ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State used a barrage of hits in game one, and a gritty rally in game two, to take both ends of Saturday's doubleheader from Ouachita Baptist and win the final series of the 2019 season.

Despite doing their part and claiming a series victory, Harding's two wins on Saturday over Arkansas Tech left the Reddies a half-game short of a tie for the final spot in the Great American Conference Tournament.

HSU's season comes to an end with a final record of 25-22 overall and 18-14 in GAC play. Henderson won 17 of its final 23 conference games after a 1-8 start.

Game 1: Henderson State 20, Ouachita Baptist 10
Caleb Carr had a staggering five hits and six RBIs, and the Reddies scored 10 unanswered runs after the Tigers tied the game at 10-10 in the sixth, as Henderson defeated OBU to knot the series at a game apiece.

Much like Ouachita did on Friday afternoon, Henderson got off to a terrific start in game one on Saturday. A hit batter, followed by three-straight singles, gave HSU a quick 2-0 advantage, and after a wild pitch allowed the third run to score, RBIs from both Greyson Stevens and Daniel Colasanto extended the lead out to 5-0 through just one half inning.

HSU tacked on two more runs in the fourth on Carr's second two-RBI single of the day to surge to a 7-0 lead and seemingly take control of the contest.

The tide began to turn in the bottom half of the inning, when Ouachita Baptist plated five runs, three of which were unearned after a Reddies' fielding error, to trim the deficit to 7-5.

In the sixth, it looked like Henderson had regained its footing, as Brandon Pollock scored on a wild pitch and Bryson Haskins drove in two more with an RBI single, to push the advantage out to 10-5. The Tigers continued to make things interesting, however, and put up their second five-run frame of the game in the bottom half to tie things at 10-10.

With a seven-run lead suddenly squandered, the Reddies went straight back to work in the seventh, and got RBIs from Danny Mitchell Jr., Joseph Shepherd, and Joe Myers to once again grab the lead, 13-10.

After OBU finally went quietly, Henderson threw a knock-out punch in the eighth. Carr drove in two more runs on a double, as did Stevens, to highlight a seven-run inning for the Reddies, which broke the once-close contest open and helped HSU prevail, 20-10.

Carr's five hits were the most by a Reddie in a single game this year, and his six RBIs tied a season-high for any Henderson player. Colasanto added three hits and an RBI, while Stevens chipped in two hits and three RBIs to power a huge day at the plate for Henderson, who tallied 16 total hits in just eight innings.

Jon Youngblood got his fifth win of the season for the Reddies after pitching the final 2 2/3 and allowing no runs on just two hits.

Game 2: Henderson State 6, Ouachita Baptist 4
After falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, Henderson fought its way back, and used two runs in extra innings to rally and take the rivalry series from the Tigers with a 6-4 win.

Ouachita put the Reddies in a hole early in game two, and used three walks, a hit batter, and a three-RBI double to open up a 4-0 lead after one inning of play.

A ground out RBI from Daniel Colasanto scored Joe Myers for the Reddies' first run of the game in the second, but the contest changed for HSU in the fifth, when a walk, two wild pitches, and a sacrifice fly RBI helped Henderson plate two runs without a hit, and trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

HSU finally tied things up in the sixth. A lead-off single from Bryson Haskins put the tying run on base for the Reddies, and a clutch RBI double from Greyson Stevens moments later drove him in all the way from first, as Henderson knotted things up, 4-4.

OBU threatened in the bottom of the inning, and loaded the bases with two outs, but reliever Blake Patterson, who entered for starter Zach Eschberger with two away, got a ground out to end the frame and keep the scored tied.

Neither team could get anything going in the seventh, as the shortened-game moved into extra innings, and the eighth was more of the same, but the Reddies broke that trend when they came to bat in the ninth.

After a lead-off single from Myers, HSU's next two batters went down swinging, but with two outs, Colasanto came through with a base hit up the middle, and a wild pitch to the next batter, Pollock, allowed Myers to score from third and give the Reddies their first lead, 5-4. Henderson got some insurance moments later, as Pollock was hit by a pitch and Danny Mitchell Jr. drove in Colasanto with another hit straight up the middle, which pushed the lead out to 6-4 and put the Tigers on the brink.

A walk to OBU's lead-off man in the bottom of the ninth brought the tying run to the plate for Ouachita, but Patterson made sure there would be no heartburn for the Reddies, as he got a swinging strikeout and two fly outs to end it and give Henderson the series win over its archrival.

Patterson got his first win of the season by pitching the final 3 1/3. He allowed no runs or hits and struck out five of the 12 batters he faced. Eschberger gave up just two hits and four runs over 5 2/3 innings in the last appearance of his career. Stevens led the Reddies at the plate with two hits and his big RBI in the sixth.