Three Wonder Boys Earn All-Region Awards

Three members of the 2011 Arkansas Tech baseball team have garnered all-region accolades for their play during the recently completed season.

Senior center fielder Matt Johnson and junior designated hitter/pitcher Nate Wilder were named NCAA Division II All-South Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Senior second baseman Josh Riley collected all-region honors from the NCBWA.

Johnson (photographed, top left) hit .454 with nine home runs and 50 runs batted in during his final season in the green and gold. He established new single-season school records for base hits (99), runs scored (79), stolen bases (37), total bases (156) and longest hitting streak (34 consecutive games).

Wilder (photographed, top right) finished the 2011 season with a .342 batting average, 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. He became just the 10th Wonder Boy to ever hit 10 or more home runs in a season, and he also developed into a valuable member of the Tech pitching staff. Wilder was 2-1 with a 1.45 earned run average in 11 appearances on the mound.

Riley (photographed, bottom) hit .335 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs. His 18 doubles were second-most on the team behind Johnson, who had 22 two-base hits.

Johnson, Wilder and Riley helped the Wonder Boys finish with an overall record of 32-19 during the 2011 season. Arkansas Tech reached the Gulf South Conference Tournament for a second consecutive year and had its best showing in that event since 2001.

The Wonder Boys made it all the way to the final day of the GSC Tournament before falling to Harding 4-3 in the penultimate game.

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