ADA – The East Central University softball team is headed back to Arkansas for a Great American Conference series at Harding, March 25-26.  Doubleheaders are set to be played each day, with Friday, March 25 starting at 2 p.m. and Saturday, March 26 at noon.

The Tigers (14-17, 11-9 GAC) fell in four games to No. 5 Arkansas Tech last weekend and moved into sixth place in the GAC standings, two spots behind Harding.  This week marks the halfway point of the season, with the top eight teams advancing to the GAC Championships.

The series with ATU was a defensive battle, with senior Jordynn VanPelt leading the team at the plate.  VanPelt hit .273 for the weekend, with three hits and two RBIs.

Harding comes into the weekend with a 22-10 overall record and a 14-6 mark in the league after going 3-1 at Southeastern.  The series with SE was a high scoring affair, with the Bisons earning 30 runs and the Savage Storm 16.

Overall in 2016 Harding is hitting .337, while holding its opponents to a .298 average.  Part of the difference in the batting average is in extra-base hits, where the Bisons lead 83-53.

Kinsey Beck leads Harding with a .430 average, 26 runs, 46 hits (11 extra-base hits) and 16 RBIs.  Brookelynn Moon adds a .426 average, with 19 runs, 40 hits, and 25 RBIs.

The Bisons have four pitchers, with two earning over 65 innings of work.  Hannah Johnson leads the group with a 2.20 ERA and an 11-2 record.  She has thrown seven complete games and two shutouts in 72.2 innings.  Johnson has allowed 82 hits, 33 runs and 25 walks, while striking out 29.

The series with Harding is a shot one, at just nine games.  The Tigers hold a slight 5-4 lead after talking the last four games.  However, ECU is 1-3 when playing in Searcy.  In 2015, the Tigers went 4-0 and were technically the home team, but the games were played at neutral sites due to wet field conditions.