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WONDER BOYS FALL IN NINTH INNING AT WEST FLORIDA
PENSACOLA,
Florida –
Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys Baseball concluded its
three-game series here Wednesday with West Florida by
suffering a 4-3 loss to the Argonauts in Jim Spooner
Field at Pelican Park.
With the loss, Tech falls to 16-20 on the season, while
UWF improves to 21-14.
UWF broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the ninth
inning by scoring a run with one-out single through the
right side by Brandon Brewer off of junior reliever
Josh Floriani (Malvern, Ark.). Brewer’s single
plated Jimmy Boswell with a winning run, who was pinch
running for Brenton Goebel, who had reached on a one-out
double down the right field line. Floriani was the ninth
pitcher of the night for the Wonder Boys.
Junior Chad Wynn (Bono, Ark.), who
started the game in centerfield, took the loss for the
Wonder Boys as he pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one
hit and one run to fall to 0-1 on the season.
Brewer’s game-winning hit made a winner out of
Ryan Sorce (2-2), the third Argos pitcher of game. Sorce
tossed one perfect inning and recorded a strikeout.
Tech broke open a scoreless game in the third
inning as they plated two runs on four consecutive
singles and a groundout. In the inning, junior third
baseman Tyler Taunton (Shreveport, La.) led off
the inning with a single, advanced to third on a single
by freshman shortstop Tyler Shaw (St. Mary’s,
Ga.) and then scored on an RBI single by junior catcher
Tyler Kellar (Morrilton, Ark.). After Wynn
reached on a bunt single off of UWF starter Matt
Whitaker, senior second baseman Josh Holloway
(Booneville, Ark.) drove home Shaw with an RBI groundout
for the first out of the inning.
UWF got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth
inning as Greg Pron drove in a run on a groundout to
drop Tech’s lead to 2-1 and then the Argos tied the game
at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a triple by
Jack Materne and three straight walks by junior reliever
Stephan Bartlett (Tulsa, Okla.). Bartlett was the
fifth pitcher of the game for the Wonder Boys.
In the sixth, Tech retook the lead on a double by junior
leftfielder Jeremy Houchin (Springdale, Ark.), a
single by senior first baseman Robbie Hohler
(Searcy, Ark.) and a fielder’s choice groundout by
Taunton, which plated sophomore Austin Gwatney
(Sherwood, Ark.), who was pinch running for Houchin.
The Argos, though, answered Tech’s run in the bottom of
the sixth thanks to a hit by pitch, a single, a balk and
a wild pitch by Shaw, who was the seventh pitcher of the
game for the Wonder Boys.
For the game, Tech outhit UWF, 8-4, but struggled with
runners on base as they stranded seven. UWF also
stranded seven runners in the win as Tech’s nine
pitchers combined to walk eight Argos.
Hohler led Tech’s offense with two hits, while Kellar,
Shaw, Taunton, Wynn, Houchin and redshirt freshman
catcher Landon Sullins (Harrison, Ark.) each had
a hit in the loss. Brewer was one of four Argos to
record a hit and he also drove in two of UWF’s four
runs.
Tech will remain on the road this weekend when
they travel to Memphis, Tenn., to face Christian
Brothers in a three-game Gulf South Conference series.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 28
at 12 p.m., before concluding the series on Sunday,
March 29 at 1 p.m.
West Florida Box Score
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Tech Athletics -- |