19 Mar 2025 Harding Softball sweeps midweek doubleheader
SEARCY – The 13th-ranked Harding softball team swept Union in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday. The Lady Bisons won 1-0 and 6-2.
Harding has now won 13 straight and improves to 27-3 overall.
Union falls to 7-22 on the season.
GAME ONE – Harding 1, Union 0
Riley Price tossed a five-hit shutout to lead No. 13 Harding to a 1-0 victory over Union on Tuesday.
The game was a pitcher’s duel from the start, with Price and Union’s Rylee Moore trading zeroes through the first four innings. Moore allowed just one hit through the first four frames, but the Lady Bisons finally broke through in the fifth.
Macy Ham singled through the left side to lead off the inning, stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kaya Lee. Ham then scored on a wild pitch by Moore, giving Harding a 1-0 lead.
Price took it from there, retiring the side in order in the sixth and working around a leadoff single by Mallory Hildebrand in the seventh to secure the shutout. It was Price’s first complete game shutout and her fourth complete game thrown.
Moore took the loss, allowing one run on three hits in six innings. She walked three and struck out five.
The Bulldogs had several chances to score, but were unable to capitalize. Rylee Moore went 3-for-3 at the plate, but Union stranded five runners on base.
GAME TWO – Harding 6, Union 2
Brooklyn Gobble pitched a complete game, allowing just two unearned runs, to lead No. 13 Harding to a 6-2 victory over Union on Tuesday.
The Lady Bisons took an early lead in the first inning when Kaya Lee singled and stole second, advancing to third on a throwing error by the Union catcher. Jadyn Booth then tripled to left center, scoring Lee and giving Harding a 1-0 lead.
Union responded with two unearned runs in the top of the second.
Harding tied the game in the second inning on a double steal with Brooklyn Gobble stealing second and Bailey Willis stealing home.
The Lady Bisons took the lead for good in the fifth inning when Kaya Lee reached on an error and scored on a single by Zoey Neal.
Harding added three more runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a double by Alexis Boswell and a single by Gobble. Neal then drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Booth added an RBI single.
Gobble (11-1) gave up only two hits and struck out six in seven innings, helping the Lady Bisons improve to 27-3 on the season. Emily Claire Felder (1-6) took the loss for Union (7-22).
The Lady Bisons had 10 hits in the game, led by Booth, who had two hits, including a triple, and two RBIs. Gobble had two hits for Harding. The Lady Bisons will be back in action this weekend when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma in a Great American Conference series. First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.
