No. 5 Harding (22-30, 15-15 GAC) vs. No. 4 Arkansas Tech (37-18, 22-14 GAC)
When: Thursday
Location: Bentonville, Ark. (Tiger Athletic Complex)
Time: 4 p.m.
Coaches:
Harding – Phil Berry (54-56, 2nd season)
Arkansas Tech – Kristina McSweeney (94-68, 3rd season)
Live Stats/Live Video– Available on a link at HardingSports.com
HARDING
- After going 15-15 in Great American Conference action, Harding will be the No. 5 seed in the GAC Tournament held April 30-May 2 in Bentonville, Ark. The Lady Bisons will face No. 4 seed Arkansas Tech in the first round at 4 p.m., at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
- The tournament will be double elimination. No matter what the outcome against the Golden Suns, Harding will play again at 8 p.m., on Thursday. If they win they will play at the Tiger Athletic Complex but if they lose they will play at memorial park in Bentonville. If the Lady Bisons play at memorial park there will only be live stats and no live video.
- Harding holds a 1-2 record in the GAC Tournament. The Lady Bisons were the No. 4 seed last year and defeated East Central 4-3 in the first round. Harding then fell to Southeastern Oklahoma 3-1 and then were eliminated by Arkansas-Monticello when they fell 11-8. Amber Rollins was named to the All-Tournament team.
- Harding is coming off a pair of non-conference doubleheaders against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lions won both games in Searcy and both games in Commerce, Texas. The Lady Bisons were led by Carolyn Clayton who hit .545 in the four games. She had six hits, two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs.
- The Lady Bisons are led by Mackenzie Jones who is hitting .370. She leads the team in hits with 60 and triples with two.
- Senior pitcher Amber Rollins leads Harding's pitching staff with a 2.44 ERA which is second in the GAC. She has made 26 starts this season which ranks tied for first in the GAC. Rollins also ranks tied for third with 14 wins. She has thrown 20 complete games and ranks fourth in the GAC in strike outs with 124. Rollins has also pitched in 180 2/3 innings this season to rank first in the GAC.
- Harding ranks eighth in the GAC with a .305 team batting average. The Lady Bisons have recorded 438 hits this season ranking them fourth in the GAC. Harding also ranks fifth with a .390 on base percentage. The Lady Bisons lead the GAC and rank 11th in NCAA Division II in doubles with 87.
- Harding's pitching staff ranks third in the GAC with a 3.40 ERA. The Lady Bisons have only given up 25 home runs which is the fewest in the GAC.
- Harding has stolen 99 bases this season to set a new GAC record and to rank 11th in NCAA Division II. The Lady Bisons broke the previous GAC record of 78 held by East Central in game two at Southwestern Oklahoma on April 3. Courtney Derrick and Kimmy Hendricks have both stolen 24-of-25 bases to rank tied for third in the GAC.
- Harding has walked 189 times. The Lady Bisons broke the GAC record of 174 held by Northwestern Oklahoma last season in the first game against Ouachita Baptist on April 20. Kimmy Hendricks has been walked 36 times to rank second in the GAC.
- In GAC games this season, the Lady Bisons are led by Mackenzie Jones who is hitting .326. She had 31 hits to lead Harding and is second on the team in RBIs with 18. Kimmy Hendricks, Amanda Berdon and Carolyn Clayton each had four home runs and Berdon led the Lady Bisons with 19 RBIs.
- Amber Rollins had a 9-9 record in GAC games and a 2.54 ERA. In 15 starts, she threw 13 complete games. Rollins also had two saves and struck out 76.
- Carolyn Clayton heads into the tournament with a seven game hitting streak. Her longest streak is nine, set last season.
- Mackenzie Jones leads the Lady Bisons with 17 multiple hit games. Fifteen times this season she has recorded two hit games and two times she had three hits. Jones also leads in multiple RBI games with 10.
- Harding has scored 273 runs (5.3 runs per game) which is 49 more than its opponent. The Lady Bisons have only allowed its opponent to score more than six runs in a game nine times this season. When Harding allows two or fewer runs, it is 14-2.
- When the Lady Bisons lead after fourth inning they are 22-5 record and are 14-1 when they lead after six.
ARKANSAS TECH
- Arkansas Tech heads into the game with a 37-18 record. The Golden Suns earned the No. 4 seed after going 22-14 in GAC games this season.
- Arkansas Tech is 4-2 on a neutral field this season. The Golden Suns last neutral site game was against Fort Hays State on March 3. Arkansas Tech lost both games of the doubleheader 1-0.
- The Golden Suns have won three of their last nine games, including a 6-5 win over No. 10 Alabama-Huntsville.
- Arkansas Tech ranks first in the GAC in slugging percentage (.516), runs scored (328) and home runs (78). It ranks second in hits (471) and RBIs (294).
- The Golden Suns are led on the season by Whitney Robinson who has a .376 batting average. She leads the GAC in runs scored with 48 and ranks tied for fourth in hits with 67.
- Arkansas Tech has three players that have over 35 RBIs this season. Ashley Savage has 38, Robinson has 36 and Shanna Davidson has 35.
- The Golden Suns rank second in the GAC with a 3.19 team ERA. They also rank second in strike outs (227), wins (37) and home runs allowed (26). Arkansas Tech is led in the circle by Morgan Vaughan who ranks fourth in the GAC with a 2.71 ERA. She has started 16 games and leads the team in strike outs with 68. Sydnee Calrk ranks fifth in the GAC with a 2.81 ERA and has an 11-3 record.
SERIES
- Harding leads the series 6-2.
- It will be the first time the two teams have met in the GAC Tournament.
- The Lady Bisons won the four-game GAC series this season 3-1. Harding split with Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Arkansas (5-1, 1-5) and then swept the Golden Suns in Searcy, winning 2-1 and 4-2.
- Kimmy Hendricks led Harding this season against Arkansas Tech. She had a .600 batting average, recorded six hits and had three RBIs. Brookelynn Moon had five hits, two doubles and four RBIs.
- Danielle Hubbard had a 0.54 ERA and a 1-1 record against Arkansas Tech this season. She only allowed one earned run and struck out four batters. Amber Rollins posted a 1.00 ERA and a 2-0 record against the Golden Suns. She gave up nine hits, two earned runs and struck out five.
