-time series against Arkansas-Monticello. However, UAM has won five of the last eight meetings. Last season, Tech took two of the three games, defeating the Boll Weevils 3-1 and 15-7 but falling 16-4.
 
SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech (27-16, 19-8 GAC) has lost three of its last five games, however two of those three losses came in nonconference play. Sandwiched in between nonconference losses to Central Missouri and Pittsburg State, the Wonder Boys took two of three from Southern Arkansas. Tech defeated SAU 7-6 in the opener, fell 14-3 in game two and won 12-5 in the finale. By winning the series, Tech passed Southern Arkansas to move into second in the GAC standings. The Wonder Boys hold a half game advantage over the Muleriders and trail UAM by two games for first.
 
The Wonder Boys have positioned themselves as one of the better hitting teams in all of NCAA Division II as they rank fourth in the country in hits (470) and 14^th in team batting average (.332). Tech is also averaging 8.07 runs per game, which is the second-best in the GAC. However, the magic number for Tech this season has been six as the Wonder Boys are 25-2 this season when they score six or more runs.
 
Senior Dylan McDearmon has been a focal point for the Tech offense. McDearmon is batting .382 on the season and leads the GAC in runs (50), ranks third in doubles (14), fourth in slugging percentage (.655), fifth in home runs (10) and sixth in RBIs (38). After a 2-for-4 performance against Pittsburg State, McDearmon passed Mark Vaughn (2012-18) for eighth all-time in school history and for third all-time in GAC history in career hits with 201.
 
Harry Gard has also been swinging a hot bat as he has eight hits in his lasts 15 at-bats. Gard is tied for the team-lead with a .401 batting average and also carries two active streaks into the weekend. Gard has reached base safely in 27 straight games and also has an active 25-game hitting-streak.
 
Britt Stroth is coming off a great week, as he has tallied nine hits and scored nine runs over the last four games. Stroth ranks second in the GAC in runs (49) and third in hits (58).
 
SCOUTING THE BOLL WEEVILS
No. 13 Arkansas-Monticello (26-11, 20-5 GAC) enters the weekend having lost three of its last five games. The Boll Weevils took two of three games from Henderson State this past weekend, but are coming off an 8-2 midweek loss to No. 24 Delta State. UAM sits atop the GAC standings, two games ahead of the Wonder Boys.
 
Arkansas-Monticello is averaging a shade under seven runs a game (6.94), while holding opponents to 4.97 runs per game. The trio of David Reyna, John Mauldin and Kaleb Ward lead the Boll Weevil offense. Reyna ranks fourth in the conference in batting average (.391) and second in slugging percentage (.693), while Mauldin ranks fifth in the GAC in home runs (10) and Ward ranks seventh in RBIs (36). UAM also ranks third in the league in extra-base hits with 130, five Boll Weevils have hit ten or more doubles this season.
 
UAM leads the conference in strikeouts (314) and ranks second in team ERA (4.62). Matt Lundh, Hunter Huckabee and Peyton Sullivan headline the Arkansas-Monticello pitching rotation. Both Huckabee and Sullivan have started nine games apiece, while Lundh has eight starts and boasts a 5-0 record. Lundh's 65 strikeouts is second-best in the GAC and his 2.23 ERA is fourth-best. Huckabee in 4-0 with a 4.31 ERA, Sullivan is 3-3 with a 4.46 ERA. Ojani Chacon has pitched 37.1 innings out of the bullpen in 14 appearances with a 2.17 ERA. Ojani ranks third in the GAC in both ERA and opposing team batting average (.205).