Optimism And Frustration Mark High And Low Points For Hardballers The players on the 1981 Harding baseball team carried a taste of bit · tersweet in regard to the season they participated in, As the squad entered the season, optimism reigned as the univer· sal outlook. But as the year progressed, hard luck prevailed and the optimism was soon replaced with feelings of despair. When the slate finally came to a close, the Bisons found themselves tied for last in the AIC with a 4·10 conference and 16-22 overall record. It could easily be said, however , that the Bisons' season was relatively suc· cessful in one aspect. Considering the 8·18 record of 1980, one could deem that the '81 outcome was a definite improvement. The strength of the club seemed to lie within the veterans on the team. Six lettermen, including four seniors, returned to give le~dership to a young, but talented, and eager group, 302· Basebal l The schedule opened with a double· header against Southwestern of Mem· phi s. Falling behind 4·1 early in the first contest, the Black and Gold fought back with a strong third inning rally and then relied on the pitching of freshman Les Clonch to finish off Southwestern 5·4, The undefeated record didn't stand very long, however , as Southwestern's Mark Wendell retaliated with a no·hitter in the second half of the twin bill, to drop the Bisons 3·0. Although two forfeits by Rust College helped out the win column for the Bisons, it would not be until five con· tests later that the Black and Gold would take another Victory. Kansas Newman swept a doubleheader from the Bisons, 6·1 and 12·0, while Arkansas Tech took the first conference games of the year, 8·3 and 9-7. It wasn't until the Bisons took on Arkansas State in Jonesboro that they picked up their third win. Freshman Ken Ballew powered the 6·4 victory with a three run homer in the first contest of the two game series with the Indians. Righthander Dave Payne earned his first victory of the season and Kenny Kinnear picked up a save after taking over in the fifth in the victory. But as in the first case, the streak lasted for only a breath as the Indians' Bruce Sundquist outdueled the Bisons' Steve Marrs in a fine pitching exhibition. Sundquist fired 1981 Ale BASEBALL RES<lLTS University of Central Arkansas 11-3 Arkansas Tech University 11·3 College of the Ozarks 8·6 Henderson State University 7·7 Ouachita Baptist University 6·8 Southern Arkansas University 5·9 HARDING UNIVERSITY 4·10 University of Arkansas·Monticello 4-10 a no·hitter , just as Wendell did for Southwestern, and dropped the Bison baggers 4·0. In search of their first conference win, the Bisons travelled to Arkadelphia to take on the Henderson State Reddies. The Reddies did a number on the Black and Gold as they swept the two games, 10·2 and 8·0. The ninth and tenth loss of the stanza was soon to follow as Chris· tian Brothers College blanked the Black and Gold, 2·0, and followed up with a convincing 9·4 win at Memphis. The season was starting to look rather long as the halfway point was still five games away. The long drought came to an end at Memphis when the Bisons had a rematch with the men from Southwestern. Mike Galloway picked up his fi rst win of the season, with Stan Valentine taking up his slack in the sixth to earn a save. With the 11·5 first·game victory, the win co l · umn improved to five victories. But Wendell did it again as Southwestern parlayed only three hits into seven runs to take the second game. Two more gift wins from Rust College upped the record to 7·11 but taking a win by forfeit doesn't do much for a team's moral. 'What improves a team's spirit is the initial conference victory of the season and the Bisons achieved that feat against Ouachi ta Baptist University. The Tigers took the first game by the score of 3·1 but fell to the Bisons in the second contest, 7 ·4, Following two more forfeits by Rust College, the Bisons were defeated 14·1 and 9·1 by the University of Arkansas· Monticello. The losses to the Boll Weevils were to be the last for a while, excluding a narrow defeat at the hands of the Trojans of University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the following twin bill. Against UALR, righthander Kenny Kinnear handcuffed the Trojans in five hits to pick up his first victory of the season in a first game duel with UALR's Rick Lee, In the game, freshman Matt Murray belted the first homerun at the Jerry Moore Field, But in the final game, it took ten innings to settle the decision as relief pitcher Mike Harrison took the victory for UALR, Bison starter Galloway deserved better fate, taking the loss after putting on the go·ahead run in the tenth. Trojan Mike Wingerter was walked by Galloway, who was then relieved by Stan Valentine. On the final play of the con· test, Harrison bunted in Wingerter, who had advanced to third on an error. Six ,straight games and no losses were to come the Bisons' way as they dropped Mississippi Industrial College and Southern Arkansas University in two games each while downing University of Central Arkansas one out of two and ty· ing in the other. Against Mississippi In· dustrial , Ballew and Clonch earned vic· torious in 4·1 and 8·5 wins. UCA gave the Bisons a 2·0 win and then tied the Black and Gold 2·2 before the contest had to be called . Southern Arkansas fell to the Bisons, 7·3 and 7·6. For the first time in the season, the Bison hardballers had their heads above water, as the two SAU wins punched the Harding record to 16·15. Two losses to Christian Brothers and College of the Ozarks plus an eventual loss in the conclusion of the UCA tie ended the Bisons' record at 16·22. Following the conclusion of the season, Mike Moody, a senior from Tex· arkana, Texas, was named to the AII·AIC squad for the fourth consecutive year. A catcher, Moody led the Bison batters with a .343 average. He also carried a .943 fielding average. Leading the pitch. ing corps was Payne, who posted a 4·2 record and a 5.68 earned run average. Moody also earned AII·NAIA District 17 honors for the third year. Ashcraft, Payne and outfielder Rieke Stewart were honored as AII·District honorable mention. ~ - Courtesy of Publleiry 0fJ1Cf!
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