RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team suffered a setback in their regular season finale against Harding on Sunday, losing by a score of 16-5 in eight innings. Despite the loss, Tech has secured the No. 3-seed in the final regular season standings and will host No. 6-seed Oklahoma Baptist at Baswell Field this coming weekend in a Best-of-Three series.
The series will likely be scheduled to be played Friday and Saturday with a single game on Friday and the second game on Saturday. Should a third game need to be played, it will take place approximately 30 minutes following the competition of game two.
Final details of the opening round series will be made on Monday afternoon.
It will be the second series between Tech and Oklahoma Baptist at Baswell Field as the two met one another back in mid-February to open each other's conference schedule. Tech would come away with the series sweep of OKB, jumpstarting their eventual 23-win campaign in GAC play.
In their game against Harding on Sunday, the Wonder Boys (31-18, 23-10 GAC) were forced to play from behind from the outset as the Bisons (33-17, 17-16 GAC) struck for three runs in the top of the first inning. All three runs in the inning scored on home runs out to right. The first was a two-run home run and the second followed moments later as Harding went back-to-back.
Two innings later, the Bisons scored two more runs and were out to an early 5-0 lead.
The Wonder Boys got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth as they manufactured their first run of the game.
Nick Jones led the inning off with a first-pitch single to right field.
Keaton Ranallo then followed it up with a single to left field. After a sharp liner to deep centerfield by
Logan Schwenke was the first out of the inning,
Brandon Bunton poked a single the other way to right field to load the bases with one out for
Markos Cabranes.
Cabranes would cash in the run as he reached on a fielder's choice to score Jones.
Tech starting pitcher
Grant Shahan came back out in the top of the fifth and threw a 1-2-3 inning to get the Wonder Boys back to the plate.
That proved to be a legit spark to the Wonder Boy's offense as they would go on to score four runs on five hits to knot the game at five-all.
Cade McBride led the inning off with a single through the left side.
Sam Stephenson then singled to right-centerfield. McBride was then driven in on a RBI single to third base on a ball that caromed off the glove of the Harding third baseman in fair territory. Stephenson, unfortunately, was thrown out at third trying to take advantage of the ball getting away in foul territory.
After a groundout was the second out of the inning, Ranallo unleashed a laser two-run home run the other way out to right field to put the Wonder Boys down by only a run. Schwenke then walked to extend the inning and later stole second. That proved to be huge as he was able to score the tying run on the seeing-eye single up the middle off the bat of Bunton.
That tie score did not last long as Harding responded in their next trip to the plate and struck for five runs to once more lead by five. That lead continued to grow over the final two innings of play as the Bisons scored four more in the seventh and two in the eighth.
On Senior Day, the Wonder Boys turned to their bench in the bottom of the eighth for three-straight seniors getting their final regular season at-bat at home. Yadier Media was the first to hit and lined a single through the left side.
Trevor Martin then laced a ball into left-centerfield, but it was rundown by the Harding centerfielder. The game then ended on a rocket off the bat of
Jared Beam that went straight to the third baseman, who then was able to throw to first for the game-ending double play.
