Harding (12-13, 5-5) vs. East Central (11-8, 7-4)
When: Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m.; Sunday, March 22 (DH) at 12 p.m.
Where: Searcy, Ark. (Jerry Moore Field)
Series: Harding leads 17-13
Harding Notes
Harding continues Great American Conference play Saturday with a 3 p.m. series opener against East Central. The teams conclude the series Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
Harding is 5-5 in conference play and tied for sixth place. The top six teams advance to the GAC Tournament in Enid, Oklahoma, in May. East Central is 7-4 and in third place.
Harding enters the series winners of three of its last four and seven of its last 10. During those 10 games, the Bisons have hit .288 and averaged 7.0 runs per game after hitting .231 and scoring 3.3 runs per game in the season's first 15 games.
Several Bisons have begun to heat up during the 10-game stretch. Senior Kyler Offenbacker has led the way with a .421 average, six runs and eight RBIs. Junior Zac Stewart has 13 hits in the last 10 games, including five for extra bases and 11 RBIs, and junior Noah Chandler has 12 hits, including two home run, has scored 11 runs and driven in eight.
Harding won a pair of one-run games Tuesday in Searcy against No. 26 Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Bisons won the opener 4-3 after scoring four in the second inning and cutting off a UAFS rally at three runs in the seventh inning. Harding trailed 4-0 entering the seventh inning of game two, but used five hits and a UAFS error to score five runs in a comeback victory. Jaxon Mohr had the game-winning hit with the bases loaded.
During the last 10 games, a trio of Harding pitchers won two games each. Hunter Payne has appeared in five of the games and has pitched 6 1-3 innings and allowed only two earned runs and a .208 opponents' batting average. Andrew Fiddler has won both of his starts in the stretch, and Andrew Ralston has also won twice.
Harding's pitching staff is fourth in the GAC with a 3.96 ERA. The Bisons will likely keep the same weekend rotation it has used throughout the season. Junior Collin Campbell (3-1, 3.31) is the likely game one starter. Fiddler (2-2, 3.63) will likely start the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, followed by junior Jacob Stripling (1-3, 3.66) in game two.
East Central Notes
East Central enters the series 11-8 overall and 7-4 in conference. The Tigers have lost five straight, including four GAC games. East Central fell twice to Arkansas Tech last Sunday after Saturday's game was rained out.
East Central ranks fifth in the conference with a .285 team batting average and averages 6.0 runs per game. Tiger senior Nick Spini leads the GAC with a .426 average and is also tops in the conference with 12 doubles.
The Tiger pitching staff is seventh in the GAC with a 4.84 ERA and limit opponents to a .253 average, fourth in the conference. East Central has two undefeated weekend starters. Oscar Gomez is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Lucas Kaplan is 4-0 with a 3.58 ERA and has 34 strikeouts in 32 2-3 innings. Cam McKay is 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA. The rest of the Tiger pitching staff has a 7.10 ERA in 52 innings pitched.
Series
East Central won two of three games last season in Ada, but Harding swept the series in Searcy in 2013.
Harding Hitters vs. East Central: Noah Chandler (.125, 1-for-8, 1 R, 1 RBI), John Chapman (.000, 0-for-9, 2 R), Kyler Offenbacker (.150, 3-for-20, 3 R, 2 RBI), Zac Stewart (.500, 6-for-12, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI).
Harding Pitchers vs. East Central: Collin Campbell (1-0, 7.71, 4.2 IP, 5 K), Alan Copeland (0-0, 0.00, 1.0 IP), Andrew Fiddler (0-2, 9.00, 4.0 IP, 4 K), Hunter Payne (0-1, 13.50, 2.0 IP, 1 K).
