WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader on the road at Southwestern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. The opening game saw SWOSU come-from-behind to beat Tech 8-6 and in the nightcap, Tech was edged out in a pitcher's duel 1-0.
GAME ONE
In the opening game, the Wonder Boys (20-10, 17-6 GAC) got out to an early lead thanks to a
Trace Maddux two-out single that scored
Garrett Crews, who walked to start the game. The Bulldogs answered right back in the bottom of the frame with two runs on four hits. Three of those hits came in succession to start the game, but Tech starter
Patrick Miner was able to limit the damage at just the two runs.
After neither team scored in the second, the Wonder Boys struck for five runs on five hits and also benefited from a pair of SWOSU errors. That inning began with a double down the right field line off the bat of
Matt Robbins.
Evan Hafley then singled to shortstop. Robbins was able to score on the Hafley infield single thanks to a muffed catch by the SWOSU first baseman.
Josh Detweiler then laid down a bunt single to the catcher that moved Hafley to second. A batter later, Hafley was driven in and the Wonder Boys were in the lead, 3-2, on a double to right field by Maddux.
Jonathon Arrieta then reached on a throwing error by the Bulldogs' third baseman, but no other advancing took place on the base paths. With runners on the corners,
Kandon Bennett doubled the Wonder Boys lead with a sacrifice fly to right field. A successful sacrifice bunt was then laid down by
Drew Bailey ahead of what then was a RBI double to left field by
Elijah Boyer.
Staked to a 6-1 lead, Miner came back out and retired the side in order in the third. The Wonder Boys followed suit in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs scored three runs on three hits to pull to within a run, 6-5.
Neither team would score in the fifth and the Wonder Boys were held scoreless in the top of the sixth as well. In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Bulldogs swung ahead with another three-run inning on three hits. This time, the Bulldogs were also aided by a pair of Wonder Boys errors.
The Wonder Boys would threaten in the seventh and eighth innings with triples in each inning, but nothing would come of the three-base hits.
GAME TWO
The second game, which was already scheduled to be just a seven-inning game, flew by even faster as
Hayes Cox and Nate Postlethwait engaged in a classic pitcher's duel.
Neither starter had allowed a run through the first four innings of play and both escaped a threat in the first inning after allowing two hits. Following that first inning, there was only one base runner on either side until the top of the fifth.
In that inning, the Wonder Boys got a one out single by Arrieta that was then followed by a walk to Bennett. After an out came in the next at-bat,
Gabriel Garcia pinch-hit and notched an infield single to shortstop to load the bases with two outs. Unfortunately, nothing came from that threat as a line drive off the bat of Crews was snared by the Bulldogs' third baseman.
The momentum from that defensive play carried over into the bottom of the inning as SWOSU doubled to lead off the frame. Cox would get the next two batters out and was nearly out of the inning, but a walk was issued to extend the inning. The ensuing at-bat yielded the timely hit for the Bulldogs as it drove in the first run of the game. Cox would retire the next batter to limit the damage.
That one run would end up being all of the scoring in the game as the Wonder Boys were held to just one more hit in the final two innings.
The Wonder Boys will now look to salvage a game in the series on Sunday afternoon. First-pitch for the finale is scheduled for Noon.
