BETHANY, Okla. – Trailing 7-1 after three innings, things looked bleak for the Harding baseball team in its Great American Conference opener against Southern Nazarene. That was until the Bisons scored four in the fourth and sent 18 batters to the plate during a 12-run fifth inning en route to a 25-9 victory over the Crimson Storm.

The game was called after seven innings due to the NCAA's 10-run rule.

Harding's 25 runs tied the most ever by a Great American Conference team and were the second-most runs ever scored by a Bison team. The record is 36 runs against University of the Ozarks in 1999.

There were offensive heroes up and down the lineup for the Bisons and all nine starters had at least one RBI. Harding had 19 hits, walked nine times, and four batters hit by pitches.

Senior Matt Calhoun was 4-for-6 with four runs and five RBI and became the first Harding player to hit two home runs in the same game since Trent Kinnear hit two at Arkansas Tech in 2011. He hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth and a three-run home run in the 12-run fifth. Senior Erin McCarver was 4-for-6 with three runs, three RBI, a triple and a home run.

Harding's fourth home run came from sophomore Davis Richardson, who was 2-for-5 with two runs and six RBI.

Senior James Anderson was a perfect 5-for-5, scored six runs, drove in three more, and tied a Harding record with three doubles. The last Bison with three doubles in a game was Michael Drennon against Ouachita Baptist in 2001. Anderson was the first to have five hits in a game since Chase Presley and Jason Nappi had five each against Arkansas-Monticello in 2010.

Sophomore Kyler Offenbacker also tied a school record with four walks.

Harding starting pitcher Cameron Walker (1-0) earned his first win of the season. He pitched 5.0 innings and allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits. He walked three and struck out three. Senior Bronson Smith pitched two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts.

Southern Nazarene used six different pitchers, and each of them allowed two or more earned runs. The loss went to reliever Michael Descisciolo (1-1), who pitched to three batters in the fifth inning and gave up three hits and three runs without retiring a hitter.

The teams meet again in a doubleheader Saturday at noon.