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Box Score 2
SEARCY – Harding baseball’s eight-game homestand came to and end Saturday with a pair of losses to College of the Ozarks. The Bobcats won the opener 13-7 and shutout the Bisons 4-0 in game two.
Ozarks (12-12), which lost twice to Harding on Friday, pounded out 20 hits in the opener. It was the second highest hit total ever against by a Bison opponent. Six different Bobcats had two or more base hits, including Nathan Carter who went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and his fourth home run of the season.
Harding (10-14) had 10 hits in the opener and led the game 5-0 after the first inning. Ozarks then scored at least one run in every inning after that, plating five in the fifth.
Andy Woods (2-2) collected the win for Ozarks, striking out six in 5.0 innings. Freshman Brian McCrackin (0-4) suffered the loss in his first career start. He allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 4.0 innings.
Both teams had only four hits in game two, but Harding had a school-record four runners caught stealing to limit its scoring chances.
Ozarks first baseman Jon McGuire drove in two runs in the Bobcats’ three-run third on a double to left field. A sacrifice fly accounted for another run in the fourth.
Ryan Price (2-2) pitched a complete game for the victory, striking out five. Brandon Brock (1-2) took the loss, yielding four runs and walking five in 3.1 innings. Sophomore Casey Benincosa pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Bisons, striking out three and walking none.
Harding plays a non-conference doubleheader in Memphis against Crichton College on Tuesday. The Bisons’ next Gulf South Conference action is at Southern Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday.
