SEARCY, Arkansas – The 26th-ranked Ouachita Baptist University baseball team wrapped up its non-conference schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a 9-1 road loss to Harding University.
The Bisons (32-15) jumped out to a quick lead with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and then ran that lead out to 8-0 through the first seven innings behind the pitching of Jay Merritt, who allowed the Tigers (34-13) to reach scoring position just once on two hits in the first seven frames.
Ouachita broke up Harding's shutout bid with a solo homerun by
G. Allen in the top of the eighth inning, which was his 10th of the season to tie teammate
Jaxon Chaney for the team lead.
Harding added its final run in the bottom of the eighth and finished the game with a 13-5 advantage in hits.
Ouachita closes out the regular season this weekend at home in a three-game Great American Conference series against cross-street rival Henderson State University. Ouachita has already clinched a top four spot in the league, meaning it will host the first round of the GAC tournament. But, the Tigers are also in the hunt for the regular season GAC championship this weekend at just one game behind league-leader Southern Arkansas.
This HSU series is set for a single game on Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon. The team will honor its seniors on Saturday starting at 11:35 a.m.
