ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State used two big hits from senior Joe Myers to defeat No. 16 Southern Arkansas 4-3 on Friday afternoon in the first game of its season-opening doubleheader at Clyde Berry Field.

Myers led HSU in the doubleheader with three hits, two walks and five RBIs across the two games. Matthew Baker had two hits on the day, including the first home run of his career in the second contest.

The Reddies (1-1) return to action tomorrow when they host Arkansas Tech at 1 p.m.

GAME ONE: Henderson State 4, Southern Arkansas 3
Henderson State got all four of its runs off the bat of Joe Myers, including the walk-off single in the eighth, as the Reddies defeated No. 16 Southern Arkansas 4-3 in its season opener at Clyde Berry Field.

Myers, a senior from Little Rock, had a terrific opening day and finished 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and the RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning. Alex Day, Matthew Baker and Alec Lewis had the other three hits in the game for HSU. 

Southern Arkansas jumped on top early on Friday. The Top-25 Muleriders scored a run on an RBI walk in the first, then got a two-run home run from Tucker Burton in the fourth to go in front 3-0.

The Reddies, who had not recorded a hit prior to the fourth, finally got going in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs in the inning, Henderson got back-to-back hits from Baker and Lewis to put two runners in scoring position for Myers. The senior shortstop, playing in his 150th career game for HSU, answered in style, and sent a towering blast over the left field wall to tie the game at 3-3.

Neither side could get anything going in the next three innings as the score remained knotted at 3-3. SAU got its lead-off man on base to begin the eighth, but a botched sac bunt turned into a double play for Henderson, which allowed the Reddies to erase the threat and move into the bottom half with a chance to win it.

A walk from the leadoff hitter Greyson Stevens, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Danny Mitchell, moved the winning run into scoring position at second base. After a wild pitch advanced Stevens to third, the Muleriders elected to walk both Baker and Lewis to face Myers with the bases loaded.

For the second time in the game, Myers made them pay. On a 2-2 count with the infield in, Myers lifted a ball over the head of SAU's right fielder to walk-off a 4-3 win for the Reddies — their first over Southern Arkansas since 2018.

Henderson starter Austin Cross pitched 3.2 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in a no-decision for HSU. Blake Patterson earned the win in relief after pitching a scoreless top of the eighth. True freshman Ethan Perry pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings in his first college game, while Taylor Langston pitched the sixth and seventh for the Reddies and surrendered just one hit.

GAME TWO: Southern Arkansas 7, Henderson State 2
The Reddies scored the first run of the second game on Saturday, but Southern Arkansas responded by plating the next five and defeated Henderson 5-1 to split the doubleheader.

Spencer Taack took the loss for HSU despite pitching well in his first start of the season. Taack went four innings and allowed just two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts. 

Matthew Baker provided the lone run of the game for HSU when he blasted a solo shot out to right field in the second inning. The blast was the first home run of Baker's career and gave Henderson an early 1-0 lead.

SAU tied the game in the third on a run-scoring wild pitch, then took its first lead on a Brett McGee solo home run in the fourth. The Muleriders broke it open in the fifth, when they scored three runs on three hits and a Henderson error in the outfield, and the sixth, where they got two more runs on an RBI single. 

Baker's homer, along with a single from Bryson Haskins in the second, proved to be the last hits of the game until the sixth inning for the Reddies, who were limited by SAU starter Parker Abrego. Abrego earned the win for the Muleriders after pitching six innings and giving up just two runs on four hits.