Wonder Boys power past Bison for series sweep; sets stage for showdown with Harding next weekend

RUSSELLVILLE — The Arkansas Tech baseball team hit clutch home runs across both ends of their doubleheader at home against Oklahoma Baptist on Friday that helped propel them to wins in each game and an overall sweep in the series.
The sweep sends the Wonder Boys into the final weekend of the regular season 20-9 in Great American Conference play and one game back in the win column from Southern Arkansas and Harding, who are currently 21-9 in GAC action heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
All three of those teams, Tech, SAU and Harding will be playing for a conference regular season championship next weekend. Tech and Harding will square off in a series at Tech while SAU will be at home against Arkansas-Monticello, who is currently in fourth place at 19-11.
GAME ONE
In the opener, Oklahoma Baptist got on the scoreboard early with a solo home run in the top of the first. The Wonder Boys would score their first run of the game in the third inning and plated two runs on RBI singles from Sawyer Duddleston and Brendyn Bard, giving Tech a 2-1 lead.
That lead would be brief for the Wonder Boys, however, as Oklahoma Baptist came back with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. All three of those runs were scored via the home run as Oklahoma Baptist hit a two-run homer and a solo.
An inning later, the Bison connected for another home run, a solo shot to go up 5-2.
After not being able to respond in their half of the fifth, the Wonder Boys did so in a big way in the sixth as they scored four runs on three hits to flip a three-run deficit into a one-run lead. All four of the runs were scored with two outs.
Cole Dawson had the first RBI in the frame with a run-scoring single up the middle. Three batters later, following consecutive walks to Simon Murray and Christian Olea, Duddleston came through with the hit of the game as he laced a bases-clearing double into right-centerfield.

An inning later, the Wonder Boys struck for three more runs on the strength of a three-run home run off the bat of Tyler Sardelli.
Those seven runs scored by the Wonder Boys across the sixth and seventh innings were in support of a stellar relief outing from Daniel Hutchison. Entering the game to start the fifth, Hutchison would scatter five hits, allow one run, two walks and eight strikeouts as he picked up his sixth win of the season.
GAME TWO
In the second game, and for the third time in the series, Oklahoma Baptist scored the first run of the game in the top of the first. This time, however, the Wonder Boys were able to match that run with one of their own in the bottom half thanks to a RBI double by Olea.
In the next inning, the Wonder Boys struck for eight runs on four hits as they raced out to a 9-1 lead. Seven of those eight runs scored on just two swings of the bat as Sardelli hammered a no-out grand slam while Kirby Jenkins connected for a three-run laser out to right-centerfield. Just before Jenkins' homer, Bard reached on a fielder's choice that scored Dawson.
Oklahoma Baptist would creep their way back into the game and scored four runs over the next three innings to cut their deficit down to four runs, 9-5, but the Wonder Boys were able to tack on a run of insurance in the bottom of the fifth to bring the score to its final of 10-5.
Making that insurance run hold up and then some was reliever JT Cafferty as he handled the sixth and seventh innings without allowing a hit or a walk and striking out two.
UP NEXT
Before that weekend showdown with Harding, the Wonder Boys will play one final non-conference game and will do so on the road at Union this coming Tuesday.