Southern Arkansas clinched a share of the inaugural Great American Conference regular season baseball championship by sweeping a doubleheader from the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys at Goodheart Field in Magnolia on Saturday.
The Muleriders (32-14 overall, 17-7 GAC) won by scores of 8-7 and 12-10 to complete a three-game series sweep of the Wonder Boys (25-25, 13-11). SAU won Friday’s series opener 12-2.
Gavan McCauley went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in to lead Southern Arkansas to an 8-7 win over Arkansas Tech in game one on Saturday.
McCauley’s two-run double up the middle in the bottom of the eighth inning tied the score at 7-7.
The next hitter, Trey Buck, lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that brought Ryan Bell home with the go-ahead run.
SAU turned its 8-7 lead over to closer Justin Thomas, who pitched around an error behind him to work an otherwise uneventful ninth inning for his ninth save of the season.
Jon Mark Abbey (3-2) was the winning pitcher in Saturday’s opener. He recorded two outs in relief in the top of the eighth inning.
Brandon Arata (1-3) took the loss. He struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced while dominating innings five through seven, but he issued a walk and allowed two bunt singles to start the bottom of the eighth. That set the stage for McCauley’s heroics.
Scott Sammons went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Tech. His two-run homer in the sixth tied the score at 5-5.
Jonathan Finnegan put the Wonder Boys in front 7-5 with a two-run triple to right in the top of the seventh. Finnegan finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Arkansas Tech’s Michael Rezin added two hits and two RBIs.
Southern Arkansas built a 12-5 lead after three innings in game two before the Wonder Boys reeled off five unanswered runs to pull within 12-10.
Arkansas Tech got as close as putting the tying run at second base in the top of the sixth inning, but SAU’s Thomas came in to get the final five outs for his 10th save of the season.
Finnegan was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the nightcap. Tech’s Cesar Abreu went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
The Wonder Boys will compete in the GAC Baseball Tournament May 4-7 in Enid, Okla.
Click here to learn more about Arkansas Tech baseball.
]]>
