RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech baseball team won both ends of their Saturday afternoon doubleheader at home against Southern Nazarene to complete the overall series sweep. Tech would come from behind and score four runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 walk-off win in the opener and then got a dominant starting pitching performance to secure game two, 8-2.
GAME ONE
In game one, the Wonder Boys scored first with a solo home run from
Kirby Jenkins in the bottom of the second. Southern Nazarene quickly responded in their next trip to the plate and struck for three runs in the top of the third to go ahead, 3-1.
The Crimson Storm added a run in the fifth to go up 4-1, but a
Derek Rockett RBI double in the bottom half pulled Tech back within a pair of runs, 4-2.
In the top of the eighth, SNU managed to score a run to go back in front by three, 5-2.
After the first out of the bottom of the ninth was recorded on a groundout,
Brendyn Bard drew a walk. On the very next pitch,
Drew Vega laced a double into left field to push Bard to third with one out. Two pitches into the next at-bat, Rockett launched a game-tying three-run home run out to right field.
With renewed life, a tie game and still just one out, senior shortstop
Cole Dawson, on Senior Day, called game as he connected for a walk-off home run to left, competing the comeback victory. The homer by Dawson was his first of the season.
GAME TWO
In game two, Southern Nazarene came out of the gates quickly as the first three batters would get hits off of Tech senior starting pitcher,
Daniel Hutchison. The third of those hits drove in a run as the Crimson Storm took a 1-0 lead. They would add a second run later in the inning on a RBI groundout.
That 2-0 lead would not last long for the Crimson Storm, however, as the Wonder Boys answered back with four runs on four hits. Dawson started things as he drew a one-out walk. Senior first baseman,
Tyler Sardelli followed with a walk as well. Senior centerfielder,
Kirby Jenkins then singled home Dawson.
Weston Johnston came up next and shot a double down the left field line to score Sardelli and Jenkins.
Levi Martin then traded places with Johnston with a RBI double himself.
Now with a two-run lead, Hutchison settled in and would not allow another run the rest of the game. Over the next 6.0 innings, Hutchison would scatter two hits, walk one and strikeout a season-high 10 batters.
The Wonder Boys would go on to add two more runs in the third and one in the fourth and fifth innings to bring the score to its final of 8-2.
UP NEXT
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a road series next weekend at Oklahoma Baptist. The series is slated to start on Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m.
