ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After splitting the first two games of the season, Henderson State will welcome four teams to Clyde Berry Field this weekend for the HSU Invitational. 

Visiting Southwest Arkansas will be some of the top competition in Division II baseball, including in-region opponents Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western, as well as perennial Gulf South Conference power Delta State.

Henderson (1-1) fell in the season opener against Ouachita Baptist last Friday but bounced back with 21 runs on 19 hits to crush Union University on Saturday. The 21-0 victory featured a 4-for-4 day from Blake Wynn and two bases-clearing triples by Joseph Shepherd, who set a career-high with six RBIs. Sophomore Matthew Baker was nearly untouchable in his debut on the mound and allowed just two hits across five innings while striking out seven batters. 

The Reddies will play at home for four-straight days beginning on Thursday evening, when they take on Northwest Missouri State at 6 p.m.

Game 1: Northwest Missouri State (Preseason No. 8 in MIAA) | February 7 | 6:00 P.M.
The Bearcats come into the weekend sporting a 1-3 record. Northwest bounced back on Tuesday evening with a win over Southeastern Oklahoma State after being swept by Arkansas-Fort Smith to open the season. The Bearcats enter the season looking for respect after being picked to finish eighth in the MIAA following a 25-11 conference record and a share of the regular season league title in 2018. Northwest has gotten fantastic contribution from behind the plate so far as Jay Hrdlicka has already notched 10 hits in 17 at-bats this season, good for a .588 average through four games. Infielders Connor Quick and Mondesi Gutierrez have also started strong and are a combined 12-for-35. The Bearcats are led by Darin Loe, who, since being named the head coach in 2000, has become Northwest's all-time wins leader with 496 victories. 

Game 2: Missouri Western (Preseason No. 4 in MIAA) | February 8 | 6:00 P.M.
MWSU arrives in Arkadelphia after dropping two of three to Oklahoma Baptist last weekend. After giving up a combined 20 runs in the first two contests, the Griffon pitching staff settled in and led MWSU to their first win of the season in game three. The Griffons finished 29-24 last season, including a 20-16 record in the MIAA, and are picked to finish fourth in the league this season. MWSU returns two of their most accomplished players in Dusty Stroup and Jacob Miller. Stroup led the Griffons with 42 RBIs last year and was Second Team All-MIAA selection. Miller, in his debut season, posted the lowest ERA (3.98) of any MWSU starting pitcher, finished 8-2 in the regular season, and earned Third Team All-MIAA honors. Although the Griffons batted just .202 as a team against OKBU, outfielders Fahd Shakeel and Conrad McMahon started hot and combined to go 10-for-24 at the plate. Head coach Charles "Buzz" Verduzco is in his 19th season at Missouri Western and has won 533 games during his time in St. Joseph.

Game 3: Delta State (Preseason No. 2 in GSC) | February 9 | 6:00 P.M.
The Statesmen are looking to reload after a 2018 season in which they finished 42-11 and won the Gulf South Conference Regular season championship for the second-straight year with a 23-5 record. A major priority for the Statesmen will be filling the gap left by NCAA Division II First Team All-American, and two-time Rawlings ABCA National Player of the Year, Zack Shannon, who set a Delta State record with 31 home runs in 2018. DSU also lost Clay Casey who earned NCBWA All-South Region First Team honors, Emil Ellis, who joined that group as a Second Team selection, and Seth Birdsong, who was First Team All-GSC honoree in 2018. In fact, the Statesmen only return one position-player from last season in starting catcher Josh Russell. Although dealing with a rash of departures, Delta's 2019 season got off to a perfect start with a sweep of East Central in which they outscored the Tigers 15-3 across three games. In the sweep of the Tigers, the Statesmen's lineup was paced by infielders Jake Barlow, David Herrington, and David Sargent, who each finished the weekend 5-for-10 at the plate. Starting pitchers Hunter Riggins and Seth Hougesen both went five-plus innings without allowing a run against ECU. Statesmen skipper Mike Kinnison is in his 23rd season in charge of the program and needs 58 wins to reach 1000 career victories.

Game 4: Arkansas Fort-Smith (Preseason No. 4 in Heartland) | February 10 | 3:00 P.M.
UAFS heads into the weekend after an impressive sweep of fellow HSU Invitational invitee Northwest Missouri State. The Lions were picked to finish fourth in the Heartland Conference after turning in a 32-19 record last season, which included a 17-11 mark in conference play. Arkansas Fort-Smith enters 2019 led by outfielder Logan Allen, who was selected to the Preseason All-Heartland First Team after being named First Team All-Heartland and Second Team All-South Central Region last season. Also returning for the Lions are pitchers Javon Rigsby and Korbin Polly, who were both named Second Team All-Heartland Conference in 2018. Allen has picked up where he left off last season and was 7-for-15 with three doubles and five RBIs against Northwest Missouri State. The Lions got contributions up and down the lineup versus Northwest, as nine players notched three or more hits in the series, contributing to a team batting average of .381. UAFS is led by Todd Holland, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program in Fort Smith.