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Harding University Athletics

Grant Guest
Sterling McMichael
Grant Guest had six hits in the doubleheader for the Bisons.
9
Harding HU 11-11, 5-6 GAC
10
Winner Southern Nazarene SNU 3-17, 3-8 GAC
Harding HU
11-11, 5-6 GAC
9
Final
10
Southern Nazarene SNU
3-17, 3-8 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 R H E
Harding HU 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 19 3
Southern Nazarene SNU 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 10 16 3

W: Mike Descisciolo (1-0) L: Stewart, Zac (0-2)

6
Harding HU 11-12, 5-7 GAC
7
Winner Southern Nazarene SNU 4-17, 4-8 GAC
Harding HU
11-12, 5-7 GAC
6
Final
7
Southern Nazarene SNU
4-17, 4-8 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Harding HU 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 6 14 2
Southern Nazarene SNU 0 0 0 0 7 0 X 7 13 1

W: Cody Tolbert (1-0) L: Payne, Hunter (4-3) S: Austin Cooper (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | by Scott Goode (3/14/16)

Southern Nazarene Deals Harding Baseball Two One-Run Losses

BETHANY, Okla. – Harding lost a pair of one-run games in its doubleheader that concluded a three-game Great American Conference series with Southern Nazarene on Monday. The Crimson Storm won the opener 10-9 in 13 innings and game two 7-6. Harding won the opener 3-1 on Sunday.

Harding (11-12, 5-7) will play a non-conference game against Ouachita Baptist on Tuesday at Jerry Moore Field in Searcy.

GAME ONE
The 13-inning opener tied for the second-longest Harding game in the NCAA era. The last time the Bisons played 13 innings was against College of the Ozarks in 2011.

Harding held a 7-0 lead in the game after two innings. The Bisons received a three-run home run from Blake Coward in the first and two-run home runs from Zac Stewart and Davis Richardson in the second. The three home runs matched Harding's total from the first 21 games of the season.

Harding tacked on another run in the top of the sixth on a Richardson sacrifice fly to give the Bisons an 8-0 lead.

Southern Nazarene answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, benefitting from a rare defensive implosion by Harding in the inning. Harding, one of the top defensive teams in Division II, committed three errors.

Harding starter Andrew Ralston came out with one out in the inning. He pitched 5 1/3 and allowed four runs (two earned) with five strikeouts.

The Bisons led 8-4 entering the bottom of the ninth but a three-run home run by Anthony Wiggins off reliever Ryan Roberts and a solo home run from Tyler Stevens off reliever Joshua Spears tied the game.

Harding retook the lead in the 12th on Coward's RBI single to left, but Southern Nazarene again answered when Mike Descisciolo hit the first pitch of the bottom of the inning over the fence in left to tie the game again.

With one out in the 13th, Wiggins hit his second home run of the game to give Southern Nazarene the victory.

Stewart, Harding's fourth pitcher of the game, gave up the home run and dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Descisciolo (1-0) pitched the last four innings and received the win for the Storm.

Stewart and Grant Guest both had eight at-bats for Harding, tying a school record. Guest was 4-for-8 with a career-high four runs scored. Richardson was 4-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs, a double and a home run, and Coward was 3-for-7 with a home run and four RBIs.

Harding had a season-high 19 hits, but stranded 17 runners, its highest total in a road game since 1999.
 
GAME TWO
Southern Nazarene did all its damage in the fifth inning of game two, scoring seven runs on six hits. Descisciolo had a three-run home run in the inning off Harding starter Hunter Payne, and a two-run home run by Shelby Reese off reliever Jacob Stripling.

Harding entered the fifth with a 2-0 lead. The Bisons scored a run in the first on Noah Chandler's RBI single and added another on an RBI single from Stewart.

Down 7-2 going into the seventh and final inning, Harding mounted a four-run rally that ended just a run short. Coward drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Jaxon Mohr had a run-scoring double, and Chris Taylor had a two-run double to left center. Taylor was stranded at third when the final out was made.

Payne (4-3) suffered the loss, yielding five earned run on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Southern Nazarene reliever Cody Tolbert (1-0) received the win despite allowing all four of Harding's run in the seventh. Austin Cooper got the last two outs for his first save.

Harding had 14 hits in the game with three each coming from Chandler and John Chapman.
 
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