Arkansas-Monticello downs Arkansas Tech; 7-2 to kickoff 2014 Winter Baseballl Invitational at Minute Maid Park

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TXEAS (February 1, 2014) Minute Maid Park welcomed college baseball action back to Houston, Texas in the form of the second annual Winter Baseball Invitational on Saturday, February 1, 2014.

Three games were played on the opening day of the tournament, with the first game featuring the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils and Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys.

Booster by two multiple run innings, the Boll Weevils downed the Wonder Boys by the score of 7-2.

Designated hitter Austin Braddock went 3-for-5 at the plate, including one run and two RBI.

Second baseman Ben Agredano contributed with two runs one hot and one RBI.

For the Wonder Boys, third baseman Jay Johnson had one run on one hit.

Josh Mingura received the win; pitching five innings, while giving up two runs on six hits.

Game two saw Winona State come from behind in the seventh inning to down Henderson State, 3-2.

The Warriors used a balanced attack to down the Reddies, limiting them two eight hits and only two runs.

Henderson State took a 2-0 lead in the third inning with Warriors coming back with two runs of their own in the fifth.

Starting pitcher Mike Wasilik threw four innings, giving up two runs on six hits.

Joseph Kubera , pitching two inning of relief, received the win while Steven Brooks, pitching 2.1 inning of revief, received the loss.

Game three had St. Mary’s scoring the go ahead run in the top on the ninth inning to give Rattlers a 5-4 win over Central Missouri.

St. Mary’s jumped out to and early 4-0 lead by the fourth inning, followed by a single run by Mules in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-1.

The Mules scored one more run in the sixth and two in the eighth inning to tie the score.

Mario Maldonado, pitching 1.2 innings of relief got the win with Kyle Gehrs received the loss.

The tournament, which is the brainchild of Houston Astros owner Jim Crane, will continue on Sunday, February 2, 2014 with three games scheduled for 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m.