ADA, Okla. – The Harding baseball team swept East Central Saturday to open Great American Conference action. The Bisons won the first game 19-7 in seven innings and won the second game 6-5.
Harding improves to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the GAC.
East Central falls to 1-8 and 0-2 in the GAC.
Game One
Coulton Doyle racked up four RBIs to help lead the Harding Bisons over the East Central Tigers 19-7 on Saturday.
Carter McCall (2-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Harding (7-1, 1-0). The right-hander went five innings, giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits, allowing five walks and striking out one.
Doyle went 2-for-5 with a home run in addition to his four RBIs for the Bisons. Chris Witzke put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks and three RBIs. Drew McNeel also chipped in for Harding, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double, a triple and three RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons scored in six different innings on the way to the win. Harding broke a 3-3 tie and took the lead for good at 5-3 in the second inning on a two-run triple off the bat of Cody Smith, scoring Brendan Perrett and Owen Martin.
GAME NOTES
» Harding got three-hit games from both Smith and Perrett.
» Every Harding starter reached base safely in the win.
» Harding's highest scoring inning was the sixth, when it pushed six runs across.
» Six Bisons had multiple hits in the game.
» The Bisons had a total of 17 hits.
» The Bisons out-hit the Tigers at a 17-8 clip.
» Harding went 10-for-17 (.588) with runners in scoring position.
» The Bisons got four hits in six at-bats with the bases loaded.
» Harding pitchers faced 35 East Central hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out two.
» East Central was led offensively by Colton Schaper-Kotter, who went 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI.
Game Two
The Harding Bisons took a 3-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed at it won 6-5.
Chris Witzke led the way offensively for the Bisons, going 2-for-4 in the game with a double, a triple and an RBI. Cody Smith compiled a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk and an RBI. Michael Dewald also contributed, going 1-for-2 for Harding with two walks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Witzke's RBI double was the key hit in Harding's three-run inning.
East Central narrowed Harding's lead to 4-3 before the Bisons stretched the advantage to 5-3 in the fifth inning.
The Tigers gained ground, closing the gap to 5-4 until Harding added some insurance in the sixth. Martin crossed home plate with the lone run of the inning for the Bisons, bringing the score to 6-4 in favor of Harding. East Central added another run in the sixth but the Bisons held on to win.
GAME NOTES
» Dewald stole two bases in Saturday's game.
» Harding pitchers faced 32 East Central hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and five fly balls while striking out two.
» The Bisons drew six walks from East Central pitching.
» East Central was led offensively by Kyle Busker, who went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
The two teams will wrap up the series Sunday with a single game at noon.
