SEARCY, Ark. -- The Harding Bisons took the lead in the third inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 9-2 victory against the Williams Baptist Eagles on Tuesday at Jerry Moore Field.
Freshman Luke Johnson (2-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Harding (6-1). The right-hander went five innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on six hits, allowing two walks and striking out four. Junior Bryan Seaman threw two scoreless innings while allowing one hit, with one walk and one strikeout. Davis Welch and Brian Hamilton both pitched a scoreless inning.
Offensively, Chris Witzke went 3-for-4 with a walk for his fourth consecutive multiple-hit game. Senior Cody Smith was 1-for-3 with his second double and two RBIs. Junior Coulton Doyle has his second double and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons were trailing 2-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. Harding managed to push across two runs in the inning.
The game remained tied until the third inning, when the Bisons pushed across a run on Doyle's two-out RBI double, giving the Bisons a 3-2 lead.
Harding made it 4-2 in the fourth on Owen Martin's sacrifice fly. Three more runs came in the sixth, two on Smith's two-run double that gave the Bisons a 7-2 advantage.
Harding's two runs in the seventh, both scoring on a Williams Baptist error, rounded out the scoring.
GAME NOTES
» Witzke had three hits in the game for Harding, his fourth straight multi-hit game ... Witzke is 10 for 18 (.556) during that four-game stretch.
» The Bisons out-hit the Eagles at a 10-7 clip.
» Harding pitchers limited Williams Baptist to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
» Harding pitchers faced 37 Williams Baptist hitters in the game, allowing 13 ground balls and four fly balls while striking out nine.
» Williams Baptist was led offensively by sophomore Wyatt LeDure, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
» Williams Baptist starter Ray Ochoa (0-2) took the loss, allowing four earned runs in 4.0 innings.
