SERIES INFORMATION
(RV) ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 32-13 (22-8 GAC)	HARDING BISONS 31-14 (21-9 GAC)
Friday, April 26 | 11 a.m. | DH Jerry Moore Field | Searcy, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO Saturday, April 27 | 1 p.m. Jerry Moore Field | Searcy, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

FIRST PITCH
The 2024 regular season comes down to three more games and one final series for the Arkansas Tech baseball team as they are on the road at Harding. This weekend series could not have more at stake for a regular season finale as the Wonder Boys are in first place and a game up in the standings over their opponent, Harding, giving the winner of the series a chance to claim a regular season title.
 
The series is slated to begin with a doubleheader (9-7) on Friday morning starting at 11 a.m. Saturday will close the series with a single-game starting at 1 p.m.
 
The Wonder Boys and Bisons have met 154 times historically in a series that dates back to 1965. In terms of the all-time series record, Arkansas Tech holds a 94-60 lead over Harding.
 
The two teams met earlier this season in a non-conference game at Tech back in late February. The Wonder Boys won that game 11-10 in 10 innings.
 
TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys enter their weekend series on the road at Harding with an overall record of 32-13 and a 22-8 mark in conference play. This past weekend, the Wonder Boys picked up a pivotal sweep on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma. That sweep kept the Wonder Boys a game up and in first place in the conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
 
Entering play against Harding, the Wonder Boys are hitting .297 as a team (427-for-1,436) with 325 runs scored, 92 doubles, 10 triples and 43 home runs.
 
Keaton Ranallo currently leads the team in batting average at .380 (62-for-163). Ranallo has also been the top-power production bat in the lineup as he leads the team in slugging percentage at .706 thanks to 12 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs. Ranallo is also the team-leader in RBIs with 57. Six other Wonder Boys have driven in at least 20 runs with four others having at least 30 driven in.
 
Behind Ranallo in home runs is Logan Schwenke with nine and Markos Cabranes with seven. Christian Olea and Brendyn Bard have three while Grant Jones, Nick Jones and Cole Dawson have two. Brandon Bunton and Sawyer Duddleston account for the other homers thus far with one apiece.
 
In terms of other extra-base hits, Olea leads the team in doubles with 13 while the triples are led by Schwenke and his three.
 
On the mound, the Wonder Boys have a team ERA of 4.06 and have struck out 376 batters in 372.1 innings of work.
 
John Gray, Emilano Mata, and Jack Rector made starts this past weekend against Southeastern Oklahoma and figure to be in the mix to start against Harding. Gray currently has the lowest ERA among starters at 3.84. He is also 6-2 with 61 strikeouts in 68.0 innings of work. Mata is 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 53.0 innings. Rector is 5-3 with a 4.30 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 46.0 innings.
 
Aside from those that have made starts, 12 other pitchers have taken the mound for the Wonder Boys in relief roles. Will Horton has the most relief appearances thus far with 20. He is 3-1 with two saves and has a 1.57 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Grant Shahan has logged the most innings amongst prominent relievers with 48.2 to his credit. Shahan is second on the team in strikeouts with 56.
 
Leading the Wonder Boys once more is Dave Dawson. The all-time winningest coach in Tech Baseball history, Dawson enters his 15th year in the dugout for the Wonder Boys. In his previous 14 seasons, Dawson has guided amassed a 414-298 record. He has also had seven seasons with 30 or more wins which includes the 2014 season in which he led the team a program-record 44 wins and hosting rights for that year's Central Region Tournament.
 
Overall, Dawson is in his 19th year as a head baseball coach at the collegiate level as he spent four years as head coach at Kansas Wesleyan and totaled 118 wins. His combined win total at Tech and Kansas Wesleyan have him with a career record of 562-395.
 
SCOUTING HARDING
Harding enters their home series with Tech with a 31-14 overall record and a 21-9 mark in GAC play. The Bisons are on a 10-game winning streak with their last loss coming back on April 6 at home against Ouachita Baptist.
 
Offensively, the Bisons are hitting .286 as a team (410-for-1,435) with 296 runs scored, 76 doubles, seven triples and 42 home runs.
 
Collin Helms currently leads the team in batting average at .344 (44-for-128). Helms has also provided the most power production thus far with a .648 slugging percentage thanks to eight doubles, two triples and nine home runs. Helm's nine home runs lead the team while nine other players have hit a home run for the Bisons with four others having hit at least five. Sebastian Martinez leads the team in RBIs at 43. Eight other hitters have at least 20 RBIs for the Bisons.
 
On the mound, the Bisons have a 4.33 team ERA and have struck out 385 batters in 369.2 innings of work.
 
This past weekend, the Bisons used a weekend rotation of Maddox Long, Merritt Jay and Davis Welch against East Central and figure to see to action in the same roles against Tech.
 
Long is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 80.2 innings of work. Jay is 5-3 with a 4.60 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 47.0 innings while Welch is 6-3 with a 3.15 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 74.1 innings.
 
In addition to those starters, the Bisons have used 11 other pitchers in relief roles. Griffin Meeker has made the most relief appearances with 21. He is 5-1 with a 5.30 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
 
The Bisons are led by Dr. Patrick McGaha, who is in his 19^th season as head coach at Harding and his 23^rd overall. In his time at Harding, McGahah is 536-407 and is 655-503-1 overall.