For the second straight year, Henderson State will host the opening round best-of-three series of the Great American Conference as the Reddies welcome Southwestern Oklahoma to Clyde Berry Field.
 
Game one is scheduled for Friday with the opening pitch set for 7 p.m. The second game will be played Saturday at 1 p.m. with the if necessary game to follow 30 minutes later.

The Reddies finished fourth in the GAC standings for the third consecutive year posting a 20-13 record, while Southwestern Oklahoma was fifth having a league mark of 14-16.

The two teams played three competitive games during the regular-season just three weeks ago at Clyde Berry Field. Henderson swept the low-scoring series winning the opener 6-3, before recording a pair of one run wins 2-1 and 4-3.  

Henderson enters the postseason with a .270 team average while averaging 5.5 runs per game.

Parker Jones leads the Reddies offensively with a .330 average including 11 doubles and 28 runs batted in. The senior from The Colony, Texas enters the weekend having hit safely in nine straight games while hitting .457 in those contest going 16-for-35 including 10 RBI.                      

Hayden Lessenberry has been Henderson's most consistent hitter this season having at least one hit in 32 of 41 games played and multiple hits 13 times. The senior from Bryant, Ark. has a .329 average including a .370 average in GAC play. Lessenberry leads the team in doubles with 12 and has a team best .465 slugging percentage.

Nolan Ryan been in the starting line-up at second base for the last four GAC series' and has a .300 average including going 14-for-31 in the last eight games (.451).

The Reddies have the top earned run average among the teams making up the eight-team tournament field with a 4.14 ERA. The pitching staff has racked up 340 strikeouts which ranks fourth in the GAC will allowing a league best 124 walks.

Henderson will continue with its normal weekend rotation of Luke Tebbetts, Chris Hunt and Bryant Haralson.

Tebbetts is 8-2 on the year with a 3.95 ERA. The senior from Winnsboro, Texas has fanned 52 batters in 84.1 innings. In the first meeting against the Bulldogs, Tebbetts recorded his longest outing of the year pitching 8 1/3 innings, striking out two batters while giving up two earned runs in the win.
 
Hunt enters with a 6-5 record and a 4.56 ERA. The senior from Greenwood, Ark. is second all-time in HSU history in career strikeouts with 219. The right-hander pitched seven innings earlier against SWOSU striking out six batters in a no decision.
 
Haralson leads the GAC with a 1.91 ERA while having an 8-3 record. The six-time GAC Pitcher of the Week has totaled 94 strikeouts this season and needs just seven more to set the HSU record. The junior from Atkins, Ark. went six innings and struck out four in getting a 2-1 win against SWOSU.

Southwestern Oklahoma sports a .245 team batting average which ranks ninth in the GAC.          
First baseman Jason Nichols leads the offense with a .317 average which includes 11 doubles and a team-best 26 runs batted in.

Ted Wisdom is hitting .294 on the year in just 18 games played. However in the series against the Reddies the junior from Sanger, Texas went 7-for-12 to lead the Bulldogs.  

Rogelio Sanchez and Rafael Otero provide the power for SWOSU with Sanchez having four home runs to go along with five doubles and 23 RBI. Otero leads the team in home runs with five, while driving in 23 runs and sporting a .260 average.          

The SWOSU pitching staff enters with a team earned run average of 5.93 with opponents having a hefty .301 team batting average.                       

Devin Ring, Jeremy Smith and Brendan Peitsmeyer make up SWOSU's weekend pitching rotation.          
Ring has a 4.75 earned runs average with a 3-4 record. The senior right-hander from Clinton, Okla. pitched six innings and gave up just two runs on six hits earlier against Henderson. 

Smith leads SWOSU in strikeouts having 74 on the season. The senior from Houston, Texas is 2-3 on the year with a 3.75 ERA. Smith struck out seven Reddies in six innings three weeks ago and surrendered two runs on six hits.   

Peitsmeyer is 5-5 with a 7.28 earned runs average. The junior right-hander from Aurora, Colo. pitched just two innings in the first game against the Reddies giving up five runs on eight hits.
           
Henderson may face Skyler Martin who pitched six innings of relief and gave up just one run. Martin has a 5.83 ERA and has recorded 19 strike outs in 29 1/3 innings of work.          
 
Live stats and video will be available throughout the series via the HSU Athletic web site at www.hsusports.com.