RUSSELLVILLE – The Arkansas Tech baseball team opened their final home series of the regular season with a bang as they scored 11 runs on 16 hits to beat visiting East Central, 11-1 in seven innings.
The Wonder Boys would take control of the game early as starting pitcher John Gray retired the Tigers in order in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the frame, Markos Cabranes led off with a double and scored in the next at-bat on a single down the left field line.
In the top of the second, ECU scored a run to tie the score thanks to a two-out knock to right-centerfield. The Wonder Boys wasted little time in regaining the lead, however, as Keaton Ranallo hit a laser solo home run out to left-centerfield with one out in the bottom of the second.
Neither team would score in the third and fourth innings, but the Wonder Boys got things rolling again in the bottom of the fifth as they scored four runs on five hits.
That inning started with a bunt single to third by Cole Dawson. On his bunt, the throw to first was errant allowing Dawson to make second. After an out was made, the Wonder Boys loaded the bases on consecutive singles that didn't leave the infield. The first of those was an infield single to short by Grant Jones, while the second was a bunt base hit past the pitcher by Logan Schwenke.
Nick Jones then drove in the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to left. Christian Olea then got the big hit with two-RBI double to left-centerfield, scoring G. Jones and Schwenke. Ranallo would collect his second RBI of the game in the next at-bat as he laced a ball off the ball in left, but was cut down at second trying to stretch it into a double.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wonder Boys were quickly down to their final out, but a double off the wall by Dawson sparked a two-run inning. Dawson's double was the first of three-straight doubles for the Wonder Boys as Cabranes and G. Jones notched RBI doubles as well.
The doubles kept coming in the seventh for Tech as N. Jones led off with a double to centerfield. After Olea reached first on a throwing error, Ranallo doubled home N. Jones and moved Olea to third where he was pinch-ran for by Leo Sarnataro.
Two batters later, the bases were loaded with one out as the Tigers elected to intentionally-walk Shane Poe. Dawson then singled through the left side to chase home Sarnataro and put the potentially game-ending run 90-feet away. Not long into the next at-bat, Cabranes hammered a ball into left-centerfield to end the game via the 10-run rule.
The Wonder Boys and Tigers will now prepare for a series-ending doubleheader on Saturday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. Prior to first-pitch, the Wonder Boys will hold their Senior Day Ceremony and will honor the seniors on this year's team. That ceremony is scheduled to start at 12:40 p.m.
