DURANT, Okla. — The Arkansas Tech baseball team jumped out early on Southeastern Oklahoma in the series opener on Sunday but had to manufacture a run in the top of the ninth and strand a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom half to come away with the 7-6 win.
The early start saw the Wonder Boys score four runs on two hits in the top of the second inning. That inning began with a double to right-centerfield off the bat of Nick Jones. Christian Olea followed with a single to left-center to move Jones to third. Brendyn Bard then drove in Jones and reached first base and advanced to second on a throwing error by the Southeastern third baseman.
Olea would make third on that error and then scored shortly thereafter on a passed ball. Shane Poe drew a walk in the next at-bat and then stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. Cole Dawson then drove in the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly out to centerfield.
The fourth and final run of the inning scored during the next at-bat as Poe stole third and then was able to score on a throwing error by the Southeastern catcher.
After neither team scored in the third, the Wonder Boys tacked on another run in the top of the fourth on a solo home run out to left field off the bat of Keaton Ranallo. The homer was the 10th of the season for Ranallo, giving him consecutive years with double-digit home runs as a Wonder Boy. As his 22nd career home run at Tech, Ranallo is now tied for eighth all-time with Jonathon Arrieta and Dylan McDearmon.
The Savage Storm would respond with a pair of long balls in their half of the fourth, however, and tied the game at five-all on the strength of those two homers. An inning later, the Savage Storm took the lead on a clutch two-out RBI double.
That one-run lead held for the Savage Storm until the top of the eighth when the Wonder Boys put together a two-out rally to tie the score at six-all. After the first two outs were made, Logan Schwenke extended the inning on a walk. Not long after that, he would score from first on a RBI double by Jones.
Southeastern would be retired in order in the bottom of the eighth against Tech reliever Grant Shahan, who had come in relief to start the sixth.
After Shahan's shutdown inning, Ranallo led off the top of the ninth with a double to left-center. Bard then moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt. Now at third and one out, Ranallo would score what turned out to be the winning run in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly by Poe.
In order for that run to be the winning run, however, the Wonder Boys had to hold the Savage Storm scoreless in the bottom of the inning and they called upon closer Mason Griffin. Griffin would record two outs before being lifted after the Savage Storm had put the tying run at third and the potential winning run at second.
The Wonder Boys then called upon Simon Murray to get the 27th out and the left-hander would do just that, ending the game with a strikeout for his first save as a Wonder Boy.
