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Harding University Athletics

Baseball by Scott Goode (2/15/14)

Harding Baseball Sweeps Truman State in Doubleheader

Erin McCarver had two hits and scored the game-winning run in game two of the doubleheader.
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

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SEARCY – Harding baseball swept a doubleheader Saturday winning 7-3 and 3-2 over Truman State at Jerry Moore Field. The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.

Harding improved to 4-2 on the season, and Truman State dropped to 0-2.

Harding was held scoreless through the first four innings of the opener and trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth.

Bison senior Matt Calhoun tied the game with an RBI single in the fifth. Truman State answered with two runs in the top of the sixth, both scoring on a Dave Gambino double.

Harding cut the Truman State lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth when John Chapman singled in James Anderson. The Bisons took the lead for good in the seventh. The key play of the game was a perfect bunt on a suicide squeeze by Harding's Noah Chandler. Zac Stewart scored from third on the play, and then Anderson drove in two more runs on single to right.

Harding tacked on two more in the eighth for the final margin.

 Freshman reliever Jeff Belknap (1-0) pitched the seventh and eighth innings to earn the win in relief for the Bisons. Senior Cameron Walker started and went 5 1/3 innings and allowed four hits and three earned runs.

Truman State reliever Alex Hoffman (0-1) was tagged for all three runs in the seventh and suffered the loss.

Harding had a season-high 10 hits in the game that included Chapman's first career three-hit game.

The second game was scheduled for seven innings, but the teams went to the eighth tied at 2-2.

McCarver was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth, and Chandler sacrificed him to second. Ross Adams struck out for the second out of the inning, but McCarver moved to third on a wild pitch on strike three. With Kyler Offenbacker at the plate, Truman State reliever Taylor Brooks (0-1) threw a pitch that hit the front of home plate and sailed to the backstop. McCarver raced home from third with the winning run.

Stewart (1-0) pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the Bisons and earned his first win of the season. Stewart struck out the final two batters of the seventh inning with the potential go-ahead run on third base. He allowed a single in the eighth but stranded the runner.

McCarver had two of Harding's five hits in game two and scored two of the three runs.

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