Harding (16-16) vs. Ouachita Baptist (16-9)
When: Tuesday, Mar. 31 (DH) at 2 p.m.
Where: Searcy, Ark. (Jerry Moore Field)
Series: Ouachita Baptist leads 85-82-2
Harding Notes
Harding and Ouachita Baptist will play a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Searcy. The games were originally scheduled for Arkadelphia but have been moved due to a better weather forecast for Searcy.
Harding enters the game with a 16-16 overall record. The Bisons are 8-7 at home and 8-9 in non-conference games.
In the third game of Harding's Great American Conference series with Southern Arkansas on Saturday, junior Harrison Hunter broke the Harding record by reaching base in his 30th consecutive game. The old record of 29 games was set by Ben James in 1999 and Matt Calhoun last season. Junior Noah Chandler has an active streak of 19 straight games reaching base.
Chandler and junior Zac Stewart enter the game with team-best nine-game hitting streaks. The nine-game streaks are the longest by a Harding player this season. Calhoun was the last Harding player with a streak of 10 games or longer. He hit in 12 straight last season.
According to baseball statistician Bill James' runs created formula, a lineup of nine Davis Richardsons would score 8.12 runs per game, the highest on the team. Hunter is second with 7.36 per game.
Freshman right-hander Reed Roberts and junior right-hander Andrew Ralston are the probable starters on the mound for the Bisons.
Roberts is 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA. He will be making his ninth appearance and second start. In 16 2-3 innings, Roberts has only three walks against 15 strikeouts.
Ralston is 2-1 with a 5.33 ERA and will be making his eighth appearance and sixth start. He has pitched 25 1-3 innings and struck out 14 hitters.
Ouachita Baptist Notes
Ouachita Baptist enters the doubleheader 16-9 overall and has won its last five. The Tigers will be playing only their fourth and fifth road games of the season Tuesday. Ouachita Baptist lost 15-14 in a non-conference road game at Southern Arkansas and split a GAC doubleheader at Arkansas-Monticello, winning 10-7 and losing 4-3.
The Tigers lead the GAC with a .315 average and a .396 on-base percentage. Justin Weigle is the team's top hitter, boasting a .400 average and 19 extra-base hits, including four home runs.
Ouachita Baptist has a 4.06 ERA and three shutouts in its 25 games. Opponents have hit .269 against the Tigers.
Series
Harding and Ouachita Baptist have met already this season. Rain shortened the GAC series to one game, a 10-3 Tiger victory on Feb. 22 in Arkadelphia. Richardson went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored.
