Brice Williams and Cameron Mann continued Southeastern Oklahoma State’s recent good form on the mound and the Savage Storm remained in first place in the Great American Conference baseball standings with a 2-1 win over the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys at Tech Field in Russellville on Saturday.
Williams (3-1) held the Wonder Boys to one unearned run on five hits in eight innings before giving way to Mann, who retired Arkansas Tech in order in the bottom of the ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.
It was Southeastern Oklahoma State’s fifth consecutive win. The Savage Storm pitching staff has only allowed two earned runs in 41 innings during the five-game winning streak.
One of the keys to Southeastern Oklahoma State’s success on Saturday was inducing double plays. Arkansas Tech hit into inning-ending double plays in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
Tech’s Landon Sullins reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth. He represented the tying run, but Williams was able to get a ground ball double play off the bat of Nate Wilder to end the frame. The Wonder Boys did not put another runner on base the rest of the way.
The Savage Storm (16-8 overall, 8-2 GAC) did its damage early. Peter Bako scored on an error in the first inning and Chad Colbert came home on a Bako RBI double in the third inning.
Arkansas Tech (13-16, 2-5) scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sullins reached on an error by Riley Keith and later scored on an error by Spencer Barnett to cut the Southeastern Oklahoma State lead to 2-1, but that was all the scoring the Wonder Boys could muster.
Aaron Luchterhand (2-4) was the tough-luck losing pitcher for Arkansas Tech. He held the Savage Storm to two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits in eight innings.
Luchterhand matched his season high with eight strikeouts and he only walked one. The Wonder Boys have scored a total of three runs in Luchterhand’s last four starts.
Tyler Dowse pitched a scoreless ninth inning in relief for Arkansas Tech.
The Wonder Boys and the Savage Storm will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday at Tech Field.
Radio station KCAB 980 AM will have the broadcast.
Click here to access an Internet stream of the broadcast.
Click here to learn more about Arkansas Tech baseball.
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