Senior Seth Watson takes a swing at a pitch thrown from a Ouachita Baptist pitcher. Harding went on to win the first of a three game series 4-3. This game also boasted an attendance of 451, the highest at a home game for the season. Photo by Daniel Dubois The Harding baseball team finished the 2001 season with a winning record of 26 wins and 18 losses. The team is coached by Shane Fullerton, who said he believed last season was the best the team has had in 12 years. The team was led by senior center fielder Seth Watson. Boasting a .425 batting average, Watson was named to the First Team All-Conference and had a successful season both offensively and defensively. Also standing out in conference play was Jeris Noye, who led the conference in hitting and was expected to lead the team in 2002 as a senior. Pitchers Matthew Thomas and Matt Walter had good senior years on the mound, leading to a record-breaking season for the team. "The boys' talent, hard work and determination was an apparent package when beating strong opponents such as Arkansas State," Fullerton said. "They train hard all year and it showed this year during conference play." With a full schedule of 44 games, the team had to deal with injuries throughout the season. "Like any sport, we had to face players getting hurt or dealing with prolonged injuries. But with a team made up of many strong players and talent, we always had someone who could fill in the position needed and get the job done right," junior Ryan Lee said. "We all wanted to play every team hard, and winning as many conference games was always a goal for us and will be next year too." The Bison had a roster of many powerful seniors who made big plays in 2001. With the expectation of the 2002 season on the horizon, the team faced the challenge of continuing their winning streak without them this spring. "The seniors finished their year with a lot of accomplishments," he said. "We have the records to prove that. However, the juniors this year gained a lot of attention and I know they will continue to lead the team like this year's seniors did." The team was proud of its record in conference play, but was not fully satisfied. They had a hopeful group of freshmen who were described by Fullerton as the "best recruiting class yet." They worked to gain respect in both their offensive and defensive game to make the 2002 season even better than 2001. "We might have made a big step in becoming a record breaking winning team this year, but we will just continue to get better and push ourselves more and beat those new records next season," Noye said. -Heather Gray Photo by Daniel Dubois baseball 249
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==