GAME INFORMATION
(3) ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 38-18	(6) ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO BOLL WEEVILS 32-22
Thursday, May 5 | 1 p.m. Warren Turner Field | Jolin, Mo. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

FIRST PITCH
For the second-straight year and third in the last four, the Arkansas Tech baseball team is in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament where they will compete against three other teams at their regional site in Joplin, Mo. with hopes of advancing to the Super Region Round next weekend at a site to be determined.
 
The beginning of the 2024 run for the Wonder Boys will see them take on a familiar foe in Arkansas-Monticello in their first game on Thursday afternoon. First-pitch of that game is slated for 1 p.m.
 
The Wonder Boys and Boll Weevils have met 170 times historically in a series that dates back to 1948. In terms of the all-time series record, Tech holds a 114-56 lead over UAM.
 
The two teams have met six times earlier this season with a mid-week non-conference game at UAM back in mid-March, a three-game conference series at Tech in late March and twice in the GAC Tournament.
 
The Wonder Boys won the mid-week game, 9-8 and won the series 2-1. The two would split their games played at the tournament with UAM's win giving them the GAC Tournament Championship.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys enter the Central Region Tournament with an overall record of 38-18 after ending the regular season 33-15. Over the past two weeks of the Great American Conference Tournament, the Wonder Boys went 5-3 and forced the "if necessary" championship game against Arkansas-Monticello this past Saturday.
 
The Wonder Boys' total body of work this season garnered them their second-straight at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament, this time being slotted as the No. 3-seed.
 
Entering play against their opening round opponent, UAM, the Wonder Boys are hitting .298 as a team (543-for-1,649) with 388 runs scored, 103 doubles, 11 triples and 45 home runs.
 
Keaton Ranallo currently leads the team in batting average at .378 (79-for-209). Ranallo has also been the top-power production bat in the lineup as he leads the team in slugging percentage at .641 thanks to 14 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs. Ranallo is also the team-leader in RBIs with 58. Eight other Wonder Boys have driven in at least 20 runs with five others having at least 30 driven in.
 
Behind Ranallo in home runs is Logan Schwenke with nine and Markos Cabranes with eight. Christian Olea, Brendyn Bard and Grant Jones have three while 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 and Ranallo are tied for the team-lead in doubles with 14 while the triples are led by Schwenke and his four.
 
On the mound, the Wonder Boys have a team ERA of 4.28 and have struck out 447 batters in 469.1 innings of work.
 
John Gray, Emilano Mata, and Jack Rector have been primary weekend starters this season and would each figure to be in the mix to start games in the regional as well. Rector currently has the lowest ERA among starters at 4.45. He is also 6-4 with 62 strikeouts in 56.2 innings of work. Mata is 2-2 with a 5.02 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. Gray is 6-3 with a 4.71 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 84.0 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 28. He is 6-2 with two saves and has a 1.72 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 47.0 innings. Grant Shahan has logged the most innings amongst prominent relievers with 63.2 to his credit. He is 6-1 with three saves and a 2.54 ERA and also is second on the team in strikeouts with 68.
 
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 568-400.
 

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SCOUTING ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
The Boll Weevils enter the Central Region Tournament with an overall record of 32-22 after ending the regular season 27-20. Over the past two weeks of the Great American Conference Tournament, the Boll Weevils went 5-2 and captured the GAC Tournament Championship to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament where they are the No. 6-seed.
 
Entering play against Tech in the region tournament opener, UAM is hitting .295 as a team (523-for-1,770) with 366 runs scored, 112 doubles, six triples and 67 home runs.
 
Camden Tanner currently leads the team in batting average at .420 (81-for-193). Tanner has also provided the most power production thus far with a .699 slugging percentage thanks to 15 doubles, and 13 home runs. Tanner's 13 home runs are second on the team behind Chaz Poppy and his 14. Three other Boll Weevils have hit at least five home runs as well. Cade Cancilla leads the team in RBIs at 48. Five other hitters have at least 30 RBIs for the Boll Weevils.
 
On the mound, the Boll Weevils have a 5.72 team ERA and have struck out 437 batters in 440.2 innings of work.
 
Connor Irvine, Charles Peacock, and Maxim Mrakovic have been primary weekend starters this season and would each figure to be in the mix to start games in the regional as well.
 
Irvine currently has the lowest ERA among starters at 3.76. He is 8-1 with 81 strikeouts in 88.2 innings of work. Peacock is 3-4 with a 5.80 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Mrakovic is 3-7 with a 7.02 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 66.2 innings.
 
In addition to those starters, the Boll Weevils have used 11 other pitchers in relief roles. Jacob McDaniel has made the most relief appearances with 25. He is 3-1 with one save and a 4.84 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 35.1 innings.
 
The Boll Weevils are led by John Harvey, who is in his 14^th season as head coach at Arkansas-Monticello and his 20^th overall. In his time at UAM, Harvey is 373-279 and 527-427 overall.