RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech baseball begins postseason play in Enid, Okla. on Saturday, against Southern Arkansas in the opening round of the 2018 Great American Conference Baseball Championships. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

GAME SCENARIOS

With a win, the Wonder Boys will advance to play the winner of Oklahoma Baptist and Henderson State. Tech went 2-1 against both teams this season. With a loss, Arkansas Tech will play the loser of Arkansas-Monticello and Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tech took two of the three games against Monticello earlier this season, but lost two of three to SWOSU.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Live video and statistics for the entire GAC Championships are available at http://www.arkansastechsports.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Southern Arkansas leads the all-time series against Tech, 105-60. The Muleriders won three of the four meetings this season as SAU defeated Tech 9-6 in a non-conference battle, and also took two of three games from the Wonder Boys in the conference series, winning 5-3 and 11-6.

SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS

Arkansas Tech (27-21, 19-14 GAC) has advanced to the GAC Championships for the seventh straight year, claiming the fifth seed. The Wonder Boys won eight of 11 three-game conference series this season, but are on a current four-game losing-streak and have lost seven of their last eight games.

Tech finished the regular season ranked fourth in the GAC with a .301 team batting average. Korey Thompson leads the Wonder Boys with a .347 average, followed by Jake Harvey and Britt Stroth who are each batting .340 batting. Cody Wescott led Tech with ten home runs, while Riley Hickerson posted team-highs with 51 runs batted in and 41 runs scored. In the month of April, Tech hit .303 as a team, led by Thompson's .396 average and Mark Vaughn's .375 average. Vaughn also tallied four home runs and 14 RBIs in the month April.

Hayes Cox leads Tech on the mound, finishing the regular season tied for the second most wins in the conference and the most by a freshman. Cox posted an 8-3 record and a 3.77 earned-run average in 13 starts. Nolan Withrow finished the regular season with the lowest earned-run average, posting a 3.00 ERA in 12 appearances. In the month of April, Isaac Hale appeared in four games, pitching 9.2 innings, while fanning nine on his way to recording a team-low 1.86 ERA last month.

SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS

Southern Arkansas (32-16, 22-11 GAC) beat out Oklahoma Baptist by a half game to finish second the GAC regular season standings, taking two of three games from Tech and Arkansas-Monticello in the final two conference series of the season.

The Muleriders hit .291 in the regular season, while Southern Arkansas's opponents hit .243. Jacob Richardson leads the Muleriders with a .378 average, 17 doubles, 11 home runs and 63 runs batted in, while Dakota Wright has 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in.

Hunter Vasquez leads Southern Arkansas's starters with a GAC-best 2.10 earned-run average, while recording the most strikeouts in the conference (95). Jacob Stroder has recorded a conference leading nine wins and Kenneth Tabor has posted a 3.27 earned-run average with an 8-3 record in 63.1 innings of work.