Now the waiting game begins for the Arkansas Tech baseball team.
The Wonder Boys (35-19) were eliminated from the Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament on Wednesday, and now they must sit and wait until the selections for the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament are announced on Sunday.
Southern Arkansas (41-7) ended Tech’s run at the GSC Tournament by defeating the Wonder Boys 23-4. The nationally fourth-ranked Muleriders scored six runs in the first inning and four more in the second.
It was 16-2 after four innings, and SAU removed the last ounce of doubt by scoring seven runs in the top of the fifth.
Dan Bream (9-2) was the winning pitcher, while Tech’s Blaine Sims (6-4) took the loss.
Patrick Johnson was 4-for-5 with a home run and seven runs batted in for Southern Arkansas. Cannon Lester was 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, while Gavan McCauley finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
Jake Astor added three RBIs and Brandon Choate hit a two-run homer for the Muleriders.
Arkansas Tech freshman Madison Beaird (photographed) was a bright spot on an otherwise miserable day for the Wonder Boys.
The Russellville product was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. He finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle.
Tech was ranked No. 7 in the final NCAA Division II South Region rankings of the regular season. Eight teams will be invited to participate in the NCAA Division II South Regional, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 13, at an on-campus location that will be announced on Sunday night.
The announcement of the participating teams and the location will be made on www.ncaa.com. As soon as the information becomes public, it will be posted on www.arkansastechnews.com.
The Wonder Boys have never participated in the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament. They’ll find out on Sunday if they will have a chance to add that capstone to what is by most any measure already the most successful year in Arkansas Tech athletics history.
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