ADA – The East Central University baseball team will pack up their bats this weekend and head to Searcy, Ark., for their first true road games since Feb. 13-14.  The Tigers (11-8, 7-4 GAC) and Harding have moved the series to Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, with the double-header scheduled for Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

ECU is currently being led at the plate by senior Nick Spini, with a .426 batting average on 15 runs, 29 hits and 14 RBIs.  Fellow senior Gavin Susca adds a .364 average, with 10 runs scored, 16 hits and seven RBIs.
On the mound, senior Lucas Kaplan has a 4-0 record and 3.85 ERA in 32.2 innings of work.  Kaplan has allowed 36 hits, 20 runs and struck out 34.

The Bisons head into this weekend's games with a 12-13 overall record and a 5-5 mark in the Great American Conference standings.  Harding has a .253 team batting average and has tallied 14 more runs (120/106), but trails 181 to 200 in hits.

The Bisons are led by Harrison Hunter, with a .355 average, 14 runs, 27 hits and six RBIs.  Noah Chandler adds a .284 average, 16 runs, 23 hits and 12 RBIs.

While Harding has six pitchers that have thrown over 12 innings this season, Collin Campbell leads the team with a 3-1 record and 3.31 ERA in 35.1 innings of work.  Campbell has allowed 31 hits and 14 runs, while striking out 23.

Last season the Tigers took the GAC series over the Bisons, with a 2-1 record at home and a .301 to .278 lead in batting average.  The games were all close, with no team earning the win by more than two runs.

ECU senior Garrett Donohoe led the Tigers with a .636 average, four runs scored, seven hits and six RBIs.  Fellow senior Casey Chenoweth added a .400 average, three runs, four hits and four RBIs.

Senior Oscar Gomez went 1-0 on the mound in 3.2 innings of work.  He allowed three hits and two runs and struck out six.  Senior Merrick Ardoin added a save in two innings, allowing two hits and one run.

Harding was led by Zac Stewart at the plate, with a .500 average on three runs, six hits and two RBIs.  Collin Campbell is the lone returner on the mound from the series, with 3.2 innings of work, eight hits and five runs allowed and four strikeouts.

Since 1999 the ECU and Harding have meet on 26 previous occasions, with the Tigers trailing 10-16 and 4-5 when playing as GAC opponents.  ECU has struggled some on the road as well, going 5-11 when playing in Searcy.

After this weekend's series with the Bisons, the Tigers will return home to face St. Gregory's, Tuesday, March 24 at 2 p.m. at Ken Turner Field.  The Cavaliers are currently 6-18 overall and 1-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference and will play a three-game series this weekend at Wayland Baptist.