RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers opened the 2016 Great American Conference season with a 10-7 win over the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys on Friday. Connor Eller earned his second win of the season and struck out a career-high nine batters.
 
Ouachita (3-6, 1-0 GAC) fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, as Arkansas Tech (4-7, 0-1 GAC) scored two runs on three hits. The Wonder Boys then added a third run in the third inning, but Ouachita tied the score in the top of the fourth.
 
Kyle Alexander led off the fourth inning with a double to left field, and a single by Preston Speers allowed Alexander to score Ouachita's first run. Speers later crossed home plate on a single by Victor Draijer. Ryan Hammer, who reached on a walk, scored the tying run on an error.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, however, Arkansas Tech took the lead again with a one-run inning off an error by the Tigers.
 
The Tigers took their first and final lead of the contest in the fifth inning, when Will Wallace led off with a single to centerfield. Speers singled two batters later to push Wallace to third, and Wallace later scored on a passed ball. Drew Feuerbacher gave Ouachita a 5-4 lead with a one-out single to left field that allowed Speers to score, and Draijer picked up his second RBI with a single immediately after.
 
Feuerbacher crossed home plate on a groundout to extend Ouachita's lead to 7-4, and a single by Jakahari Howell on the next at bat allowed Draijer to score and put the Tigers up by four.
 
Eller held the Wonder Boys scoreless over the fifth and sixth innings, and the Tigers added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The first run crossed the plate after another RBI-single by Howell, and a sacrifice fly by Justin Weigle gave Ouachita a 10-4 lead.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Arkansas Tech recorded a single, two walks and a double to start the inning and score two runs. A sacrifice fly later in the inning cut Ouachita's lead to just three runs, but Josh Reeves stepped on the mound for the Tigers and forced a groundout to end the inning.
 
Reeves stayed on the mound for the eighth inning, giving up one hit but zero runs. In the bottom of the ninth, Brian Krikorian replaced Reeves and recorded a strikeout and forced a groundout. Then, with two outs, Lance Cullum struck out the final batter to secure to 10-7 win for Ouachita.
 
Speers, Draijer and Owens led the Tigers with three hits each on the day, and Draijer and Howell each batted in two runs.
 
The Tigers will finish the three-game series against the Wonder Boys on Saturday, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.