ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Great American Conference Tournament hopes are on the line this weekend for Henderson State when it faces rival Ouachita Baptist in the final regular season series of the year.

The Reddies and Tigers will open the Battle of the Ravine on the diamond at 3 p.m. Friday before finishing things up with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All three contests will be across the street at Rab Rodgers Field.

REDDIES REPORT
- Henderson enters the final weekend of the season in a precarious spot for GAC Tournament qualification. The Reddies are 16-13 in the league and currently in seventh place, just a half-game behind Southwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Baptist, and Harding, who are all 17-13. The top six teams following this weekend's game will advance to Enid, Oklahoma, for the conference tournament. HSU does not control its own destiny going into the Battle of the Ravine, and will need to pass at least one of the three teams ahead of it to earn a bid.

- With UAM, Southern Arkansas, and Arkansas Tech each at least two games up on the rest of the league, there are five teams who are currently battling for the final three spots in the GAC Tournament. Harding, OKBU, SWOSU, and HSU are all separated by less than a game, and Southeastern Oklahoma State, who is 14-13 and has played three less games than most of the league due to weather cancellations, is within striking distance, and could play spoiler via conference winning percentage if the Savage Storm were to sweep East Central this weekend.

- The Reddies picked up a massive road series victory last weekend at Harding to keep their league tournament hopes alive. Henderson took the first game 6-2, then won the rubber match 5-4 in seven innings to take the three-game set. Joe Myers was huge for the Reddies in the series and hit a three-run home run, as well as a double, in the final game. Myers is batting .351 over the last 10 games with a team-best .649 slugging percentage.

- Henderson's pitching staff has been one of the best in the GAC this season, and ranks third in the conference in team ERA (4.91). Part of the Reddies' success has come from limiting walks. HSU is third in the league in walks allowed this year (158). Only Harding and SWOSU have walked fewer batters. 

- The series with rival Ouachita Baptist has been a tight one over the last several seasons. Since 2016, the two teams are 6-6 against one another. The Tigers have won four of the last six meetings, including two of the three contests last season at Clyde Berry Field, as well as the 2019 season opener back on Feb. 1.

SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
- OBU comes into the weekend 19-26 overall and 12-18 in GAC play. The Tigers have dropped their last three conference series and have won just two home contests in the month of the April.

- The Tigers are led by Tyler Riebock, who leads the club with a .310 batting average, 49 hits, 12 home runs, and 38 RBIs. Riebock is third in the GAC in home runs this season and is the only player for Ouachita with a batting average above the .300 threshold. Brandon Matros has been the ace on the mound for the Tigers in 2019 with a 3-2 record and a 3.63 ERA in 12 starts. Adam Bahloul, who shut the Reddies down in the season opener to earn GAC Pitcher of the Week honors, is 2-5 on the season with a 5.49 ERA in 59 innings pitched.

- As a team, OBU ranks near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories. The Tigers are last in the GAC in batting average (.252), 11th in hits (353), and 10th in slugging (.360), on-base percentage (.351), runs scored (212), and RBIs (199). Ouachita has been caught stealing a league-leading 22 times this season. OBU is one of the best fielding teams in the conference, however, with a team fielding percentage of .965, with is third-best in the GAC.