HOUSTON, Texas – The Arkansas Tech baseball team opened their 2023 regular season in emphatic fashion as they shutout (RV) Chico State, 5-0, on Friday afternoon at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Fueling the impressive win was a dominant pitching performance by the Wonder Boys (1-0) as a trio of arms combined for 17 strikeouts while holding the potentially potent Wildcats (0-1) lineup to just four hits, all singles, and no runs.
Newcomer
John Gray got the start for the Wonder Boys and was overall solid in his 4.0 innings of work. Gray would allow just one hit, walked three and struck out seven in his Wonder Boy debut. Another newcomer was first in relief for Tech as
Gerald Pintarich handled the next 4.0 innings.
Pintarach, who was credited with the win in relief, was difficult to make consistent contact against as he punched out nine of the 16 batters faced. Other than that, Chico State managed to reach base just four times against him with three singles and a walk.
The third and final pitcher for Tech in their opener was an elder statesman in
Will Horton. The lefty pitched an unblemished ninth inning to put the finishing touches on the Wonder Boys' 5-0 win.
Offensively, the Wonder Boys totaled nine hits with three players notching multiple hits.
Sam Stephenson led the way with a 3-for-5 game from the leadoff spot.
Logan Schwenke and
Cade McBride followed with a pair of hits. McBride also had one of Tech's four RBIs.
The big hit of the game came off the bat of
Nick Jones as he singled home a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, breaking open scoring. Tech would then tack on three runs over their final two trips to the plate with
Ommar Jackson scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth and McBride driving in Schwenke later that inning. Jackson was also responsible for the fifth and final run as he singled to centerfield to score Stephenson in the ninth.
Tech will now face another tough test at Minute Maid as they are set to take on No. 1-ranked and reigning Division II National Champion, North Greenville on Saturday afternoon. That game is slated to begin at 5 p.m.
