JOPLIN, Mo. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello baseball team began their run in the 2024 NCAA DII Central Region Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The No. 6 seeded Boll Weevils were the away team in the match-up, taking on the No. 3 seeded Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech in what felt like a rematch of the GAC Tournament Finals. UAM would win the contest, 11-9.

After claiming the regular season and tournament titles in the 2024 season, Arkansas-Monticello earned a Regional Tournament birth here in Joplin, Missouri.

UAM's Camden Tanner also etched his name in the record book against Tech on Thursday, setting a new single-season hit record. Tanner entered the tournament with 81 hits, tying Ben Agredano's 2014 record. With three hits in the game, including a double and two singles, Tanner has taken the record at 84.

Game 1, 9 Innings
 
Arkansas-Monticello: 11, Arkansas Tech: 9
WP: Connor Irvine
LP: G. Shahan (6-2)
SV: Nelson Mercado (9)

Scoring Recap:
UAM scored first in the contest, seeing Kirk Woolf drive in Roc Hawthorne in the top of the first on a SAC fly to center field. The Wonder Boys responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

Between the second and third innings, the Boll Weevils hit three home runs and saw four runs scored. Parker Dorrance launched one to left field in the second, scoring Cade Cancilla on the drive. Kirk Woolf and Chaz Poppy hit back-to-back solo shots in the third. Arkansas Tech saw a three-run home run in the bottom of the third to keep the score to 5-4.

Roc Hawthorne and Camden Tanner each drove in a run in the fourth to push the Monticello advantage to 7-4.

The Wonder Boys won the fifth and sixth innings, keeping ATU within one run of UAM.

Hawthorne hit an opposite-field home run in the seventh, but a two-run home run for Tech tied the game at 8-8.

An RBI single up the middle in the eighth, followed by Woolf's second home run of the game in the ninth, gave the Boll Weevils an 11-8 lead. ATU scored a run in the bottom of the ninth but was unable to take back the lead from UAM.

The win on the day pushes Arkansas-Monticello into the winner's bracket, giving the Boll Weevils their 33rd win of the year.

UP NEXT
Arkansas-Monticello is back at Warren Turner Field tomorrow, May 17, to take on No. 2 seed and tournament host Missouri Southern State University at 5:00 p.m.

All live streams and live stats will be available as clickable links on the UAM Baseball schedule.

How to follow the Weevils: For more information on Arkansas-Monticello Weevils Baseball, visit www.uamsports.com and follow the team's social media channels by searching "Weevils Baseball" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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