SHAWNEE – The last time Oklahoma Baptist (6-2) and Arkansas Tech (3-5) met on the diamond, the Bison won two of three games in the opening weekend of the Great American Conference Tournament. That occurred in Russellville last May and the series victory catapulted OBU into the final four.
Now, the two squads will meet in Shawnee on Feb. 17 and 18 for another three-game series. It is the season-opening conference contests for both teams.
Series history favors ATU. The Wonder Boys possess a 17-12 record over OBU. However, the Bison have won two of the last three series. Included in that was a sweep during the 2022 regular-season series.
Coming into this weekend, the Bison are 6-2 after a loss at Missouri Southern on Feb. 13. As for Arkansas Tech, it defeated Pittsburg State 10-6 on the same day. Of note, the Wonder Boys have played three ranked teams so far this year: No. 3 Tampa, No. 9 Southern New Hampshire and No. 5 Central Missouri.
Here's a look at the key players for both teams, starting with the Bison:
- Second baseman Isiah Lissade: His .433 batting average is tops among starters for both teams. He also has 13 hits, most among both squads.
- Catcher Alex Schroeder: Has four home runs this year. He's one of only 18 D2 players with that many. Schroeder is also tied for fourth in the country with 17 RBI.
- Schroeder, designated hitter/catcher Troy Shields and shortstop Jacob Campbell have all scored 11 runs for OBU. That slots them in the top-50 of Division II.
- Centerfielder Will Joseph and Schroeder are tied for the team lead with four doubles.
- Plus, Schroeder and Lissade are the team-leaders with five, 2-out RBI apiece.
- As a team, the Bison rank 32nd in the country with a .316 batting average. They also have a .342 average with runners in scoring position.
- Pitcher Brek Galbreath: the usual game-one starter for the Bison has two wins in two appearances and eight strikeouts. He also boasts a 3.60 earned run average.
- Pitcher Cameron Pool: His 12 strikeouts are a staff-high and are tied for 48th in the country.
- Reliever William Ellis: Has notched two saves in two appearances, a top-four mark in D2.
- Expect to see Logan Kimbro and Nolan Feazle as well this week. They have combined for 19 strikeouts and each have made at least two appearances.
Arkansas Tech
- Redshirt senior first baseman Logan Schwenke leads ATU in batting average (.364), RBI (9) and total bases (19). He has also reached base six times via walk, tied for the team lead.
- Junior catcher Christian Olea has produced a team-high nine hits.
- Senior second baseman Shane Poe leads with three doubles while junior rightfielder Keaton Ranalo has produced team-bests in homers (3) and runs scored (7).
- So far through eight games, ATU is hitting just .227.
- On the mound, the Wonder Boys have allowed 16 home runs to start the year and a total of 32 extra-base hits.
- Will Horton, a senior, has made a staff-high four appearances. He's got the best ERA (3.86) and has six strikeouts with just one walk.
- Senior Grant Shahan leads ATU with 11 strikeouts. Plus, he's only allowing opponents to hit .233.
- Also of note, John Gray, Emiliano Mata and Jack Rector have each made at least two starts for the Wonder Boys.
