Wonder Boys’ season end in Central Region tournament

ATU Athletics 
Daniel Gallegos 

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The 2021 season came to a close for the Arkansas Tech baseball team on Saturday afternoon as the Wonder Boys fell to top-seeded Central Missouri by a score of 7-4.

The season ends with the Wonder Boys winning 26 games and claiming a share of the GAC Regular Season Championship after going 23-10 in conference play. It was the second regular season GAC title for the Wonder Boys under head coach Dave Dawson. The Wonder Boys then advanced to their first-ever GAC Tournament Championship Game, but ultimately lost to Henderson State.

The Wonder Boys’ season body of work was still more than good enough for them to earn the No. 4-seed and an at-large berth into this year’s Central Region Tournament. It was the second time that the Wonder Boys have made a regional as well.

In the final game of their 2021 season, the Wonder Boys fell behind in the third inning to the No. 2-ranked Mules (41-6) as UCM scored five runs that frame. The Mules went on to score single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-0 lead.

The Wonder Boys broke into the run column in the sixth inning on a solo home run out to left field off the bat of Garrett Crews. Two innings later, the Wonder Boys struck for three runs and pulled within that margin thanks to a solo homer by Gabriel Garcia and a two-RBI double in the left-centerfield cap off the bat of Josh Detweiler.

On the mound, the Wonder Boys used three arms with Riyan Rodriguez getting the start. He worked 2.2 innings and then gave way to Mason Griffin (Rogers, Ark.). Griffin pitched the next 4.1 innings and struck out three. Hayes Cox handled the final two innings and did not allow a hit while striking out one.