RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A highly-anticipated early season series got off to a great start for the Arkansas Tech baseball team as they took both games of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader against No. 20-ranked Henderson State; winning the opener 9-6 and the nightcap 12-6.
GAME ONE
In the opener, the Reddies (11-6, 5-3 GAC) struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning. Tech answered back an inning later with a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Keaton Ranallo. The score remained 2-1 in favor of the Reddies until the top of the sixth when they scored four runs on three hits.
The four runs in the frame for Henderson came on the strength of a pair of two-RBI doubles.
In the bottom of the frame, the Wonder Boys (13-5, 7-1 GAC) rallied for four runs themselves to once more bring the game within a run. In that inning,
Luke Ray led off with a double that kicked off the backhanded glove of the Reddies' third baseman. Two batters later,
Sawyer Duddleston doubled to left to bring home Ray.
Nick Jones then came on to pinch hit and singled up the middle to score Duddleston. Ranallo followed with a monster two-run home run to left field to make it a 6-5 game.
Tech would hold the Reddies scoreless over the final three innings of the game and after a scoreless top of the seventh, the Wonder Boys surged ahead in the bottom of the frame with four runs on just one hit and the benefit of a pair of Henderson errors.
Shane Poe led the inning with a walk and then took second on a wild pitch. Ray then drew a walk. Poe and Ray then attempted a double steal, which was more than successful as the Henderson catcher threw the ball beyond the middle infield, allowing Poe to score the tying run and Ray to take third.
A walk to
Cade McBride put runners on the corners with no outs. Two batters later, Jones put Tech on top, 7-6, as he collected his second RBI of the game on a fielder's choice that was mishandled by the Henderson second baseman. Following the second out of the inning, Jones stole second base to put two runners in scoring position.
Logan Schwenke then doubled home McBride and Jones to make it a 9-6 game.
Now with the lead, the Wonder Boys turned to the backend of their bullpen and brought in
Will Horton for the eighth. After allowing a leadoff single, Horton induced the pitcher's best friend and got a 6-4-3 double play. He then fielded his position handling a rocket back to the mound for the final out of the inning.
In the ninth, the Wonder Boys called upon
Mason Griffin. Similar to Horton, Griffin allowed a leadoff single, but then erased the runner on a groundball double play in the next at-bat. Griffin then put the nails down on his fourth save of the season with a strikeout.
GAME TWO
The second game got off to a better start offensively for the Wonder Boys as they scored twice in the bottom of the first. McBride would lead off with a double to left and then was sacrificed to third by Poe. Duddleston drove in McBride on a double to right field. Two batters later, the Wonder Boys scored their second run as Ranallo reached on a fielding error by the Henderson third baseman, allowing Duddleston to score.
The Reddies got one of those runs back in the top of the second, but the flood gates came roaring open for the Wonder Boys in the bottom of the second. In that inning, the Wonder Boys scored eight runs on four hits while also taking advantage of two more Henderson errors.
Brandon Bunton led off the big inning with an infield single to third base.
Markos Cabranes then singled through the right side on a perfectly executed hit-and-run, which allowed Bunton to take third.
Ray then laid down a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher, but was safe at first as the Reddies' pitcher elected to try to get Bunton out at the plate. His attempt was off the mark, allowing Cabranes to take third and Ray to make second.
Cade McBride then singled to left field, scoring Cabranes.
A perfectly placed bunt by Poe allowed him to pick up a hit and RBI. The small ball game kept yielding great results for the Wonder Boys as Duddleston laid down a sacrifice bunt himself, but ended up at third as the throw to first to get him was errant, allowing both McBride and Poe to score.
A walk to Jones put runners on the corners with still no outs. Two batters later, the bases were loaded with one out as Schwenke was hit-by-a-pitch. Bunton was then plunked himself, forcing in a run.
Another fielding miscue led to the seventh run of the inning scoring and during the next at-bat, the Wonder Boys stole the eighth run as Bunton swiped home on a double steal with Cabranes.
The Reddies managed to get two runs back with a two-run home run in the top of the third, but Tech responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame on a sac fly off the bat of Duddleston.
In the fifth, the Reddies hit a solo home run, but the run was a wash in terms of making a dent in the deficit as the Wonder Boys scored a run in the bottom half thanks to a bases loaded walk to Bunton.
The Reddies would mount a bit of a comeback effort in the final inning of the seventh as they loaded the bases with one out. Reliver
Grant Shahan was able to get the second out, but surrendered a pair of runs on a bases loaded walk and hit-by-pitch. Shahan would settle back down after that and recorded the final out on three pitches with the final pitch being a called third strike.
UP NEXT
The Wonder Boys and Reddies will conclude their series on Sunday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. out at Baswell Field. The Wonder Boys will be looking to secure their second GAC series sweep of the season.
