ARKADELPHIA — The Arkansas Tech baseball team picked up an impressive 9-0 shutout win over Henderson State in the series-opener on Friday night thanks to dominant pitching and timely hitting in the late innings.
Against the Reddies on Friday, the Wonder Boys used two pitchers with John Gray getting the start and handling the first seven innings while JT Cafferty came on in relief and took care of the final two innings. The two would combine for 13 strikeouts.
In the start, Gray scattered three hits, all singles, and struck out 10. Cafferty, in his two innings, did not allow a hit and struck out three.
With the pitching of Gray and Cafferty holding the Reddies' offense off the scoreboard, the Wonder Boys offense was methodical in its business and efficient late with eight of their nine runs scoring from the fifth inning on.
The first tally of the game for Tech came in the top of the second when Aaron Hogue hit a sacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded, scoring Nick Jones, who led the inning off with a single through the right side.
That 1-0 lead for Tech held until the top of the fifth when the Wonder Boys pushed across another run, this time on a RBI single to left field off the bat of Logan Schwenke.
An inning later, the Wonder Boys broke the game open with four runs on one hit. The hit scored a pair of runs as Schwenke came through with a single to right-centerfield scoring Keaton Ranallo and Christian Olea. Earlier in the inning, Brendyn Bard scored on a wild pitch, while Grant Jones scored on a bases loaded walk drawn by his brother, Nick.
The Wonder Boys would go on to add single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively to bring the score to its final of 9-0.
The three-game series at Henderson State saw the
Wonder Boys split a doubleheader with the Reddies Saturday. They lost the the first game, 7-1 and won the rubber game, 5-1.
GAME ONE
In the opener, the Wonder Boys fell behind early in the game as Henderson State scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run to the second batter in the Reddies' lineup. That initial blow by Henderson was not a knockout punch as the score remained 2-0 through three innings of play.
The Reddies would double their lead in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the bottom of the sixth. Their final run of the game came across in the bottom of the eighth as the Reddies added insurance.
Heading into the top of the ninth, the Wonder Boys were in danger of having the Reddies flip the script from Friday night as they were still being held scoreless, but that would not hold true as Tyler Sardelli picked up a pinch-hit RBI single to centerfield, scoring Nick Jones, who singled earlier in the inning.
GAME TWO
With the series now even at a game apiece, the Wonder Boys found themselves trailing early once more as the Reddies scored a run in the bottom of the first. This time, however, the Wonder Boys had a quick response and tied the score immediately in the top of the second inning as Keaton Ranallo led off and connected on a solo home run out to left field.
An inning later, the Wonder Boys surged ahead and plate four runs on two hits while also benefitting from a pair of walks, a hit-by-pitch and a passed ball.
Grant Jones led the inning off with a single to short. Cole Dawson then sacrificed him over on a bunt. Markos Cabranes and N. Jones then drew walks in succession to load the bases with one out. That prompted a pitching change for the Reddies, but the first batter that reliever faced, Logan Schwenke, reached base with a RBI that leaves a mark thanks to the aforementioned hit-by-pitch.
All runners then advanced 90-feet on the passed ball allowing G. Jones to score. Ranallo then drove in the remaining two runners on base with a two-RBI single to centerfield.
That proved to be the rest of the offensive scoring by either team the rest of the game as the Wonder Boys bullpen was nails over the 4 1/3 innings.
The first one out of the 'pen for the Wonder Boys was Will Horton as he came on and got the final out of the third inning. Horton then worked the fourth and fifth innings without allowing a run and was in position for his third win of the season after the Wonder Boys' third inning.
Simon Murray then handled the sixth and worked around a hit while picking up a strikeout. Mason Griffin had the final three outs and picked them up in order, retiring the Reddies 1-2-3 in the seventh to secure the win.
UP NEXT
The Wonder Boys return home for a mid-week two-game series with Delta State starting on Tuesday, March 5. First-pitch for the game is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Baswell Field.
