SEARCY – Harding and Southern Nazarene split a pair of close games Saturday at Jerry Moore Field as Great American Conference play got underway.

Harding won the opener 4-2, with Southern Nazarene taking game two 4-3. The finale is Sunday at 1 p.m.

Harding moved to 8-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference. Southern Nazarene is 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the GAC.

With the score tied 2-2 in the seventh inning of game one, Harding senior Cody Smith blasted a two-run homer into the wind for the eventual game-winner. It was Smith's first home run of the season and 11th career home run.

Harding erased a 2-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the fourth. Michael Dewald's RBI single drove in the first run, and Jeff Worley had a sacrifice fly to score the second.

Maddox Long started on the mound for Harding and matched a career high with nine strikeouts. He lasted six innings, allowed two earned runs, and left with the game tied.

Senior Andrew Bradshaw came on in relief and pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win. Freshman Luke Whaley blanked Southern Nazarene in the ninth for his second save.

Harding had chances in game two but left 11 runners on base. The Bisons were only 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Harding's best shot to win it was in the fifth when it loaded the bases with no outs, but a ground out followed by a double play kept the Bisons from scoring.

Down 3-0 in the second, Worley turned on a pitch and sent the ball into the trees over the right-field fence for his first homer as a Bison.

Harding tied the game with two more on a Drew McNeel single in the fourth.

Southern Nazarene retook the lead with a run in the seventh. Harding loaded the bases again with only one out in the bottom of the seventh but popped out and lined out to end the game.

Junior Will Roguske got the start and went four innings, striking out four. Dylan Penick was solid with two scoreless innings out of the pen.