CONROE, Texas — Cayleigh Guthrie completed a superb weekend with 3.1 innings of shutdown pitching, while Kailey Reese and Czoey White combined to drive in five of HSU's six runs in a 6-3 victory over UT-Permian Basin.
The Reddies finished the ATU Invitational 2-2 after falling to No. 21 Tarleton State, 12-5 earlier in the day.
Kaitlyn O'Quinn finished the afternoon a combined 3-for-7 with four runs scored and stole six bases over the weekend. Reese got off to a scorching start through four games in Texas, ending the weekend 6-for-10 with five runs, four walks, four stolen bases, and three RBIs. White had an excellent day as well, combining to go 4-for-7 with four RBIs.
Guthrie, one of just a handful of seniors on the HSU squad, finished the invitational with 5.2 scoreless innings while striking out three batters.
Henderson State (2-2) be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8 when it hosts Tarleton State at 10 a.m. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 3 p.m. at Dee White Field.
Game 2: Henderson State 6, UT-Permian Basin 3
The Reddies put the pressure on the Falcons early when O'Quinn singled and stole two bases to put herself on third in the bottom of the first. Reese worked a walk and stole second to give HSU two runners in scoring position in the blink of an eye. One batter later, White brought them both home with a single up the middle to give Henderson a 2-0 lead.
After the Falcons halved the lead in the top of the second, the Reddies took their second two-run advantage in the bottom half after a walk to Morgan Reeve and an error allowed the freshman to take third. With runners on the corners, Reese beat out an infield single to plate Reeve and give Henderson a 3-1 lead.
Undaunted, UT-Permian Basin got an RBI triple from Jessica Gonzales in the top of the third and an RBI single from April Arellano in the top of the fourth to tie the game 3-3. Following a double that sent Arellano to third, Guthrie relieved HSU's starter Becca Almond and struck Valerie Gonzalez looking to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Reeve reached safely for the second straight at-bat after a single to center field. Following a sacrifice bunt and a ground-out that moved her to third, Reese smacked what would be the game winning hit, tripling to right center field and sending Reeve home to put HSU in front, 4-3.
HSU got a break when Abbie Moore struck out but reached first on a wild pitch which also allowed Reese to score to make it 5-3. The Reddies would add one more in the inning after Moore stole second and was sent home by a White single to left field, putting Henderson in front, 6-3.
The trio runs would be more than enough for HSU's Guthrie, who allowed four hits and struck out three batters in relief and picked up her second win of the weekend as the Reddies held on, 6-3.
Game 1: No. 21 Tarleton State 12, Henderson State 5
Henderson State couldn't have asked for a better start against one of the nation's top teams as the Reddies torched the Texans for three runs in the top of the first. O'Quinn and Reese both reached safely to lead things off and were moved into scoring position with one out after a sac bunt from Moore. White got the Reddies on the board with an infield single which scored O'Quinn, which was followed by a bases-clearing double from Camryn Williams that put HSU up 3-0.
After Tarleton responded with two runs in the bottom half of the first to make it 3-2 HSU, O'Quinn and Reese reached safely for the second time in as many innings. Tarleton was able to limit the damage however, as HSU could only add one run on a wild pitch which scored O'Quinn to give HSU a 4-2 lead.
The Texans flexed their muscles in the bottom of the third with back to back singles to open the inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Tarleton singled and had a batter hit by a pitch to tie the game 4-4. Following an RBI groundout, HSU made a costly mistake when a two-out error allowed to more runs to score as the Texans extended the lead to three, 7-4.
O'Quinn continued a red hot afternoon with a leadoff triple in the top of the fourth and scored moments later on an RBI groundout from Reese, but that would be the end of HSU's offense against Tarleton, who added five more runs and cruised to a 12-5 win.
