SEARCY, Arkansas – Harding won its first Great American Conference Baseball Championship title in program history as the Bisons defeated Henderson State, 11-0 in seven innings, on Sunday in game three of the GAC Championship finals series from Jerry Moore Field.
Harding (39-17) starter Preston Tabor did not allow a hit until the sixth inning. He threw a two-hit shutout with four strikeouts against only one walk.
The Bisons scored five runs in the second, three in the third and three in the fourth to account for the scoring. Cooper Newsom opened the scoring with a double to right center. Coulton Doyle plated Newsom with a single. Nathan Bowie drove in two with a single.
In the third, Bowie collected his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly. The Bisons added two unearned runs on Reddie (32-22) fielding error. One inning later, a Kade Smith double brought home Newsom and Collin Helms singled in Smith and Ty Kirkbride.
Newsom finished the day 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple. He scored three runs. Kirkbride went 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Smith scored three runs.
Chance Resetich captured Tournament MVP honors. He went 8-for-21 across the six tournament games with three home home runs and nine RBI. Bowie, Tabor and Logan Lacey represented the Bisons on the All-Tournament Team. Bowie went 10-for-24 with seven RBI. Lacey hit four home runs.
Luke Rice, Luke Farrar and Preston Byrd made the team from Henderson State. Rice hit .345 with three doubles and six RBI. Farrar hit two home runs and drove in eight RBI. In three appearances, Byrd went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA. He struck out 13 and walked only one over 8.0 innings of work.
Arkansas-Monticello’s Justin Santoyo and Chaz Poppy, Arkansas Tech’s Tyler Sardelli, Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Carter Olson and Southern Arkansas’ Jeremy Adorno filled out the All-Tournament Team.
The Bisons earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bisons previously secured berths in 2011 and 2024. The selection show streams on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m. Arkansas Tech, Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas all entered the week in position for at-large invitations. The GAC has never sent four schools to the NCAA Tournament in a single season.