Henderson State will hit the road for a three-game Great American Conference series as the Reddies take on first-place Arkansas Tech in Russellville beginning with a double-header Sunday at 3 p.m.
The series will feature some of the top pitching in the GAC as the Reddies have a GAC leading 3.19 earned run average, while Tech's pitchers have a 4.59 ERA collectively.
The Wonder Boys enter the weekend with a 12-6 overall record and a 9-0 mark in GAC play. Tech, ranked fifth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Central Region, also has one of the top offenses in the league with the team sporting a .274 average while scoring 6.5 runs per game.
Zach Klockowski leads the team with a hefty .381 average while having a .778 slugging percentage which is second in the league. The senior first-baseman leads the league in both runs batted in with 24 and home runs with six.
Dylan McDearmon also provides power for Tech having a .344 average including a team best eight doubles and 15 RBI.
The Reddies offense will face Geoffrey Birkemeier, Kyle Wilson, and Trent Armstrong.
Birkemeier has a 2.08 ERA which ranks fifth in the league with opponents hitting .198. The right-hander from Papillion, Neb. has struck out 16 batters in 21.2 innings of work.
Wilson is ninth in the GAC in ERA at 2.49 while limiting the opposition to a .154 average. The right-hander from Flagstaff, Ariz. is 3-0 on the season and leads the team in punch outs with 30 in 25 1/3 innings.
Armstrong enters with a 2.70 ERA having won his the last three games against GAC opponents. The right-hander from Waxahachie, Texas has struck out 19 batters in his last three appearances.
The Reddies, 13-5 overall and 7-2 in league play, are ranked seventh in the NCBWA Central Region Poll.
Offensively the Reddies have a .247 team average while scoring 6.1 runs per contest.
Joe Myers leads the team overall with a .344 average which includes five double and 5 RBIs.
Hayden Lessenberry has been most effective in GAC play as the senior from Bryant, Ark. is hitting .429 against league opponents having driven in eight runs.
For the year, Lessenberry has a .313 average and has reached base in all 18 games played.
Henderson's leadoff hitter
Alan Hall has a .302 average and a stout .494 on base percentage. The senior from O'Fallon, Mo. leads the league in stolen bases with 14.
Henderson's weekend rotation of
Luke Tebbetts,
Chris Hunt, and
Bryant Haralson has a collective earned run average of 2.31 with opponents having a combined .197 average.
Tebbetts enters Sunday's game with a 4-0 record and a 2.48 ERA which ranks eighth in the league. The senior from Winnsboro, Texas has recorded 21 strikeouts with opponents having a .216 average.
Hunt, who ranks third in career wins at HSU with 18, sports a 2.16 ERA, sixth best in the GAC. The senior from Greenwood, Ark. is second on the league in strikeouts with 36 while sporting a 4-1 record. The right-hander is set to start game two on Sunday.
Haralson posts a 3-2 record and a 2.30 ERA, seventh in the GAC. The junior from Atkins, Ark. leads the nation in strikeout to walk ratio with 32 punch outs while walking just one batter. The two-time GAC Pitcher of the Week will pitch game three of the series.
Live video and statistics will be available for all three games will be available through the HSU Athletics website and
www.hsusports.com.
