MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Henderson State kept both games of the doubleheader tight with No. 5 Southern Arkansas on Monday, but the Lady Muleriders had late inning success in each contest to take two from the Reddies and close out the series.
The Reddies (24-17, 16-14) return to action this weekend, when they host Southwestern Oklahoma State at Dee White Field, with doubleheaders set for 1 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
GAME ONE: No. 5 Southern Arkansas 5, Henderson State 2
Henderson pushed No. 5 Southern Arkansas to the limit in the first game on Monday, but SAU got a three-run walk-off home run to win it 5-2 and take the series from the Reddies.
HSU got off to a fast start, and used a Lady Mulerider error, along with a single from
Selena Mendoza, to score two runs in the first inning and seize a 2-0 lead.
SAU tied things up in the third on two RBI singles to make it 2-2, but neither team was able to break away in the next three innings.
With the score still knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Henderson walked SAU's Brooke Goad to lead off the inning. After a sac bunt advanced Goad's pinch runner, Monica Islava drew a walk, which brought Faith Otts to the plate. Otts ended things in SAU's favor, by sending a home run over the wall in left center to plate three and give the Lady Muleriders a 5-2 win.
Mendoza's two RBIs led Henderson offensively, while freshmen
Kailey Reese,
Madie Green and
Lindsey Williams each picked up a hit in defeat.
GAME TWO: No. 5 Southern Arkansas 5, Henderson State 1
The Reddies once again kept things close with SAU, and carried a tie game into the bottom of the fifth, but the Lady Muleriders scored four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to break away for the 5-1 win.
SAU got on the board first with a run in the third on an RBI single from Monica Islava, but two innings later the Reddies answered, and used back-to-back doubles from
Madie Green and
Kailey Reese to tie the game at 1-1.
Henderson hurt itself in the bottom half of the inning, as three Reddie errors led to two unearned runs for SAU, which put the Lady Muleriders back in front 3-1.
After HSU went down in order in the sixth, SAU added two more runs on home run from Rachel Miller to stretch its lead to 5-1. The Reddies tried to rally in the seventh, and got a baserunner on a single from
Sam Smith, but they did not have enough, as SAU closed it out to sweep the series.
Reese had the only RBI of the game for Henderson, while
Christianna Camp, Green and Smith each had one hit. Miller finished 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs for the Lady Muleriders.
