Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

SEARCY – Harding baseball used clutch hitting and solid pitching to sweep North Alabama by identical 2-1 scores in a doubleheader Tuesday at Jerry Moore Field. Both teams entered the week ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 20. Harding is ranked 20th, and North Alabama is ranked 19th.

In game one, senior Anthony Guglielmi had two two-out hits that drove in both runs for Harding. In the first inning, his single to right scored Kyle Atkins, and in the third a single to left scored Atkins.

North Alabama (12-4) answered with one run in the fifth off Harding starter Andrew Fiddler, a freshman making his first collegiate start. It was the only run allowed by Fiddler (2-0), who allowed only three hits and walked none with four strikeouts.

Drew Mobley (0-1) suffered the loss for North Alabama. He gave up both runs in four innings and yielded five hits and two walks.
Guglielmi and Billy Ninemire each had two hits for Harding.

Sophomore Matt Calhoun had a hand in both Harding runs in game two. With one out in the second inning, Jeremy Bohnett was hit by a pitch and went to second on a wild pitch. Calhoun moved Bohnett to third on a ground out to second base, and James Anderson scored Bohnett with an infield single down the third base line.

With the score tied at 1-1 in the sixth, Calhoun's two-out single to right scored Ninemire with the eventual game-winning run.

Senior Alex Smith made the start for Harding and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one run. He walked three and struck out four. He gave way to freshman Josh Spears in the fifth. Spears (1-1) allowed two hits and a walk but no runs and earned his first collegiate win.

Harding improved to 12-2 with the victories and will play its first series away from home this weekend when it takes on Arkansas-Monticello in its first Great American Conference action. The three-game series begins with a noon doubleheader Saturday and concludes with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.