SEARCY, Ark. – Harding won another tight contest over Oklahoma Baptist, rallying in the bottom of the ninth to earn an 8-7 GAC victory on Sunday at Jerry Moore Field.
Well before that, it was the green and gold that attained the upper hand.
In the first,
Walker Keller and
Dan Pruitt got on with a walk and double, respectively, which brought designated hitter
Alex Schroeder to the plate. On the first pitch he saw, Schroeder flied out to right and moved Keller across home. Pruitt then scored on a wild pitch, giving OBU a 2-0 advantage.
A couple innings passed before Keller scored again, this time via failed pickoff. That brought the tally to 3-1 OBU. Now down a pair of runs, the hosts followed with five straight.
Bottom of the third action saw Harding score twice. Its first run was on an infield error before Chris Witzke drove a grounder up the middle plating Cody Smith. That tied the action at 3-3. Then in the fifth, the Bisons went ahead.
Back-to-back singles brought Coulton Doyle to the plate. On an 0-1 pitch, he sent a shot over left field and moved the scoreboard in Harding's favor, 6-3.
Like it had done twice yesterday, OBU rallied. And this time, got in front in the top of the ninth. The scoring continued in the seventh as Pruitt drove in
Brandon Brewer with a single. Pruitt ended up going 4-for-4 with two doubles. OBU's fifth run saw Keller once more score via wild pitch.
Now down 6-5, pitcher
Sam Gamboa and the Bison defense kept that score the same in the seventh and eighth frames.
Then in the ninth, OBU went back in front. Schroeder drove home
Isiah Lissade with one out, tying the game at 6. Two batters later,
Ramon Gomez connected with a sacrifice fly and pushed Pruitt across. OBU led 7-6 at that point.
In the next inning, HU did what it had to to come out on top. Two of the first three batters got on base with singles before a groundout to Michael DeWald put two out on the board. Doyle was then intentionally walked which loaded the bases. In what turned out to be the final at-bat of the contest, Witzke went first pitch swinging and drove in two on a single to short.
