An explosive offense, coupled with some solid pitching has the Henderson State softball team in contention for its first conference championship in school history.

The Lady Reddies, 15-12 overall and 11-5 in the Great American Conference, have won 11 of their last 13 games and are currently in third-place in the GAC standings.

Henderson will be put to the test this weekend as the Lady Reddies travel to Alva, Okla. to face second-place Northwestern Oklahoma State in a four-game series beginning Friday at 2 p.m.

The Rangers are 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the GAC. Southeastern Oklahoma leads the GAC with a 20-7 overall mark and a 13-3 record in league play.
NWOSU will enter the weekend having won three games from Ouachita Baptist last weekend.

The Rangers have a team .322 batting average and lead the GAC in home runs with 32.

Henderson State began the season 4-10 having played a demanding schedule competing in a couple of prestigious tournaments.

"Playing those games against some great competition helped us in so many ways," said Head Coach Beth Jackson. "We learned that you can never have enough runs, never quit, and never make excuses. Basically they learned what it takes to win."

The Lady Reddies rank second in the GAC offensively, sporting a team batting average of .328 while averaging nearly six runs per game.

During the last 13 games, Henderson is hitting .372 collectively while having a .526 slugging percentage.

Eight Lady Reddies are hitting above .300 with Ashlyn White leading the way with a .433 average. The freshman from Longview, Texas has a team-best .627 slugging percentage with four home runs and 23 runs batted in.

"We have had so many players that have come through at key moments thus far this season," said Jackson. "One of those players that has had a major impact is Ashlyn. She has gotten it done at the plate and on the mound."
 
Tricia Hock has been a welcomed addition to the team. The junior transfer from Kilgore College is hitting .395 with 14 RBI. The native of Brazoria, Texas leads the team in runs scored with 27 and has a .593 slugging percentage.

After sitting out last season, Amber Klug is having the best season of her HSU career. The senior from Kingwood, Texas is hitting .388 having driven in 24 runs.

Two-time All-GAC pick Sarah Gipson got off to a bit of a slow start, but the junior from Grand Saline, Texas is in mid-season form hitting .381 with a team best 25 RBI. In the last 13 games, Gipson is hitting .425 and has a .477 on base percentage.

Henderson's pitching staff has also made significant improvements the last three weeks.

The Lady Reddies had a team earned run average of 5.93 in the first 14 games of the season. Those numbers have improved significantly with Henderson having a 4.29 ERA in the last 13 games.

Cagen Medlock has been very effective in the circle as of late. The senior from Whitehouse, Texas has won four straight games including compiling three complete game victories.

Medlock is 5-2 on the season and leads the team in strikeouts with 31 in 47 innings of work.

Kayla Williams is 4-2 in her last six starts having a 4.18 ERA. The senior from Longview, Texas is 5-6 on the season while also hitting for a .304 average.

 "There is a hunger to win after what we accomplished in last year's conference tournament," Jackson said. "This team is dedicated and has a tremendous work effort. They come to practice early and stay late every day. That is what it takes to win a championship."