ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State could not hold an early lead on Saturday night, as East Central turned in its best offensive game of the season to defeat the Reddies 7-4 at Clyde Berry Field.

The Tigers, who entered the game with the lowest team batting average in the Great American Conference, racked up a season-high 14 hits on the night, with every player in their lineup registering at least one base-knock.

An RBI double from Joseph Shepherd plated a run in the first for the Reddies (15-15, 9-10), who then scored two more in the third inning on another double from Shepherd and an RBI single to left from Danny Mitchell Jr., to open up a 3-0 lead.

ECU got its bats going in the fourth inning, when the Tigers used two doubles and a single to plate two runs and cut the deficit to 3-2. After Henderson went quietly in the bottom half, ECU continued to roll in the fifth, and used four hits — three of which were doubles — to score four more and seize a 6-3 advantage.

The Reddies struggled to find an answer the rest of the way, as they mustered just two hits over the next four innings. The teams traded solo home runs in the eighth and ninth, but HSU could not find a way back into the game and fell 7-4.

HSU was held to just six hits in the game by ECU's pitching staff, and had just three in the final six innings of play. Shepherd had three hits and two RBIs to lead Henderson, while Joe Myers hammered his first home run of the year in the ninth inning.

Kris Priddy posted a season-high seven strikeouts and allowed just one run on six hits in his 4 2/3 innings of work. Starter Austin Cross (2-2) got the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3.

Henderson will face East Central again tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the two teams play a doubleheader at Clyde Berry Field.