SEARCY – The Harding baseball team will be in competition on May 3-6 at the Great American Conference Tournament in Enid, Okla. Harding is the No. 4 seed and opens the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 3 seed Southern Arkansas.

Here are 10 facts to know about Harding in the GAC Tournament.

·         In the third season of the GAC Tournament, Harding will be making its second straight appearance. It is also the second straight year Harding has opened against Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders won last season's tournament opener 9-6.

·         Harding enters the game 26-22 overall and went 16-14 in GAC games. The Bisons are guaranteed their seventh winning season in the last eight years. It was the second straight season Harding went 16-14 in GAC games.

·         In 2013, No. 6 seed Harding overcame its loss to Southern Arkansas to win its next two games 5-4 over Southwestern Oklahoma and 14-8 over Arkansas Tech. The Bisons fell 4-2 to Arkansas-Monticello in the loser's bracket championship. Southern Arkansas defeated Arkansas-Monticello in the championship game. Shortstop Gabe Fyock and outfielder Trent Wooldridge earned All-Tournament honors for the Bisons.

·         Harding and Southern Arkansas split four meetings this season. The No. 3-ranked Muleriders took the opening game of the three-game GAC series 4-2 in Searcy. The Bisons came back to win 4-2 and 5-4 in the last two games to snap Southern Arkansas' streak of 20 straight GAC series victories. Southern Arkansas, then ranked No. 12, defeated Harding 5-1 in Magnolia on Apr. 22.

·         Harding hit .276 but averaged only 3.0 runs per game in the four games against Southern Arkansas this season. Senior outfielder James Anderson was the Bisons' top hitter against the Muleriders. He went 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI. He also walked three times and had a .563 on-base percentage and .692 slugging percentage.

·         Harding's pitchers had a 3.09 ERA against Southern Arkansas. Reliever Andrew Fiddler went 1-0 in three appearances against the Muleriders. He allowed only four hits and no runs or walks with four strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Senior Logan Holthaus had Harding's best start. He allowed only one earned run on four hits in 7 1-3 innings, striking out four and walking one.

·         For the season, Harding's offense has been led by senior Matt Calhoun. He leads the team with a .372 average, five home runs, and 38 RBI. He is also tops on the team with a .452 OBP and .561 SLG. He is one of four regulars hitting over .300, including senior Trent Wooldrige (.331), sophomore Noah Chandler (.317), and senior James Anderson (.316).

·         Harding's pitchers have a 3.53 ERA entering the tournament, tied for the top spot in the GAC. It is only the third season since 2000 that Harding's ERA has been below 4.00 (3.65, 2003 & 3.27, 2011). The last time Harding's ERA was below 4.00, Harding advanced to its first NCAA II Tournament.

·         Harding has a .972 fielding percentage, the best in the GAC. The Bisons have turned 51 double plays this season, the most in the GAC and second-most in NCAA II. Harding's fielding percentage ranks 16th in NCAA II. The Bisons have made one error or fewer in 36 of their 48 games.

·         Harding has had some strange splits this season. The Bisons hit .321 and averaged 6.68 runs per game in GAC games but hit only .231 and averaged 4.73 runs in non-conference games. Harding's pitching was outstanding in non-conference games, however, with a 2.53 ERA.