SHERMAN, Texas — On a day when the weather forced a change of plans, the Harding baseball team's plans for success remained unchanged. The Bisons packed their bags, traveled to a new venue, and still managed to unpack a pair of impressive performances, sweeping a doubleheader against Northwestern Oklahoma State 6-1 and 3-0 on Friday. The series concludes Saturday at noon.
In the first game,
Maddox Long pitched eight strong innings and Harding hit two home runs to defeat Northwestern Oklahoma 6-1. Long (3-0) allowed just one run on three hits, striking out 10 and walking one, to earn the win.
Javier Lobo pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, to close out the game.
The Rangers took an early lead in the third inning, when Dylan Bradford singled to left center to drive in Chase Gordon, who had reached third base. However, the Bisons responded in the fourth inning with a three-run homer by
Coulton Doyle, scoring
Harrison Griffith and
Collin Helms, who had reached base earlier in the inning. The home run was Doyle's second of the season and 34th of his career, which ranks second all-time at Harding.
Harding added to their lead in the seventh inning, when
Logan Lacey hit a solo home run off Dawson Toborg, making the score 4-1. The home run was Lacey's second of the season and eighth of his career. The Bisons scored again in the eighth inning, when
Cooper Newsom doubled to center field to drive in Doyle. In the ninth inning, pinch hitter
Seth Johnson doubled to right field to drive in Helms, making the final score 6-1.
In the second game,
Merritt Jay (3-0) pitched six strong innings and Lacey hit a solo home run to lead Harding to a 3-0 victory. Jay allowed four hits and struck out 10 in six innings, walking two.
Austin Jobe pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out three, to close out the game.
An RBI single from Helms gave Harding the lead in the first, and Lacey's second home run of the day, a two-run shot, gave the Bisons their three-run advantage.
The sweep improves Harding's record to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Great American Conference, while Northwestern Oklahoma State falls to 7-4 overall and 0-2 in conference. Long's win in the first game was his 21st of his career, moving him into third place all-time at Harding. He also added to his school-record strikeout total, which now stands at 290.
The games were played at Dub Hayes Field on the campus of Grayson College in Sherman, Texas, after the series was relocated due to poor weather in both Alva, Oklahoma and Searcy, Arkansas. Despite the change in venue, the Bisons were able to come out on top, out-hitting the Rangers 12-7, and drawing 10 walks, while Northwestern Oklahoma struck out 25 times.
