RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - After owning the best record in the Great American Conference, claiming the GAC regular season championship and competing in the NCAA Central Region Baseball Championships during the 2021 season, the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys are primed and ready to open the 2022 baseball season.

The Wonder Boys will open their season with a double-header at home on Monday against Missouri Western with first pitch scheduled for noon and a single game on Tuesday at home against Mississippi College which is set to start at 3 p.m. that afternoon.

Arkansas Tech finished the 2021 season at a 28-17 overall mark with a 23-10 record among Great American Conference opponents. The team ended the regular season on a great run winning seven of their last ten series. The Wonder Boys made a great run in the Great American Conference Tournament as well making it to the finals after defeating Southwestern Oklahoma and Arkansas-Monticello in the first and semi-final founds of the tournament. Tech would come up short of the win against Henderson in the finals of the GAC Tournament.

This season, the Wonder Boys will see action with seven returning pitchers and four big bats from their lineup.
 
Highlighted among the returning arms is unanimous First Team All-GAC starting pitcher, Patrick Minor. Last season, Miner was 9-2 with a 3.57 ERA. An all-region selection as well, Miner also set a Tech single-season record for strikeouts with 102 in 93.1 innings of work.
 
On the hitting side, the four returners from the everyday lineup also represented four of the top five hitters from a year ago. Honorable Mention All-GAC selection Trace Maddux highlights the group from a statistics standpoint as he led the team in average (.402), hits (63), doubles (17) triples (5) and RBIs (44). Maddux also was second in slugging percentage (.677) and fifth in home runs (5).
 
Also returning are a pair of First Team All-GAC performers in Josh Detweiler and Evan Hafley. Both hit over .350 and combined for 122 hits, 24 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 68 RBIs.

Leading the Wonder Boys once more is Dave Dawson. The all-time winningest coach in Tech Baseball history, Dawson enters his 13^th year in the dugout for the Wonder Boys. In his previous 12 seasons, Dawson has guided amassed a 353-246 record. He has also had six seasons with 30 or more wins which includes the 2014 season in which he led the team a program-record 44 wins and hosting rights for that year's Central Region Tournament.

SCOUTING MISSOURI WESTERN
The Griffons are set to enter the 2022 season as the sixth best team in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association according to their annual pre-season coaches poll. Last season, Missouri Western finished at 10-29 overall with an 8-25 record in conference play.
 
In 2021, the Griffons return 14 players overall. One of the returning pitchers is junior Jordan Atkins, who led MWSU with 41 strikeouts last season. Aikins is joined by senior Alex Crouch, hot off the heels of a .353 batting average and 12-home run season — good for 13th and 6th respectively in the MIAA.

The Griffons are coached by Buzz Verduzco, who is entering his 23rd season at Missouri Western. In his past 22 years at the helm, Verduzco has amassed a record of 601-482.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
The Choctaws are set to enter the 2022 season as the eighth best team in the Gulf South Conference according to their annual pre-season coaches poll. Last season, Mississippi College finished at 16-20 overall with a 13-18 record in conference play.
 
In 2022, the Choctaws return several players from last season. Returning to lead the hitters for Mississippi College is Caleb Reese who put up a .326 batting average last season alongside 27 RBI's and nine home runs. Returning on the mound to lead the Choctaw pitching staff is Bryce Lewis who put in 66.2 inning of work and lead the team in strikeouts last season with 50.

The Choctaws are coached by Jeremy Haworth, who is entering his seventh season at Mississippi College. In his past 6 years at the helm, Haworth has amassed a record of 129-123.