ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After picking up momentum with a series victory and big mid-week win, Henderson State will look to keep it going this weekend when it hosts Oklahoma Baptist for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday at Clyde Berry Field.
The Reddies and Bison open the series at 3 p.m. on Friday and will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Arkadelphia.
REDDIES REPORT
- Henderson earned a much-needed series victory over Arkansas Tech last weekend by taking the first game 5-4 in walk-off fashion and then crushing the Wonder Boys 11-1 in the finale on Saturday. HSU kept rolling on Tuesday night when it erased a 6-0 deficit by scoring eight unanswered runs to defeat No. 9 Delta State 8-6. It was the Reddies' first win over Delta State since 2016 and only their second in the last 12 meetings with the DII powerhouse.
- The Reddies have now won four of their last five games after starting the season 1-8. HSU hit .295 as a team in the last four games with a team ERA of 3.97. Greyson Stevens was 7-for-15 during that stretch with seven hits and an OBP of .579, while Caleb Carr hit .375, racked up seven RBIs and slugged .813. Carr, who had two home runs in his entire career entering the series with ATU, had two home runs in a single day during the doubleheader with the Wonder Boys on Saturday.
- Arkadelphia natives Alec Lewis and Hunter Lewis, who have seen their first action of the year in the last five games, have played well for Henderson right away. Hunter, in what was his first GAC start for HSU, got the win in the clinching game of the series with Arkansas Tech by pitching 3.0 innings, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out five. Alec, who has started the last five contests in the outfield, is hitting .375 and is 6-for-16 at the plate with two multi-hit games.
- Despite getting no-decisions in their appearances, pitchers Spencer Taack and Andrew Howard had a solid starts in the past week. Taack, the big right-hander, threw 6.1 innings, struck out five batters, and gave up four hits and two runs in the second game of the series with Arkansas Tech. Howard threw the first three innings against Delta State and allowed just two hits and no runs. Howard has given up just three hits and struck out seven batters in his 7.1 innings pitched this season.
- HSU took advantage of pitchers who could not find the strike zone in the series win over Tech and the midweek victory over DSU. In those four contests, the Reddies drew 23 walks as a team and had seven players earn three or more free passes. On the other side, Henderson pitchers walked just nine batters in the four games.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
- The Bison are 12-3 overall and sit atop the GAC standings at 6-0 in league play after sweeping each of their first two conference opponents. OKBU, who won the 2019 GAC Tournament, is ranked No. 16 in the latest NCBWA DII Poll and is the No. 3 team in the latest Central Region Poll.
- OKBU is led by early All-American candidate Kaimana Bartolome, who has a team-high .435 average, 27 hits, 30 RBIs and 11 doubles already this season. Bartolome leads the nation in doubles, and RBIs, and is third in hits. As a team, the Bison have five players with an OPS of 1.000 or better and have a batting average of .344 this year.
- Oklahoma Baptist's pitching staff boasts a combined ERA of 3.99 this season. OKBU's top arm is right-hander Jake Lipetzky, who carries a stellar 1.69 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched. Lipetzky has given up just five runs on 10 hits and has struck out 38 batters on the year.
