PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team took to the road on Tuesday afternoon for an in-region game at Pittsburg State looking to upend the Gorillas on their home field where they were 14-4 coming into play. After falling behind early, Tech rallied over the middle innings, but home runs in the sixth and seventh innings by Pitt State proved to be the difference in what ended up being a 14-8 win for the Gorillas.
The early lead for Pitt State came in the second inning as the Gorillas (21-11) scored four runs on three hits. The Wonder Boys (18-13) struck back in the next half inning, however, with three runs on two hits while also benefiting from a Pitt State error.
Carter Thessing led that inning off with a walk.
Sawyer Duddleston then reached first on an error by the Gorillas' third baseman. On the very next pitch,
Sam Stephenson tripled to left-centerfield to score both Thessing and Duddleston. Not long after, Stephenson was able to coast on home as
Josh Detweiler doubled down the left field line.
The Gorillas got all three of those runs back in their next trip to the plate and once more led by four runs.
After not scoring in the fourth, the Wonder Boys put together a two-out rally in the fifth that yielded three runs and pulled them with a run.
Evan Hafley sparked the rally with a single to left field. The inning was further extended on a hit-by-pitch to
Shelby Quiggins. That brought Yadier Media to the plate and the native of Puerto Rico cashed in the opportunity with a three-run blast out to left field.
Pitt State added a run in the bottom of the inning and got a two-run home run in the sixth to once more go up by four runs.
The Wonder Boys would cut that deficit in half in the top of the seventh as Quiggins and Medina went back-to-back with solo home runs.
In the bottom of the inning, however, the Gorillas came up with a crushing two-out grand slam to bring the score its eventual final of 14-8.
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a pivotal weekend series on the road at Henderson State. The three-game set is scheduled to start on Friday, April 8 at 6 p.m. in Arkadelphia. The following day will feature a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. to conclude the series.
