Tweet #theGAC  RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The defense was everywhere. The pitching almost never faltered. And added with quality at-bats across the lineup, Oklahoma Baptist found itself as 6-4, game-one winners over Arkansas Tech on Friday night in Great American Conference Tournament action.

Another win tomorrow will boost the Bison into next week's final four with games being played at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. First pitch tomorrow is at 1 p.m.

On the defensive front there were outs delivered all across the field. Isiah Lissade had five assists from his short stop position; Austin Gonzales and Rafael Gutierrez tracked down some tough fly balls in left and center, respectively, and pitchers Brek Galbreath and Nolan Feazle earned the win and save, respectively, on the mound.

As for offense, OBU got ahold of Arkansas Tech pitcher John Gray, last week's NCBWA Central Region Pitcher of the Week. The Bison got two hits in the first before coming back in the second claiming a 2-0 lead.

The Bison's attack had three quality two-out at-bats from Brandon Brewer, Gonzales and Lissade which resulted in a trio of walks. Second baseman Jayden Shafer then made ATU pay with a single through the left side plating two.

OBU, the sixth seed, played as the front runners against the No. 3 seed the rest of the way.

While the Wonder Boys, the GAC leader in hits coming into the game, made some connections, they did not come up with enough big hits like the Bison did. In fact, by game's end Galbreath and Feazle combined to get 22 fly-ball and ground-ball outs.

For the Bison, Alex Schroeder had two home runs – one in the third and one in the eighth – and three RBI while Shafer went 3-for-5 with two singles and a two-bagger. Plus, Lissade connected with a solo shot in the fourth which made the tally 5-2 at that point.

Down the stretch, and leading 5-4, OBU turned to Feazle. He only gave up one hit. And in the ninth inning, he tossed just eight pitches to close the game.