SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist Baseball will see three games with the second ranked GAC team in Bison Territory.
The green and gold will take on Harding for a trio of games beginning Friday evening at 6 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the Bison will take on Harding with a 1 p.m. first pitch and Game 3 to follow.
Oklahoma Baptist Notes
- OBU Baseball is coming into the weekend looking to flip a six-game losing streak against a big opponent. In the most recent GAC meetings, the green and gold were swept by Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. The Bison totaled 10 runs the entirety of the weekend with five in the first game and five in the final game. OBU fell to NWOSU in Game 1 with a 6-5 final, Game 2 with a 1-0 final and Game 3 with a 10-5 final.
- In the most recent week of play, Zane Bennett stood out amongst the team with two homeruns, three RBI, and 10 total bases. Bennett finished the week with a .444 batting average, a 1.111 slugging percentage, a .545 on-base percentage and a 4-9 record at the plate.
- Bryant Thornton finished the week with a 1.69 ERA and a 0-1 record after 5.1 innings on the mound, totaling seven strikeouts. Thornton gave up one earned run in four hits, holding the opponent to a .211 batting average.
- Following the series with NWOSU, the Bison have dropped to eighth place in the GAC with a 19-17 overall record and an 11-13 mark in conference action. The green and gold sit in second in the league in slugging percentage (.501), third in on-base percentage (.413), second in runs scored (286), second in RBI (261), and second in homeruns (53).
- Individually, the Bison have representation in several categories in the GAC. Lucas Schaefer is third in slugging percentage (.678), and Keenan Morris is tied for ninth in runs scored (37). Bennett and Schaefer show up for OBU in RBI with Bennett in fourth (41) and Schaefer in a tie for fifth (39). DJ Van Atten, Morris and Matt Marsic represent the Bison in doubles as Morris is tied for fifth (13), Van Atten is seventh (12), and Marsic is eighth (11). Marsic is also in a tie for second in triples with three this season. Bennett and Schaefer are tied for fifth in the conference in homeruns with nine-a-piece and Schaefer is eighth in total bases with 82.
Harding Notes
- Harding comes into the weekend off a win over Arkansas Tech in a midweek meeting with a 9-7 final for Harding. HU is 27-11 overall and 16-8 in conference action. Harding is 18-6 at home and 6-5 on the road.
- In the most recent weekend of GAC play, Harding was swept by Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders took the first game with a 5-3 final, Game 2 with a 7-4 final and the series finale with a 3-1 victory to remain first in conference action.
- Logan Lacey is a key offensive component for HU leading the team with a .383 batting average, 11 homeruns, 95 total bases, nine doubles and a .742 slugging percentage.
- Maddox Long leads the staff with a 1.20 ERA and an 8-2 record from the mound. The starter for Harding has totaled 67.1 innings on the bump, giving up 14 runs (nine earned) on 45 hits, compiling a total of 86 strikeouts. Long holds the opponent to a .191 batting average.
- In GAC play, Harding collectively holds the best team ERA (4.43) with a total of 320 strikeouts. Harding is third in the conference in on-base percentage (.413), fifth in homeruns (40), third in stolen bases (54), first in batter struck out (320), and first in runners picked off (9),.
