RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team secured their fourth Great American Conference series win of the season on Saturday as they won the opening game of the doubleheader against Ouachita by a score of 5-2. Ouachita bounced back for a 12-3 win in the finale to stave off the sweep.
GAME ONE
The Wonder Boys (18-12, 11-10 GAC) found themselves down early in the first game of the day as the Tigers (19-13, 13-8 GAC) pounced for two runs in the top of the first. The inning technically started with three strikeouts from left-handed starter
Will Horton, but a wild pitch on a dropped third strike to the leadoff batter kept the inning alive. Ouachita later took advantage of that with a two-out walk that came in front of a two-RBI double to left-centerfield.
That lead for Ouachita was short-lived, however, as the Wonder Boys struck for three runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead.
In that inning,
Sam Stephenson led off with a double to left field. A batter later, Stephenson's speed led to Tech's first run as he stole third base. On that steal attempt, the throw from the Ouachita catcher was errant, allowing Stephenson to score.
Yadier Medina then walked, and
Evan Hafley singled to right-centerfield.
Shelby Quiggins chased home Medina on a double down the right field line. In the very next at-bat,
Kandon Bennett hit and infield single to force home Hafley.
The next two innings were not as eventful as both starters settled into their starts.
In the bottom of the fourth, Tech doubled their lead out to two runs on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Trace Maddux. Earlier in the inning,
Sawyer Duddleston hit a leadoff double to left field. Stephenson then advanced him to third on a sacrifice bunt. That's where Maddux came up to cash in the RBI chance.
Another leadoff double ended up scoring for the Wonder Boys an inning later as they took a 5-2 lead.
In that inning, Hafley had the leadoff double. Quiggins was then hit-by-a-pitch and both he and Hafley moved up 90-feet on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. That set the stage for Bennett to collect the RBI as he skied one into right field, chasing home Hafley.
That ended up being the last scoring in the game on either side, but that doesn't mean things weren't interesting in the late innings.
In the eighth inning,
Armando Romero came on in relief of Horton. The first batter Romero faced line a single down the left field line and was trying to stretch it to a leadoff double, but a great relay throw from Duddleston in left to Maddux at short to Bennett at second gunned down the batter for the first out. Romero then needed only seven more pitches to get out of the eighth.
Romero came back out for the ninth, but a leadoff walk promoted the Wonder Boys to go to
Ty Van Meter for the save. Van Meter allowed an infield single to the first batter he faced, but then retired the next three batters in order to put the nails down in his fourth save of the year.
GAME TWO
In the nightcap, Ouachita came out swinging and in a matter of just eight pitches, the Tigers had four hits and four runs on the board in the top of the first.
The Tigers would go on to score in four of the first five innings of the seven-inning finale with crooked frames in aforementioned first inning as well as the fourth and fifth innings.
The Wonder Boys' offense in the second game was stymied for the most part by the Tigers' starting pitcher, but Tech was still able to score three runs in the game.
Their first run came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Josh Detweiler in the second inning. It was the first action for Detwiler since March 19.
In the fifth, Maddux doubled home a pair of runs to account for the Wonder Boys' three runs in the finale.
UP NEXT
The Wonder Boys will not turn their attention towards a mid-week game against Pittsburg State. That game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, April 5.
