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Harding University Athletics

Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
7
Winner Harding HU 16-20, 8-14 GAC
4
UAM UAM 22-9, 14-5 GAC
Winner
Harding HU
16-20, 8-14 GAC
7
Final
4
UAM UAM
22-9, 14-5 GAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Harding HU 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 7 11 0
UAM UAM 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 9 2

W: Fiddler, Andrew (2-6) L: Zach McKnight (5-1) S: Roberts, Reed (5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | by Scott Goode (4/8/16)

Taylor, Copeland Lead Harding Baseball to Win over First-Place Arkansas-Monticello

MONTICELLO, Ark. – Harding sophomore Chris Taylor and senior Alan Copeland, hitting in the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup respectively, combined to go 5-for-7 with four runs and six RBIs and led the Bisons to a 7-4 victory of Arkansas-Monticello on Friday in Great American Conference action at Weevils Field.

The series will conclude Saturday with a doubleheader at noon.

Harding entered the weekend in ninth place in the GAC among teams eligible for the conference tournament with only eight teams qualifying for the tournament. With the victory, the Bisons improved to 16-20 overall and 8-14 in the GAC. A win by Arkansas Tech and a loss by Northwestern Oklahoma on Friday leaves Harding in ninth place, one game behind both teams.

Arkansas-Monticello (22-9, 14-5) entered the weekend in first place in the conference standings and remain there despite the loss.

KEY INNINGS
  • Taylor and Copeland teamed to produce Harding's scoring opportunity in the third. Taylor led off the inning with a double, and Copeland followed with another double to score Taylor. Copeland went to third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored after escaping a rundown on a ground ball by Zac Stewart to give Harding a 2-0 lead.
  • Harding added five runs in the fourth, all of them driven in by Taylor and Copeland. Taylor drove in two with a bases-loaded single, and Copeland drove an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run home run.
  • Arkansas-Monticello closed to within 7-3 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Harding starting pitcher Andrew Fiddler got the last out with the bases loaded.
  • The Weevils added a single run in the sixth but got no closer. Arkansas-Monticello had runners on in the seventh and eighth, but Harding reliever Reed Roberts needed only four pitches to retire three Weevils in the ninth.
KEY STATS
  • Taylor was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. It was Taylor's first career three-hit game.
  • Copeland was 2-for-3 with two runs and a career-high four RBIs. The home run was Copeland's first of the season and fifth of his career.
  • Harrison Hunter and Blake Coward both had two-hit games.
  • Fiddler improved to 3-6, allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Fiddler has two wins and a save in three appearances against Arkansas-Monticello.
  • Jacob Stripling pitched a scoreless seventh, Zac Stewart blanked the Weevils in the eighth, and Roberts earned his fifth save by pitching the ninth.
  • Harding gave Zach McKnight his first loss of the season. He dropped to 5-1, allowing six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.
  • Kevin Fitzpatrick went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Weevils. He had a two-run single in the fourth and drove in the run in the sixth on a squeeze play.
  • Harding's leadoff man reached in five of the nine innings, and the Bisons hit 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Copeland had two of those four hits.
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