HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The No. 2-seed Arkansas Tech baseball team won their first game of the 2026 Great American Conference Tournament on Thursday with a 6-3 win over No. 6-seed Ouachita Baptist.
The win advances the Wonder Boys to the bracket 2 semifinals where they will take on No. 3-seed Harding. The Bison played the game right after Tech's on Thursday and beat No. 6-seed Northwestern Oklahoma, 4-2. The game between Tech and Harding is scheduled for an 8 p.m. first-pitch on Friday and will be the fourth in a week as they closed out the regular season last weekend with a series at Harding. Tech won that series 2-1.
In their game with Ouachita, the Wonder Boys fell behind early as the Tigers hit a pair of solo home runs in the top of the second inning. That score held until the bottom of the fourth when the Wonder Boys struck for three runs on two hits while also benefitting from a Ouachita error.
Derek Rockett led the inning off by reaching on a throwing error by the Tigers' first baseman.
Cole Dawson then drew a four-pitch walk. Both advanced up a base on a groundout to second from
Tyler Sardelli.
Kirby Jenkins then drove in the first run on a single to right.
Two batters later, the big hit came as
Levi Martin singled home Dawson and Jenkins.
Ouachita managed to score a run in the top of the next inning with two outs to tie the score at 3-all.
After not scoring in the bottom of the fifth, the Wonder Boys held Ouachita scoreless in the top of the sixth and then regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Martin. Tech would go on to score single runs in the seventh and eighth to push their lead out to three, 6-3.
That would end up being enough run support as
Ashton Greenlee and
Eric Woodley held the Tigers without a hit over the final 4.0 innings of the game. Both named All-GAC relief pitchers yesterday, Greenlee, an honorable mention pick, came away with the win and pitched 3.0 innings, allowing no hits, one walk, on hit-by-pitch and striking out four.
Woodley would handle the top of the ninth and the First Team closer secured his 10
th save of the season, making him the third Wonder Boy in history to have double-digit saves.
