SERIES INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 2-7 (1-1 GAC)	NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA RANGERS 7-5 (0-3 GAC)
Sunday, February 23 | 1 p.m. (DH) Baswell Field | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO Monday, February 24 | 1 p.m. Baswell Field | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

FIRST PITCH
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team is set to make its 2025 home debut over the next two days and will do so with a three-game conference series against Northwestern Oklahoma.
 
The series is slated to begin with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. and then conclude with a single game at 1 p.m. on Monday.
 
The Wonder Boys and Rangers have met 32 times historically in a series that dates back to 2013. In terms of the all-time series record, Tech holds a 23-9 lead over NWOSU.
 
The two teams met three times last regular season with a three-game conference series being played at NWOSU. The Rangers won the series, taking the first two games.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys enter their weekend series 2-7 overall and 1-1 in GAC play. This past weekend, Tech played their first conference series of the year on the road at Southwestern Oklahoma. Only two games were able to be played due to freezing temperatures and the series was tied at a game apiece.
                                                                                        
Entering play this weekend, the Wonder Boys are hitting .228 as a team (69-for-302) with 50 runs scored, 11 doubles, four triples and six home runs. Cole Dawson currently leads the team in batting average at .393 (11-for-28) and lead the team in runs scored with nine. Sawyer Duddleston is next in average at .333 (13-for-39) and has the highest slugging percentage on the team at .641 thanks to three doubles and three home runs. Additionally, he leads the team in RBIs at with eight.
 
On the mound, the Wonder Boys have a team ERA of 7.52 and have struck out 66 batters in 73.0 innings of work.
 
Daniel Hutchison and Jack Rector made starts over the past weekend in the games played at SWOSU and figure to be a part of this weekend's rotation as well. Cole Dickson likely will see a start in the series with Northwestern as he joins Hutchison and Rector in multiple starts made.
 
Rector is 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 11.1 innings. Hutchison is 1-2 with an 8.25 ERA and 14 strikeouts across 12.0 innings. Dickson is 0-1 with a 10.12 ERA and four strikeouts in 10.2 innings.
 
JT Cafferty has had the most success out of the bullpen early on. He has made three appearances and is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and three strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Eight other relievers have made multiple appearances with Austin Mittlestedt having the most with four.
 
Leading the Wonder Boys once more is Dave Dawson. The all-time winningest coach in Tech Baseball history, Dawson enters his 16th year in the dugout for the Wonder Boys. In his previous 15 seasons, Dawson has guided amassed a 450-314 record. He has also had eight 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 20th 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 570-409.
 

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SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
Northwestern Oklahoma enters this weekend series on the road against Tech with a 7-5 overall record and an 0-3 mark in conference play. This past weekend, the Rangers began conference action against Harding and were swept. The series was scheduled to be played at NWOSU, but ended up being played at a neutral site in Denison, Texas due to weather.
 
Offensively, the Rangers are hitting .297 as a team (122-for-411) with 109 runs scored, 24 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs.
 
Connor Green leads the team in batting average early on at .465 (20-for-43). Green has also provided the most power production thus far with a .744 slugging percentage thanks to three doubles and three homers. Four players have already driven in double-digit runs with Hagen Barcello leading the way with 20. Four Rangers have also scored double-digit runs with Dylan Bradford leading the team with 21.
 
On the mound, the Rangers have a 5.91 team ERA and have struck out 77 batters in 99.0 innings of work.
 
The Rangers have had six pitchers start games with three having made multiple starts. This past weekend, the Rangers had a starting rotation of Jacob Fuller, Will Kates and Colby Mitchell.
 
Fuller and Kates have made the most starts with three apiece. Fuller is 1-1 with a 4.02 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. Kates is 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA and seven strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
 
In addition to the six that have started games, the Rangers have used 11 other pitchers in strictly relief roles. Nine of those have made multiple appearances with four appearing in at least three games.
 
The Rangers are led by Ryan Bowen, who is in his eighth season as head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma. In his time at NWOSU, Bowen is 164-159.