ALVA, Okla. — Henderson State hammered out 16 hits and defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 12-6 in the first game on Saturday to earn a split in the doubleheader with the Rangers. 

NWOSU eked out a 4-3 win in the seven-inning rubber match to take the GAC series two games to one.

The Reddies (9-7, 6-6) return to action on Tuesday when they host Arkansas Tech in a non-conference contest at 6 p.m. 

GAME ONE: Henderson State 12, NWOSU 6
HSU racked up 16 hits and hung crooked numbers on the scoreboard in three different innings to run away from Northwestern Oklahoma 12-6 in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday. 

Four different players finished with three hits in the win, including freshman Corbin Tsistinas, who drove in a team-high three runs in his second start of the season behind the plate. Kaden Argenbright also had a huge day with the bat and slapped two doubles and a triple.

The Reddies broke open a 2-2 tie in the third and fourth innings, as they scored seven unanswered runs to seize a commanding 9-2 lead. Henderson had eight hits in the two frames, which included a home run from Alec Lewis and RBI singles from Tsistinas, Argenbright, Joe Myers Nick Butler and Daniel Colasanto.

NWOSU tried to creep back into it by plating two runs on two hits in the fifth, but HSU answered right back with three runs of its own in the top of the sixth thanks to doubles from Tsistnas and Argenbright.

An eight-run cushion was more than enough for Brayden Bebee and Taylor Langston, who each surrendered a single run but closed it out on the mound to deliver a 12-6 win.

Spencer Taack earned his third win of the season with another strong start for the Reddies. Taack pitched five innings and allowed four runs on four hits. The Dallas product struck out six NWOSU batters on the day.

Henderson had seven extra-base hits in the victory and limited the Rangers to just three.

GAME TWO: NWOSU 4, Henderson State 3
Henderson hit two doubles and two home runs in the seven-inning rubber match on Saturday, but it was not enough, as NWOSU held off a late charge from the Reddies to win the series with a 4-3 victory. 

HSU got off to a great start behind a two-run homer from Josh Aguilar in the second inning, but the Rangers got one back in the bottom half and then cashed in a two-RBI triple in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead.

Greyson Stevens tied the game in dramatic fashion in the fifth when he hit his team-leading fifth home run of the year to make it 3-3. NWOSU responded, however, and plated a go-ahead run in the sixth inning thanks to back-to-back singles and an error in the outfield.

Trailing 4-3 and down to their final three outs, the Reddies got a leadoff double from Aguilar and ultimately moved the tying run to third base, but a strikeout ended the threat for the Rangers, who clinched the series with a close win.

Stevens, Aguilar and Argenbright all had two hits to lead HSU. Cade Tucker took his first loss of the season after allowing the winning run to score in the sixth. Tucker pitched the final two innings for Henderson and struck out two NWOSU batters. The run the Rangers scored in the sixth was the first scored on Tucker by any opponent this season.