The  William Jewell Cardinal baseball team opened the 2012 season  with a pair of hard luck losses against 20th-ranked Harding University on Saturday in Searcy, Ark.  The Cards fell 5-4 in game one and 3-2 in game two.  

The Cards held a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.   Sophomore Tyler Stanford led off with a walk, went to second on Gabe Fyock's sacrifice bunt, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Junior Kyle Atkins lined a single to center to score Stanford and tie the game. Senior Chase Presley doubled down the left field line to score Atkins with the game-winning run.

Drew Mitrisin (0-1) suffered the loss for William Jewell. Mitrisin, who batted fifth and had a double, pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.

The Bisons trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth in game two. A bases loaded single by junior Billy Ninemire scored two runners to tie the game, and sophomore Jeremy Bohnett's sacrifice fly to center scored Atkins with the eventual game-winning run.

David Collins (0-1) took the loss for Jewell.  Collins tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits while walking three and striking out one. 

The Cardinals (0-2), will take on Harding University again on Sunday for another doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score