SHAWNEE – Postseason action for Oklahoma Baptist begins on Saturday when the sixth seed Bison take on third seed Harding at 7 p.m. at Majestic Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The winner will move on to play either No. 2 Henderson State or No. 7 Arkansas-Monticello at 12:40 on Sunday. Whichever teams lose among this group of four will play at 7 p.m. in an elimination game.
During the regular season, HU swept OBU in three extremely close games. The scores during those March 19-20 contests: 3-2, 5-3 and 8-7. The key for Harding was its pitching. In 100 at-bats for the green and gold, they attained six multi-base hits. Leading the charge in those games was
Kade Self who notched a .417 average. Collectively, OBU registered a .250 average.
While the Bison bats didn't get hot, the Bison's pitching efforts in those three contests were more than solid. OBU posted a 4.37 ERA, struck out 23 batters and limited Harding to a team average of .267.
One key aspect for Saturday night's game will be OBU's ability to avoid errors. In all three regular-season games, there were a few miscues that resulted in go-ahead runs for Harding.
Here's a look at both teams and where they rank in the GAC and nationally:
Oklahoma Baptist – 26-20 record
| National leader with 108 home runs |
Dan Pruitt: 4th with 22 homers; 2nd in slugging (.909) |
| 15th in scoring averaging 9.3 per game |
Alex Schroeder: tied for 6th with 21 HRs; tied for 18th with 63 RBI |
| 21st in runs with 430 |
Kade Self: 21st in D2 in slugging (.800); 2nd in the GAC in average (.400) |
| 28th in team batting average - .326 |
Isiah Lissade: Ranks in the top-5 of the GAC in homers, runs scored & hits |
| 29th in strikeouts per nine innings – 9.9 |
Bo Dallas: 4th in the GAC in ERA (3.46) & 7th in strikeouts (74) |
| T45th with 96 doubles |
Brek Galbreath: Tied for 7th in the GAC with 74 strikeouts |
Harding – 31-17 Record
| Tied for 38th in double plays turned (34) |
Chris Witzke: 2nd in the GAC in hits (69) & triples (4) |
| 26th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.38) |
David Butterfield: His 34 walks are 8th in the GAC |
| Rank in the top 4th of the GAC in runs allowed, opposing BA & ERA |
Carter McCall: Ranks 3rd in the GAC in ERA (3.42) |
| Rank no better than 10th in the GAC in batting average, runs scored & RBI |
Joel Barker: Ranks in the top five in ERA, opposing BA & wins |
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