ADA – For the first time in over a month, the East Central University baseball team will be hosting a Great American Conference series at Ken Turner Field, as they are set to host Harding, March 25-26.  A single game is set to start at 2 p.m., Friday, March 25, with a doubleheader on the schedule, Saturday, March 26 at noon.

The last time the Tigers (6-19, 6-9 GAC) hosted a GAC series was Feb. 19-20 in the opening weekend of league play against Southwestern.  This weekend also marks the halfway point of the conference series and ECU is in a three-way tie for sixth in the standings.  The top eight teams will make the first round of the GAC Championship tournament.

Junior Riley Roberts led the Tigers last weekend against Arkansas Tech.  Roberts hit .538, with seven hits, four runs and an RBI.  Junior Kaleb Matthews added a .444 average, four runs, four hits and three RBIs. 

Sophomore Shae Edmonds earned a win on the mound, recording a 0.00 ERA in six innings.  Edmonds allowed two hits and struck out four.

Harding is currently 11-16 overall and 5-10 in the league, one spot below ECU in the standings.  The Bisons broke a six-game losing streak March 22, with a 16-14 win over Union.  Harding is hitting .244 for the season and allowing a .264 batting average by their opponents.

Zac Stewart is the only player on the team hitting over .300 for the season, with a .382 mark.  Stewart has 18 runs, 42 hits and 11 RBIs.

The Bisons have three pitchers who have seen over 45 innings of work.  Hunter Payne leads the group with a 3.00 ERA and a 4-4 record in 48.0 innings of work, four complete games and two shutouts.  Payne has allowed 50 hits, 16 runs and struck out 36.

The teams have meet on 28 previous occasions, with Harding taking wins in the last three and holding a 10-18 mark.  However, the Tigers are leading 5-3 when playing at Ken Turner Field and went 2-1 in 2014, the last time the series was played in Ada.