SERIES INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 16-9 (6-2 GAC)	No. 13 HARDING BISONS 19-5 (6-3 GAC)
Tuesday, March 14 | 4 p.m. | DH Harding Softball Field | Searcy, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Coming off their solid outing last week picking up a win on the road against No. 1 Rogers State as well as collecting the 2-1 GAC series win over Ouachita Baptist, the Arkansas Tech softball team now looks ahead to the coming week as they get ready to travel to Searcy, Ark. on Tuesday to take on No. 13 Harding in a conference mid-week doubleheader. The doubleheader is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch tomorrow afternoon from the Harding Softball Field. 

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Tech Tidbits
The Golden Suns enter the mid-week conference doubleheader against Harding with a 16-9 overall record and a 6-2 record against Great American Conference opponents. The team is coming off a big win on the road at No. 1 Rogers State where they split a mid-week nonconference doubleheader with the best team in the country at the Division II level as well as a 2-1 weekend conference series win over Ouachita Baptist.

Last season against Harding, the Golden Suns swept the season series 3-0 winning the first two games in a mid-week doubleheader contest at home, then picking up the win for the sweep on the road in a mid-week game in Searcy. 

Offensively, the Golden Suns are hitting .280 at the plate this season as a team (179-for-639) with 115 runs scored, 30 doubles, nine triples and 16 total homeruns. Entering the doubleheader, the Golden Suns own two players hitting .300 or better on the year with at least 50 at-bats. Leading the Golden Suns at the plate is Jessica Williams who owns the team best .368 batting average (21-for-57). Following right behind Williams is Makenzie Goins who is averaging .355 at the plate this season (27-for-76).

In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast five total players who have notched at least one total homerun on the 2023 season so far. Leading the charge in homeruns this season for the Golden Suns is Makenzie Addis with seven long bombs. After hitting her sixth homerun of the season on Tuesday that powered the Golden Suns to their win against No. 1 Rogers State as well as one in the series against Ouachita, Addis now holds the program record for all-time career homeruns with 38 for the Golden Suns.

Behind Addis in total homeruns on the season is both Goins and Brooke Prewitt with three homers each. Rounding out the list of homerun hitters for Tech is Williams with two bombs on the year, while Shelby Chavers has hit one. Leading the team in RBI's is Addis with 23. Prewitt is next with 13 total RBI's, while Goins has 11. 

In the circle, the Golden Suns have a team ERA of 2.71 and have struckout 103 hitters in 163.0 total innings pitched.

Four total pitchers have made at least once appearance in the circle so far this season for Arkansas Tech. Bailey Buffington leads the team in starts with 14, while Bradi Basler has nine starts on the year. 

Buffington is 10-3 in the circle this year with a team best 1.40 ERA. She has pitched ten complete games so far this year and has six total shutouts. Five of the shutouts were by herself, while one was through a combined effort. The senior has recorded a team-high 49 strikeouts in 80.0 innings of work and currently holds opposing batters to a .225 average at the plate.

Basler is 4-4 in the circle this season with a 3.95 ERA. She has pitched four complete games and has 39 strikeouts in 49.2 innings of work. 

In relief, Kaila Cartwright leads the Golden Suns with nine total appearances, that includes one start, and Lexy Taylor has made four total appearances with one start. 

Cartwright was apart of the combined shutout effort alongside Buffington and also helped to throw a combined no hitter in that very same game. The senior has struckout 12 total batters in 25.2 total innings pitched and has a 4.09 ERA on the season thus far.

Taylor has posted a 3.65 ERA so far this season and has struckout three opposing hitters in 7.2 innings of work. 

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Scouting the Bisons
Entering this weeks conference mid-week doubleheader, No. 13 Harding holds a 19-5 overall record with a 6-3 record in GAC play. The Bisons have collected GAC series wins against Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Arkansas so far this season. In their most recent conference series, the Bisons lost 1-2 to Arkansas-Monticello on the road. 

Statistically this season, the Bisons are hitting .304 overall at the plate as a team (208-for-685) with 116 runs scored, 45 doubles, six triples and 13 homeruns. Coming into the week, the Bisons have five players averaging .300 or better at the plate on at least 55 at-bats. Leading the hitters is Hannah Garrett with a .375 batting average (21-for-56). Behind Garrett is Macy Smith with a .364 average at the plate this season (20-for-55). 

In terms of power hitters, Nicole Shano leads the team in total homeruns on the season so far with five, while Hanna Jones, Leigha Harris, Emma Curry and Chelsea Blankenship round out the rest of the homerun hitters for Harding with two homers each on the season so far. In terms of RBI's, both Shano and Harris lead the Bisons with 20 RBI's each on the year. Jones and Curry follow the leading pair with 13 RBI's each. 

In the circle, the Bisons have a team ERA of 2.62 and have 131 strikeouts in 179.0 total innings. 

Four total pitchers have made at least one appearance in the circle this season for Harding. Riley Price leads the team in starts with nine, while Lily Tasnki has started eight games in the circle. Price is 8-3 on the year with a 3.08 ERA and has a team-high 47 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched. She has also thrown three complete games for Harding. Tanski has picked up one save and is 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA and has recorded 41 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. In terms of shutouts, Tanski has logged two on the season.

In relief, Abby Burch leads the Bisons with 14 total appearances and has logged seven saves in those appearances. Burch is 2-0 on the year with a team-best 1.58 ERA and has struckout 18 hitters 17.2 total innings. Opposing bats are hitting .156 against Burch when she is in the circle.