RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech baseball begins postseason play in Enid, Okla. on Saturday, against Southwestern Oklahoma State in the opening round of the 2019 Great American Conference Baseball Championships. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
GAME SCENARIOS
With a win, the Wonder Boys will advance to play the winner of No. 2 Southern Arkansas and No. 5 Oklahoma Baptist. Tech went 3-1 against the Muleriders and 1-2 against the Bison this season. With a loss, Arkansas Tech will play the winner of No. 1 Arkansas-Monticello and No. 6 Harding. Tech lost all three games to UAM and went 1-2 against HU this season.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live video and statistics for the entire GAC Championships are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Arkansas Tech leads the all-time series against Southwestern, 18-13. However, the Bulldogs swept the Wonder Boys this season, defeating Tech 7-5, 10-0 and 2-0 in Weatherford, Okla. Tech holds a 5-0 advantage over the Bulldogs in games played in the GAC Tournament, the most recent being a 9-5 Wonder Boy victory in an elimination game last season. Tech has a 10-15 record in the GAC tournament.
 
SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech (28-21, 20-12 GAC) has advanced to the GAC Championships for the eighth straight year, claiming the No. 3 seed. The Wonder Boys won seven of 11 three-game conference series this season, but are on a current two-game skid and have lost six of their last seven games.
 
Tech finished the regular season leading the GAC with a .329 team batting average, the fifth highest team batting average in program history. The Wonder Boys 544 hits this season is the fourth most in school history. Tristan Thomas leads the Wonder Boys with a .401 average, followed by Harry Gard (.398) and Riley Hickerson (.397). Over the weekend, Gard extended his hitting-streak to 31 games, the longest hitting-streak by a Wonder Boy since Tech joined the Great American Conference. Gard has also reached base safely in 33 straight games.
 
In the month of April, Tech hit .324 as a team, led by Patrick Miner's .460 average and Gard's .436 average. In that span, Tech's leaders in hits, RBIs and home runs were Miner (23), while Zack Kesterson (18) and Jonathon Arrieta (6), respectively.  
 
Isaac Hale leads Tech on the mound, finishing the regular season leading the GAC with eight wins. Hale posted an 8-2 record and a 3.98 earned-run average in 13 starts. Hale also held opposing batters to a .251 batting average. In the month of April, Hayes Cox appeared in four games, pitching 23.2 innings, while fanning 27 on his way to recording a 2-1 record.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Southwestern Oklahoma State (24-21, 20-13 GAC) tied with Oklahoma Baptist for fourth in the GAC regular season standings, but claimed the No. 4 seed by holding the tie-breaker. The Bulldogs finished the 2019 regular season on a six-game winning-streak and have also won eight of their last ten games. SWOSU swept Northwestern Oklahoma State in their season finale.
 
The Bulldogs hit .282 in the regular season, while Southwestern's opponents hit .294. Rafael Villela leads SWOSU with a .384 average, while Alex Bedard has registered team-highs in runs (59), hits (63), doubles (20), triples (5), slugging percentage (.568) and stolen bases (26). Alex Pimentel and Kannon McCune were the thorns in Tech's side earlier this season as they went a combined 14-for-24 from the plate with four runs scored and seven RBIs in the Bulldogs three-game sweep over Tech.

Tyler Tuck headlines the Southwestern starters with a 7-2 record and a 4.14 ERA. Cooper Cantwell has pitched a team-high 84.2 innings with a 6-4 record, and threw a four-hit shutout against Tech earlier this season. Tyler Barnett and Chase Hamilton have been reliable relievers for SWOSU this season as both sport ERAs below 1.50. Barnett has a 1.08 ERA in four appearances, while Hamilton has a 1.46 ERA in seven appearances.