MAGNOLIA — The Arkansas Tech baseball team totaled 19 runs on 29 hits across both ends of their doubleheader at No. 22-ranked Southern Arkansas on Saturday and came away with a sweep for the day, and in turn, the series.
The sweep by the Wonder Boys over Southern Arkansas this weekend was the first three-game conference series sweep of the Muleriders since 1998.
GAME ONE
In the opener, the Wonder Boys were first to crack the scoreboard, doing so in the top of the first on a RBI groundout by Nick Jones. An inning later, the Wonder Boys were up 3-0 thanks to a two-run home run to left-centerfield by Cole Dawson.
After SAU scored a run in bottom of the second, Tech got that run back in the top of the third on a RBI single by Brendyn Bard. The Muleriders answered back in their half of the third and tied the game up at four-all. An inning later, SAU grabbed a two-run lead.
That initial SAU lead would not last long, however, as the Wonder Boys rallied for four runs on four hits in the top of the fifth.
That inning was started with a double by Logan Schwenke. N. Jones then drove him in by trading places with a double himself. Three batters later, the bases were loaded with one out after Christian Olea singled and Bard walked.
Shane Poe then got the big hit with a two-RBI double to left, scoring Olea and N. Jones. Bard would score in the next at-bat as Dawson had a RBI groundout.
That score would hold until the top of the eighth when the Wonder Boys picked up three runs of insurance. In that inning, Keaton Ranallo had a RBI single, Schwenke scored on a wild pitch and Bard collected a RBI on a sacrifice fly.
In the ninth, the Wonder Boys added another run of insurance as N. Jones singled to left.
The beneficiary of the Wonder Boys' offense was Grant Shahan as he earned the win in relief. After coming into the game with two outs in the fourth inning, Shahan would pitch the rest of the game and kept the potent SAU scoreless with just one hit over the final 5.1 innings.
GAME TWO
Game two saw the Wonder Boys' offense pick up where it left off in the opener as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead through their first three trips to the plate thanks to a five-run second inning and a run in the third.
The second inning started off with a bang as Nick Jones and Christian Olea both singled ahead of Keaton Ranallo's monster three-run home run out to left field. Four batters later, the Wonder Boys got another homer, this time a two-run shot off the bat of Markos Cabranes.
The run in the third was a RBI double down the right field line by Olea, scoring Logan Schwenke, who led off with a single up the middle.
The Muleriders would score their lone run of the second game in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fifth, the Wonder Boys scored their seventh and final run of the game with a RBI double down the left field line off the bat of Brendyn Bard.
As far as pitching goes, the Wonder Boys needed only two arms to get through the seven-inning game. Jack Rector started and pitched 6.0 innings. He would allow one run on four hits, walk two and strike out six. Will Horton pitched the final inning and was perfect, striking out the side in order to emphatically end the game and the series.
UP NEXT
The Wonder Boys will now return home for a weekend series against East Central. It will be the final home weekend series of the regular season for the Wonder Boys. The series is slated to start at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 12.
