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Harding University Athletics

Zak Whitis
Jeff Montgomery/Harding Universi
6
Union University UU 17-21
10
Winner Harding HU 25-15
Union University UU
17-21
6
Final
10
Harding HU
25-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Union University UU 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 6 11 4
Harding HU 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 4 X 10 9 1

W: Johnston, Billy (1-0) L: Jack Rasmussen (3-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Scott Goode (4/19/22)

Whitis Double Brings Bisons Back from Behind

SEARCY – Harding scored in six different innings Tuesday in a 10-6 victory over Union (TN) but it was the Bisons's four-run eighth inning that broke a tie and moved Harding back to 10 games over .500 for the season.

Harding (25-15) is in fifth place in the Great American Conference standings and goes back on the road this weekend to take on Southwestern Oklahoma in Weatherford for a three-game series. The top eight teams qualify for the GAC Tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in May.

With the score tied 6-6 and two outs in the eighth, pinch hitter Zak Whitis lined a ball off the third base bag and into the left field corner, scoring Cody Smith and David Butterfield with the go-ahead runs. The Bisons tacked on two more in the inning with a Drew McNeel RBI single and a Jeffrey Worley bases-loaded walk.

Harding reliever Davis Welch worked out of jams in both the sixth and seventh innings before Billy Johnston (1-0), the fifth of six Harding pitchers, worked a scoreless top of the eight to earn his first win in relief. Kyle Lane pitched the ninth to close out the game. Bison pitchers combined to strike out nine Union batters.

Harding had nine hits, walked six times and was hit by a pitch five times. The Bisons were 4-for-20 with runners on base, but two of those hits came from McNeel, who drove in three runs for the second time this season.

Union (17-21), a member of the Gulf South Conference and located in Jackson, Tennessee, was only 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Chris Witzke also had two hits in the game, including his fourth triple of the season to lead off the top of the second. He became the first Harding player ever to hit in 20 straight games.

 
Gallery: (4-19-2022) Baseball vs. Union

 
 
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