Henderson State began its Great American Conference baseball schedule by winning its series with Southern Nazarene as the Reddies split Saturday's double-header winning 12-3 before losing the finale 2-1.
The Reddies, 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the GAC, opened the series with an 11-1 win on Friday.
In Saturday's first game, Southern Nazarene built a 3-0 lead after two innings with the help of a pair of Henderson errors.
However, Henderson scored 11 runs in the fourth-inning as the Reddies were beneficiaries of six walks and two hit batters. Henderson mixed in five hits in the inning.
In a frame that lasted 48 minutes,
Dylan McCain drove in three runs with a pair of singles, while
Luke McGuire also had two hits to score a run.
Brentten Schwaab collected the fifth hit in the inning to drive in a run while also having a sacrifice to plate another Reddie run later in the inning.
Henderson would manufacture another run in the sixth without the benefit of a hit.
McGuire led Henderson going 3-for-5 in the game, while McCain was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and Schwaab was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
Chris Hunt improved to 2-1 on the season working 7 innings on the mound allowing six hits and giving up one earned run. The senior from Greenwood, Ark. struck out seven batters while walking one.
The final game of the series was a pitcher's duel as Henderson's
Bryant Haralson and SNU's Cody Tolbert both went the full seven innings.
The Storm struck first with a run in the second courtesy of a Tyler Stevens double and a sacrifice fly by Mike Descisciolo.
Henderson tied the game in the sixth-inning when
Turner Sparks doubled down the left field line.
Byrious Hughes entered the game to run for Sparks and scored on a
Parker Jones single.
In the top of the seventh, Descisciolo took Haralson's 1-2 offering over the left field fence for the eventual game winner.
Haralson allowed five hits and struck out seven in suffering his first loss of the season.
Tolbert held the Reddies in check, allowing four hits, striking out five batters and forcing Henderson hitters to fly out 13 times.
Henderson will next play host to Ouachita Baptist in a non-conference affair on Tuesday with the first pitch set for 6 p.m. Clyde Berry Field.
