RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – After a weekend off, the Arkansas Tech baseball team is set to return to the diamond this weekend and will take on both teams that reside in Arkadelphia, Ouachita and Henderson State as part of the HSU/Ouachita Invitational.
Originally, the Wonder Boys were supposed to play Southern Arkansas in addition to Ouachita and Henderson State, but inclement weather forecasts in the region prompted a schedule adjustment to the weekend.
Now, the Wonder Boys' second weekend of action in 2021 will feature a doubleheader at Ouachita on Friday, February 12 starting at noon and a single game at Henderson State on Saturday, February 13. Both games of the Ouachita doubleheader will be 7-inning games.
The Wonder Boys will be coming into the weekend with a 1-2 record overall after winning one of three games in the opening weekend at the Houston Winter Invitational. There, the Wonder Boys lost to St. Mary's 10-3 in the season-opener and to No. 5-ranked Central Missouri 5-3 a day later. The Wonder Boys would bounce back in a major way in their third and final game as they beat Lubbock Christian 12-2.
In that opening weekend, the Wonder Boys started
Patrick Miner,
Riyan Rodriguez and
Hayes Cox on the mound. Miner, who got the start in the opener, pitched extremely well through the first three innings before running into some trouble in the fourth. Rodriguez pitched into the sixth inning against the No. 5-ranked Mules before he was chased from the start. Cox benefited the most from Wonder Boy run support as they hung 12 runs on LCU. With that offensive support, Cox would go on to pitch 6.0 innings and strike out five en route to his first win of the season.
At the plate, the Wonder Boys were limited some in the first two games, but exploded in their third game to come out of the weekend hitting .260 as a team with seven doubles and two home runs. Individually, three players came out of the weekend having played in all three games and hit over .300.
Kandon Bennett was tops out of that trio in terms of average as he hit .545 (6-for-11). Bennett also had three doubles and two RBIs.
Garrett Crews also had a solid opening weekend at the plate as he hit .400 (4-for-10) with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Ouachita Tigers will be opening their 2021 season this weekend. Last year, prior to the cancelation of the 2020 season due to the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers were 10-12 overall and 5-7 in the GAC.
The Tigers return 22 players from the 2020 roster and added seven newcomers to their roster. The top-two hitters are back for Ouachita in Tyler Reibock and Blake Tubbs. Tubbs posted the highest average for Ouachita at .388 (26-for-67) while Reibock delivered the power. In 2020, Reibock hit .349 (29-for-83) with five doubles, two triples, eight home runs and drove in 26 runs. The triples, home runs and RBis led the team.
On the mound, the Tigers return two of their three primary starters in Beau Burson and Noah Fowler. The duo started at least four games and combined for 45 strikeouts in 52.0 innings of work.
SCOUTING THE REDDIES
Like the Tigers, the Reddies will also be opening their 2021 season this weekend. A year ago, the Reddies were off to a 10-12 start overall and were 7-5 in GAC play prior to the cancelation of the season due to COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the under .500 overall record, the Reddies were beginning to hit their stride as they had won nine of their final 13 games and claimed GAC series wins against the Wonder Boys, then-ranked No. 16 Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene.
In making their return to the diamond, the Reddies will have a majority of their 2020 team back.
In their lineup, the Reddies return eight everyday players and have their entire infield intact.
On the mound, the Reddies return several key pieces to a staff that collectively led the GAC in strikeouts with 203 in 180.0 innings.
