The baseball team won their series against Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), moving them into first place in the Great American Conference.
The team went into the series with the disadvantage of having the location switched from their home at Jerry Moore Field to their opponent’s home turf. Junior pitcher Andrew Fiddler said the team was determined to pull through.
“Coach McGaha always says to take it one game at a time and that’s what we did this weekend,” Fiddler said. “We took it one game at a time and didn’t let the circumstances interfere with that.”
The final score was 2-1 with Harding scoring right away in the first inning, then both teams making a run in the fourth inning. Fiddler pitched the entire game only allowing seven hits when he was on the mound.
“The main thing was trying to get ahead of the hitters and let them put the ball in play so the defense could work and make plays behind me,” Fiddler said.
Senior outfielder Shane Kinnear scored the second run bringing the Bison’s back into the lead.
“I hit a line drive that the shortstop misplayed and was able to get on base,” Kinnear said. “Kyler Offenbacker was up to bat and has been really hot lately, and with two outs, I knew I needed to get to second to have a chance to score on a base hit, and I was able to get to second on a ball in the dirt. Kyler ended up getting a hit and I was able to score from second.”
The Bisons next game was held up by rain in the second inning. The teams were forced to take a 67-minute delay of game while they waited for rain to pass through.
“We just tried to keep our focus small and not let the weather affect us,” Kinnear said.
They stayed strong and played well even after having to take out their starting pitcher following the delay. They kept SWOSU hits to a minimum and had an ending with 5-3 as the final score.
The third game was on Monday. They pulled off a shutout ending with 1-0 even after playing the double-header the day before. They scored their one run in the second inning. SWOSU only had four hits in the game.
The Bisons winning streak came to an end on Wednesday against Southern Arkansas University, as they fell 7-2. Despite the loss, they still sit atop the GAC standings with a conference record of 17-7.
The team plays again this today against Arkansas Tech University in Russellville at 7 p.m.
