SHAWNEE – Another road series is on deck for Oklahoma Baptist (11-10, 7-5 GAC) this weekend as the Bison travel to Searcy, Arkansas to face Harding (11-10, 5-7 GAC). The Bison will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. followed by a single game on Sunday at 1.
Nearly a week ago, OBU put together a 3-0 record as it swept East Central in conference play. The Bison's three wins saw the team register a .400 batting average, an .817 slugging mark and average nearly 19 RBI per game against the Tigers.
Those totals helped the Bison bolster its NCAA statistical rankings among numerous categories:
· 1st in home runs (49)
· 5th in slugging percentage (.601)
· t7th in runs scored (209)
· 11th in scoring (10.0)
· t12th in doubles (53)
· t21st in hits (233)
OBU will be tested this weekend by Harding's pitching and defense. To date, HU has given up the third-fewest hits and home runs in the GAC. The Bisons also have the top fielding percentage in the league (.978).
The green and gold have a host of players it can turn to though to put pressure on HU. One of the key contributors so far has been
Dan Pruitt. His 12 homers are one off the national lead while his .938 slugging mark is slotted eighth. Pruitt's 33 runs scored are also atop the GAC.
Here are a few other OBU sluggers that have fared extremely well so far:
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Alex Schroeder: tied for 10th in home runs (9) and 12th in RBI (31)
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Walker Keller: his nine doubles are tied for 21st in the nation
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Isiah Lissade: tied for 34th nationally with 34 hits
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Kade Self: GAC leader in average (.460) and slugging (1.040)
On the mound, the green and gold possess the top strikeout team in the GAC with 215. That's 22 more than the next school (Southern Arkansas; 193). The Bison's 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings mark is also slotted 18th in the country. OBU does have work to do in other areas though. The team's 6.79 ERA is seventh in the league.
Leading the way individually are a few players:
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Bo Dallas: ranks sixth in the GAC with a 3.62 ERA and eighth in strikeouts (34)
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Brek Galbreath: his 12 batters struck out looking slots him sixth in the GAC
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Garrett Kellogg-Clarke: ranks second with two saves
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Sam Gamboa: his 32 strikeouts are 11th in the GAC
In the other dugout is Harding, a team that has lost seven of eight. Its last win was an impressive one: a 2-1 result against No. 16 Henderson State on March 14 on the road.
Coulton Doyle has been one of the key figures offensively for the Bisons. His .691 slugging mark is just outside the top-ten in the GAC. With 26 RBI, he is tied for sixth while his eight homers are a top-six mark.
After Doyle, Michael Dewald has a team-high average of .385 with eight doubles, a top-five league mark. Dewald is also 6-for-6 in stolen base opportunities. Rounding out Harding's top offensive players is Cody Smith who possesses a .343 average. Collectively, Harding's team average of .264 sits ninth out of 12th in the GAC as does its runs scored total (122).
HU's staff has been pretty impressive so far. Carter McCall and Maddox Long, both of whom have made five starts, are inside the top-ten of the GAC in ERA. Long's .235 opponent batting average is tenth-best in the conference.
