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Harding University Athletics

Sebastian Martinez
16
Winner Harding HU 33-17, 17-16 GAC
5
Arkansas Tech ATU 31-18, 23-10 GAC
Winner
Harding HU
33-17, 17-16 GAC
16
Final
5
Arkansas Tech ATU
31-18, 23-10 GAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Harding HU 3 0 2 0 0 5 4 2 16 16 0
Arkansas Tech ATU 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 5 11 1

W: Welch, Davis (7-4) L: Grant Shahan (2-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Scott Goode (4/30/23)

Baseball Bisons Blast Tech in Regular Season Finale

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The most prolific offense in school history was on display again Sunday as Harding defeated Arkansas Tech 16-5 in both teams' Great American Conference finale. The game ended after eight innings due to the NCAA's 10-run rule.

With the win, Harding improved to 33-17 overall and finished 17-16 in conference. The Bisons will be the No. 7 seed in the upcoming GAC Tournament and will travel to take on No. 2 seed Ouachita Baptist in a three-game series next weekend.

Harding's 33 wins ranks fifth in program history and is the most since the 2019 team won 34 games.

Harding scored more than 10 runs for the 15th time this season, tying the school record set by the 2005 team. All nine Bisons in the starting lineup had at least one hit, and Cody Smith and Collin Helms had three hits each.

Harding's 16 runs were the most in a conference road game this season.

Harding hit back-to-back home runs for the third time this season when Sebastian Martinez hit a two-run homer down the right field line, and Seth Johnson followed that with his team-leading 13th blast to give Harding a 3-0 lead.

Harding took advantage of a Tech error in the third to score two more runs and push its lead to 5-0. Johnson drove in the second run of the frame with a sacrifice fly.

Arkansas Tech came back with a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5.

Harding answered with five more runs in the sixth to take a 10-5 lead. Three of the Bisons' five hits in the inning were doubles, and Martinez capped off the frame with a two-out, two-run single to center.

Harding's first seven batters in the seventh inning reached back, and the Bisons added to their lead with four more runs. Cody Smith had an RBI single, and Martinez drove in his career-high fifth run of the game with a sacrifice fly that pushed Harding's lead to 14-5.

Two more runs came across in the eighth, with Drew McNeel driving in a run on an infield single and Smith plating one on an RBI groundout, giving Harding a 16-5 advantage.

Davis Welch (7-4) was the winning pitcher, striking out six in seven innings. Dylan Penick pitched a scoreless eighth.
 
 
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