SEARCY – Harding pitchers Logan Holthaus and Bronson Smith combined on a five-hit shutout and the Bison offense did just enough to defeat East Central 2-0 on Saturday in Great American Conference action at Tiger Field.

Harding (13-7, 6-3) got its first win of the three-game series after losing leads in both games of a doubleheader loss Friday against East Central (10-10, 6-6).

Holthaus (3-0) allowed only four hits and three walks while striking out six over eight innings. The senior from Winona, Mo., has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his five starts this season and has a 0.60 ERA (1ER, 15IP) in his last two starts.

Smith allowed only one hit in the last two innings and earned his second save of the season and the 19th of his career, a Harding record.

Matt Calhoun, who has reached base in 19 of Harding's 20 games this season, walked with two outs in the fourth inning. Erin McCarver's double down the right field line scored Calhoun with the first run of the game.

Harding's small-ball approach led to the Bisons' second run. The first four batters in the top of the seventh inning all laid down bunts. Kyler Offenbacker and John Chapman both bunted and reached base on errors by East Central first baseman David Terrazas.

With Offenbacker on third and Chapman at first, Trent Wooldridge's squeeze bunt scored Offenbacker, and Wooldridge was safe at first with a single. Zac Stewart's bunt, Harding's fourth straight, moved Wooldridge to second and Chapman to third, but the next two Bison hitters struck out to end the inning.

 East Central's Robert Buitrago (2-3) pitched well but took the loss. He allowed only one earned run over six innings and struck out two.

Stewart and McCarver both had two hits for Harding.