SEARCY – The Harding baseball team is off to its best-ever start at 20-4, but the real season begins Saturday as the Bisons host Christian Brothers in a three-game series to open Gulf South Conference play.
The series begins with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon. It concludes with a single game Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
Picked to finish fourth in the GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Harding has risen into the top three in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' South Region Poll and stands 16th in the NCBWA Division II poll.
Harding's offense is in the middle of the pack in the 14-team GSC, ranking sixth in batting average (.310) and eighth in runs per game (6.43). Senior third baseman Jason Nappi leads the team and ranks second in the GSC with a .457 batting average. He is third in the conference with 24 RBI and fifth with 32 hits.
Sophomore Paul Anzalone has given Harding's lineup a lift of late. He has a team-best eight-game hitting streak, during which time he has hit 13-of-27 (.481) with seven RBI.
The Bison pitching staff has been one of the best in the conference thus far, ranking third in ERA at 2.96 and leading the conference with an opponents' batting average of .199.
Sophomore Ryan Modglin, expected to start the opener against Christian Brothers, has been Harding's top starter. The transfer from Missouri State has a 2-0 record and a 1.61 ERA, fifth among GSC pitchers. Opponents are batting .098 against Modglin, the lowest figure in the conference.
Also expected to start against Christian Brothers are senior Brodie Brumley and sophomore Logan Holthaus, the reigning GSC West Division Pitcher of the Week. Brumley is 1-2 with a 5.66 ERA, and Holthaus is 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA.
Harding has also received solid work from its bullpen, led by junior Marc McRae (3-0, 0.59), freshman Cameron Walker (1-0, 1.93) and senior Donny Stephens (2-0, 2.70).
Christian Brothers is also off to an outstanding start, compiling a 13-5 record prior to conference play, despite being picked to finish last in the GSC Preseason Poll. The Bucs have played only one road game all season, defeating Blue Mountain College 4-3 in New Albany, Miss.
Christian Brothers enters the series with a .294 batting average, ninth in the GSC. The Bucs are 10th in the conference in scoring with 6.00 runs per game. Five of CBU's regular starters carry batting averages over .300.
The Bucs are fourth in the GSC with a 3.93 staff ERA and are limiting opponents to a .239 batting average. Christian Brothers projected starters are Alex Sikes (3-0, 3.55), Lee Paine (2-1, 3.54), and Jake Garbuzinski (1-2, 3.00). CBU's top pitcher out of the bullpen is Jon-Michael Davis (4-0, 1.80).
Last season, Harding won two of the three games in the series with Christian Brothers.
