GAME INFORMATION
NO.8-SEED ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 35-20	NO.1-SEED PITTSBURG STATE GORILLAS 43-9
Thursday, May 14 | 3 p.m. Al Ortolami Field | Pittsburg, Kan. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

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LEADING OFF
Fresh off the program's first-ever Great American Conference Tournament Championship, the Arkansas Tech baseball will take part in their fourth-straight NCAA Central Region Tournament and will be the No. 8-seed.
 
As the No. 8-seed, the Wonder Boys will take on No. 1-seed and host, Pittsburg State in the opening round. That game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Thursday, May 14 from Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
The winner of the game will advance to the regional semifinals and play the winner of No. 4-seed Northwest Missouri and No. 5-seed Augustana at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 14. The loser will play an elimination game at 3 p.m. on Friday against the loser of the Northwest Missouri-Augustana game.
 
Historically, the Wonder Boys and Gorillas have met three times before Thursday's regional clash. Pitt State currently leads the series 2-1.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys now enter the NCAA Central Region Tournament with a 35-20 overall record.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys are hitting .287 as a team (495-for-1,722) with 369 runs scored, 104 doubles, nine triples and 32 home runs. Kirby Jenkins currently leads the team in batting average at .349 (65-for-186). Jenkins has also been the biggest power threat for the Wonder Boys as he leads the team with a .645 slugging percentage thanks to 16 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. Jenkins also leads the team in RBIs with 59 and runs scored with 55.
 
On the mound, the Wonder Boys have a team ERA of 4.69 and have struck out 374 batters in 445.1 innings of work.
 
Cole Dickson, Creighton Jacobitz and Daniel Hutchison have been the primary weekend starting pitchers this year and figure to be among the rotation this weekend during the regional.
 
Jacobitz is 7-4 with a 3.42 ERA and has 71 strikeouts in 81.2 innings. Hutchison is 10-5 with a 4.46 ERA and has 59 strikeouts in 76.2 innings. Dickson is 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA and has 73 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
 
Leading the Wonder Boys once more is Dave Dawson. The all-time winningest coach in Tech Baseball history, Dawson enters his 17th year in the dugout for the Wonder Boys. In his previous 16 seasons, Dawson has guided amassed a 482-334 record. He has also had nine 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 21st 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 635-445.
 

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SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
Pittsburg State enters the NCAA Central Region Tournament a consensus top-five ranked team and are carrying a 43-9 overall record.
 
Offensively, the Gorillas are hitting .358 as a team (638-for-1,784) with 607 runs scored, 115 doubles, 19 triples and 79 home runs. They are led in hitting by Dagen Brewer at .436 (78-for-179). Brewer has also been the biggest power threat for the Gorillas as he leads the team in slugging percentage at .966 thanks to 21 doubles, one triple and 24 home runs. Brewer also leads the team in RBIs with 101 while Eric Bacon leads the team in runs scored with 82.
 
On the mound, the Gorillas have a 4.51 team ERA and have struck out 351 batters in 420.2 innings of work.
 
The Gorillas have three pitchers that have made double-digit starts. Zach Voss has the most starts with 14 while Ty Blecha and Preston Giltner have made 10. Those three figure to be in the mix in the rotation for the Gorillas during the regional.
 
Voss is 11-2 with a 3.99 ERA and has 50 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. Blecha is 4-2 with a 4.68 ERA and has 37 strikeouts in 50.0 innings. Giltner is 5-2 with a 5.51 ERA and has 31 strikeouts in 49.0 innings.
 
The Gorillas are led by Brock Buckingham, who is in his first season as head coach at Pittsburg State. In his time at Pitt State, Buckingham is 43-9.