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Andrew Fiddler
Andrew Fiddler will be Harding's starting pitcher in game one.

Baseball by Scott Goode (5/4/16)

Harding Baseball Opens GAC Tournament Friday at Arkansas-Monticello

GAC Tournament – Opening Round – Best of Three Series
No. 7 seed Harding (24-26, 15-18) vs. No. 2 seed Arkansas-Monticello (31-14, 21-9)
May 6, 2016 – 3 p.m. – Weevil Field
May 7, 2016 – 12 p.m. – DH – Weevil Field

HOW TO FOLLOW
Internet:
Streaming: www.HardingSports.com
Live Audio: www.HardingSports.com
Live Stats: www.HardingSports.com

THE COACHES
Dr. Patrick McGaha, Harding
    at Harding: 313-258 (11th season)
    Career: 432-350 (15th season)
    vs. Arkansas-Monticello: 24-18
John Harvey, Ark.-Monticello

THE SERIES
Series Record: Harding leads 90-72 … from March 23, 2013 through March 22, 2014, Arkansas-Monticello won seven straight over Harding … since then, Harding has won eight of the last 11.

Harding and Arkansas-Monticello have met four times this season, with the Bisons winning three of four. Harding swept three games at Arkansas-Monticello on April 8-9. The Weevils defeated the Bisons 5-2 on April 19 in Searcy.

From the record book: Since 1997, Harding has had 22 or more hits in a game seven times. Arkansas-Monticello is the only team the Bisons have done it against twice, with 23 hits on April 17, 2010, and 22 hits on April 18, 2009.
 
HARDING'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Andrew Fiddler (SR, RHP) – 5-6, 3.64 ERA, 94.0 IP, 64 K
Hunter Payne (SR, RHP) – 6-6, 4.89 ERA, 73.2 IP, 62 K
Andrew Ralston (SR, RHP) – 3-5, 3.91 ERA, 78.1 IP, 63 K

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Harding and Arkansas-Monticello will play a three-game series with the winner of two games advancing to play in the GAC Tournament Final Four next weekend in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. This is the first time the GAC has used this format. Harding enters as the No. 7 seed and with a 15-18 conference record. Arkansas-Monticello is the No. 2 seed and went 21-9 in conference games.

Harding hit .257 and averaged 5.5 runs in its four games against Arkansas-Monticello this season. Sophomore Chris Taylor led the Bisons with a .538 average, going 7-for-13 with five runs and two RBIs. Sophomore Zach Beasley was 7-for-15 (.467) with two runs.

Harding's pitching staff had a 4.75 ERA against Arkansas-Monticello. Sophomore Reed Roberts earned a win and two saves in four appearances and did not allow a run or hit in five innings. Senior Andrew Fiddler and sophomore Jackson Ward also earned wins.

Andrew Fiddler will start game one of the series for the Bisons and enters the weekend with 94.0 innings pitched. He could become the first Harding player ever to pitch 100 innings in a season. Justin Phillips holds Harding's record with 96 1/3 innings in 2007.

Fiddler has pitched 262 2/3 innings in his career, the 11th-most among active Division II players. His 211 career strikeouts rank 19th among active players.

Harding senior leftfielder Zac Stewart has 73 hits. With two more hits, he would become only the fourth different Bison with 75 hits in a season. Adam Darby did it twice in 2007 and in 2009, when he set the Harding record with 80 hits.

Stewart is also tied with Robert Cooper (1991) with a school-record eight triples. Stewart has 12 career triples, which ranks 11th among active players in Division II.

Senior right-hander Jacob Stripling has appeared in a Harding-record and GAC-leading 27 games, and sophomore teammate Reed Roberts has appeared in 26. The previous school record was 25 by Zac Stewart in 2013.

Fiddler, Hunter Payne and Andrew Ralston could all start their 15th games of the season. Harding has never had more than one pitcher start 15 games in a season. The last Harding pitcher to start 15 games was Nick Fouts in 1993.

Prior to 2014, Harding had never had a team finish a season with a fielding percentage over .970, but the Bisons enter the weekend with a .971 fielding percentage after leading Division II with a .977 mark last season and recording a .974 percentage in 2014.

Harding's pitching staff ranks eighth in Division II and first in the GAC with only 2.54 walks per nine innings. The Bisons are also tops in the GAC and 21st in Division II with a 2.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Offensively, Harding has a conference-best 17 triples and a conference-low 17 home runs.

Stewart leads the GAC in hits (73), doubles (15) and triples (8).

Fiddler leads the GAC in starts (14), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.40) and walks per nine innings (0.96).
 
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Players Mentioned

Zach Beasley

#27 Zach Beasley

IF
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/R
Andrew Fiddler

#12 Andrew Fiddler

P
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Hunter Payne

#30 Hunter Payne

P
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Andrew Ralston

#32 Andrew Ralston

P
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Reed Roberts

#22 Reed Roberts

P
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Zac Stewart

#23 Zac Stewart

OF/P
5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Jacob Stripling

#21 Jacob Stripling

P
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Chris Taylor

#11 Chris Taylor

OF
5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
Jackson Ward

#8 Jackson Ward

P
6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L

Players Mentioned

Zach Beasley

#27 Zach Beasley

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/R
IF
Andrew Fiddler

#12 Andrew Fiddler

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
P
Hunter Payne

#30 Hunter Payne

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
P
Andrew Ralston

#32 Andrew Ralston

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
P
Reed Roberts

#22 Reed Roberts

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Zac Stewart

#23 Zac Stewart

5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
OF/P
Jacob Stripling

#21 Jacob Stripling

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
P
Chris Taylor

#11 Chris Taylor

5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Jackson Ward

#8 Jackson Ward

6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L
P
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Phone: 501-279-4760