TECH PICKS UP A PAIR OF WINS OVER NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys baseball team increased their winning streak to four games with a doubleheader sweep over the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats Friday afternoon at Tech Field.

Game One – Arkansas Tech 6, Northwest Missouri State 5

          The Wonder Boys managed only six runs on their 18 hits, but it was enough to pick up the game one victory over Northwest Missouri State.

          Tech led 5-2 heading into the seventh inning, but the Bearcat bats got hot and scored three runs on three hits to force the Wonder Boys to hit in the bottom half of the seventh.

          The Wonder Boys were ready to hit in their half of the seventh as senior first baseman Brad Green (Cabot, Ark.) led off the inning with a double. After a strikeout, junior right fielder Barrett Davis (North Little Rock, Ark.) had an infield single, which advanced Green to third. Freshman Tyler Tate (Fort Smith, Ark.) then came up big for Tech as he laced a single to left field, scoring Green for the Wonder Boy victory.

          Tate finished the contest 2 for 4 at the plate with a run and an RBI. Senior second baseman Jantzen Black (Hackett, Ark.) was 4 for 4 in the contest with three RBIs. Junior third baseman Tony Sanchez (Mesquite, Texas) remained red hot going 3 for 4 in the contest. At a time, Sanchez had hit safely in 11 straight at bats until he flied out to center in the fourth inning. Sanchez’s 11 straight at bats with a hit is a Gulf South Conference and an Arkansas Tech school record.

          Junior pitcher Tyler Mattox (Conway, Ark.) got the start for Tech, pitching five innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, one earned, while striking out three. Sophomore pitcher Josh Floriani (Malvern, Ark.) was credited with the victory for Tech, making his record 1-0 on the year.

          Offensively, the Bearcats were led by second baseman Nick Pfeiffer who actually recorded one at bat in the contest, which was a solo homerun in the fifth inning. Pfeiffer also drew three walks in the game. Shortstop Ryan Bledsoe was 2 for 5 with a run and two RBIs.

          Evan Nickell, who pitched a third of an inning in relief for Northwest Missouri State was tagged with the loss.

Game Two – Arkansas Tech 10, Northwest Missouri State 0

Arkansas Tech did all of its damage in the third inning when they brought 14 batters to the plate, scoring 10 runs on eight hits. Those 10 runs were more than enough as Tech picked up their fourth straight win and their second shutout of the season by the 10-0 score.

Senior pitcher Zach Weiss (Barnhart, Mo.) improved his record to 1-2 on the year as he picked up the win for the Wonder Boys. He tossed six shutout innings and only allowed three hits while striking out six. Freshman Garrett Nelson (Greenbrier, Ark.) pitched the final inning for Tech, making his Wonder Boy debut, and did well allowing only one hit and recording one strikeout.

Tech was led at the plate by Sanchez, who was 2 for 3 with two runs scored and 2 RBIs. Sanchez recorded his second homerun of the 2008 campaign on a two-run shot in the third inning down the right field line. Sanchez is now hitting a monumental .571 on the season.

Black, who was 2 for 2 with a run scored and an RBI, has now hit safely in his last seven at bats. Green also had a nice game at the plate going 2 for 4 with one RBI.

As a team, the Wonder Boys pounded out 12 hits, eight of which came in the third inning. As a team, through nine games, Tech is hitting a remarkable .394.

Joel Epley was tagged with the loss for the Bearcats as he was pounded over 2.1 innings. He allowed eight hits and six runs. Danny Malone took the lumps, going the rest of the way for Northwest Missouri State, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing four runs on four hits.

-- Tech Athletics --