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Harding University Athletics

Jackson Ward
5
Southern Ark. SAU 25-12, 17-8 GAC
6
Winner Harding HU 21-19, 12-13 GAC
Southern Ark. SAU
25-12, 17-8 GAC
5
Final
6
Harding HU
21-19, 12-13 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern Ark. SAU 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5 7 3
Harding HU 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 2 6 7 2

W: Roberts, Reed (2-3) L: Eric White (0-1)

2
Southern Ark. SAU 25-13, 17-9 GAC
4
Winner Harding HU 22-19, 13-13 GAC
Southern Ark. SAU
25-13, 17-9 GAC
2
Final
4
Harding HU
22-19, 13-13 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Southern Ark. SAU 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 6 1
Harding HU 1 0 0 1 1 1 X 4 3 0

W: Ward, Jackson (6-1) L: Kenneth Tabor (8-2) S: Faulkner, Mason (3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | by Scott Goode (4/15/18)

Harding Baseball Sweeps Southern Arkansas in GAC Doubleheader

SEARCY – Harding baseball swept a doubleheader against Southern Arkansas for the first time in the school's NCAA era Sunday, defeating the Muleriders 6-5 and 4-2 at a cold and windy Jerry Moore Field. Harding will go for the series sweep Monday in the series finale at 2 p.m.

Harding (22-19, 13-13 GAC) took advantage of 14 Southern Arkansas walks and 11 wild pitches in the doubleheader. In the opener four Southern Arkansas pitchers combined to issue seven walks and throw four wild pitches. Mulerider starter Kenneth Tabor walked seven in game two and threw seven wild pitches.

With the victories, Harding moved into seventh place in the conference standings, 2½ games behind Southwestern Oklahoma for the final GAC Tournament spot with seven games remaining.

Harding trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth in game one. Southern Arkansas closer Eric White entered the game with a 0.44 ERA and five saves, but walked the leadoff batter Brendan Perrett. Ben Brauss pinch ran for Perrett and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Grant Guest drove him in to tie the game with a line drive single to left. Nolan Fertig's sacrifice bunt moved Guest to second, and another wild pitch sent him to third. After Southern Arkansas intentionally walked Luke Van Dover to set up a double play, pinch hitter David Butterfield hit a routine ground ball to Riley Orr at shortstop that could have ended the inning, but Orr misplayed the ball and Guest scored from third with the winning run.

It was the first time Harding had led in the game.

Austin Allen started for Harding and pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts. The only extra-base hit he gave up was a first-inning, two-run home run by Jacob Richardson, his 10th of the season.

Reed Roberts (2-3) came on for Allen with two outs in the seventh and escaped a two-on, two-out jam. Southern Arkansas led 4-1, but Harding cut the lead to 4-2 on Fertig's safety squeeze in the bottom of the inning to score Jack Thomas.

Southern Arkansas (25-13, 17-9) tacked on a run in the top of the eighth, but Harding scored two in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch and on Ben Bailey's RBI ground out to cut SAU's lead to 5-4.

Roberts retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to set up Harding's comeback in the bottom of the inning.

Harding had seven hits in the game. Zach Beasley went 2-for-4, his 13th multi-hit game of the season.

White (0-1) had allowed only one earned run all season, but gave up two in the ninth to take the loss.

Southern Arkansas' wildness figured heavily in game two as well.

Harding scored four runs in the game, three of them coming in on wild pitches. Van Dover scored on a wild pitch in the first. Thomas had Harding's only RBI with a safety squeeze in the fourth. Van Dover scored again on a wild pitch in the fifth, and Brauss scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.

Harding had only three hits off Tabor (8-2), but the walks and wild pitches proved costly.

Jackson Ward (6-1) won his fifth straight decision, allowing only one run on two hits over five innings. Mason Faulkner pitched the sixth and seventh for his third save.
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