ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State got three hits on the day from both Alexia Lopez and Lindsey Williams and defeated East Central in two tight contests on Friday afternoon to sweep the first doubleheader of the teams' four-game series.

The Reddies (17-12, 9-9) face the Tigers (13-14, 8-10) in the second doubleheader tomorrow at Dee White Field, with games set for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

GAME ONE: Henderson State 3, East Central 2
Henderson State used a big fourth inning and a complete game from Sydney Bonner to defeat East Central 3-2 in the opening game of the series on Friday.

After two scoreless innings to start the game, ECU broke through in the third behind a lead-off double and two sac flies, which scored Aundrea Hamric to make it 1-0.

Henderson got its response in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Courtney Warren launched her first home run of the season over the wall in left field to tie the game. Moments later, with Madie Green on third base, Kailey Reese hit a screaming line drive triple off the top wall in right field to give the Reddies their first lead, 2-1. The next batter, Lindsey Williams caught a good break when her swinging bunt found the sweet spot between the pitcher and catcher, helping her reach at first and drive in Reese to extend the HSU lead to 3-1.

The Reddies got a big scoring opportunity in the fifth, when a double from Alexia Lopez and a sac bunt from Olivia Trapp left HSU with a runner on third with just one out. When Allen flew out to shallow center on the next at-bat, however, the Reddies sent pinch runner Brooklynn Jimeson from third, where she was thrown out at the plate to complete the 8-2 double play and end the inning.

ECU got a run back in the sixth to close the gap to 3-2, but the Tigers would come no closer, as Bonner shut them down in in order in the seventh to end it and give Henderson a game one win.

Bonner had a good outing in the circle for the Reddies and picked up her fifth win of the season by going 7.0 innings and allowing just two runs, on six hits. Lopez, who had just one hit on the year entering the day, had two doubles in the win to lead Henderson offensively. Three of her four hits this season have been doubles. As a team, the Reddies had just five hits in the game, but four of those hits were for extra bases.

GAME TWO: Henderson State 3, East Central 2
Madie Green hit a solo home run to give Henderson State the lead and Mallory Brewer pitched five scoreless innings of relief to help the Reddies defeat East Central 3-2 and sweep the first doubleheader in the teams' Great American Conference series.

For the second-straight game, ECU got on the board first, when Bridget Gleason hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Tigers in front 2-0 in the second inning.

Henderson tied things up in the bottom half of the inning, after a swinging bunt from Selena Mendoza scored Lindsey Williams and a base hit into left from Alexis Morton scored Alexia Lopez to make it 2-2. In the third the Reddies took their first lead of the game, when Green connected on her team-leading sixth home run of the season to push HSU in front 3-2.

The Reddies put two runners on base in both the fourth and sixth innings but could not score them and carried their 3-2 lead into the seventh. Down to its final three outs, ECU got a leadoff double and a hit batter to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a ground out moved both runners into scoring position, Brewer found a way out of the jam, as she got the next hitter to pop out in foul territory and the ensuing batter to ground out to Bethany Allen, giving Henderson a 3-2 win and a sweep of the day's doubleheader.

Brewer, who entered the game in the third inning for starter Becca Almond, got her first win of the year for the Reddies and gave up no runs on just four hits in 5.0 innings of work. Williams finished the game 2 for 2 at the plate, which helped raise her batting average to a team-best .413 this season, and also scored a run. Green's six home runs this year has already surpassed last year's team leader in home runs, Keirsten Seahorn, who had five in 2017, and is the most home runs by a freshman since Ashlyn White hit 10 as a newcomer in 2014.

The two wins over ECU on the day helped the Reddies move one game ahead of the Tigers in the Great American Conference standings. Henderson is now alone in fifth place in the league.