Written by Nic Fraraccio // Photo by Macy Cox
The Harding baseball and softball teams are continuing to fight for postseason seeding as the regular season conference schedule comes to a close.
The Harding baseball team completed a three-game home sweep April 13-14 against Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
In game one, Great American Conference Pitcher of the Week senior Maddox Long hurled his first career complete game shutout in a 2-0 victory. The Arkansas native struck out seven batters during his fourth win of the season.
Long said his approach has been a key factor to his triumph on the mound this season.
“The keys to success have just been sticking to the game plan every week,” Long said. “I just try to get ahead in counts early and then put guys away when I can.”
The following day, the Bisons grabbed both wins in the doubleheader with scores of 7-3 and 5-3, to complete the sweep against the Savage Storm. Senior outfielder Michael Dewald collected five hits in two games to improve his season batting average to .343. Sophomore catcher Collin Helms said Dewald works hard in any given situation.
“Mike is someone who shows up to the field every day with a special kind of conviction,” Helms said. “You know exactly what you are going to get.”
Long said the team’s confidence will flourish if the offense and pitching staff continue to provide for each other.
“I think our staff is really good this year. I think if we can put up four or five runs a game, that gives me confidence we can win 90% of our games,” Long said. “The day when the offense is together and combined with our pitching, I feel like it is pretty hard to beat us.”
With two conference matchups remaining, Harding currently claims second place in the GAC standings.
The Harding softball team took two out of three games in Durant, Oklahoma, against Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Despite losing the first game of the series 10-9, a Lady Bison broke a record against the Savage Storm. Senior catcher Chelsea Blankenship became the first player in program history to hit three home runs in one game.
Third baseman Emma Curry said the team environment was crazy during Blankenship’s illustrious performance.
“When she hit that third home run, we were all in disbelief,” Curry said. “We were going absolutely crazy in the dugout and made sure to cheer her on.”
After dropping game one, the Lady Bisons bounced back April 14 and grabbed two victories with scores of 3-0 and 9-3 to win their second conference series in a row. Junior pitcher Riley Price and senior pitcher Abby Burch threw back-to-back complete games to shut down the Savage Storm.
As the conference tournament approaches, Curry said the team wants to keep the same momentum moving forward.
“We want to keep on going and feed off this previous weekend,” Curry said. “We want to make our big plays, have fun and just be who we know we can be.”
Following the series win, Harding currently holds third place in the GAC standings.
The Harding softball team will host East Central University for a three-game conference series. Game one begins Friday at 4 p.m. The Harding baseball team will travel to Ada, Oklahoma, to take on East Central in a three-game conference series.
The GAC softball championships will begin May 2 in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the GAC baseball championships will begin May 3 at the top four seeded campus sites.
