GAME COVERAGE LINKS
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State will play for a trip to the GAC Tournament championship game on Monday afternoon when it faces No. 3 seed Oklahoma Baptist at 4:30 p.m. in the conference semifinals at Clyde Berry Field.
The winner of tomorrow's contest will advance to the title game at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
REDDIES REPORT
- No. 7 seed Henderson (24-17) enters Monday's semifinal with a load of momentum after upsetting GAC regular season champion Southern Arkansas 9-6 Friday night on the road. The Reddies racked up 16 hits and used a grand slam from Kaden Argenbright to turn the tide in the sixth inning.
- HSU has been a different squad at Clyde Berry Field this season. The Reddies are 16-6 at home as opposed to 8-11 on the road, hit .330 as a team in Arkadelphia, and slug .558. Opponents are batting just .258 on the Henderson turf.
- The starting rotation of Spencer Taack, Matthew Baker and Ethan Perry has also been stout at home. Taack has a 1.91 ERA in games played at Clyde Berry Field, Baker's ERA is 2.90 and Perry holds a mark of 1.56. In a combined 81.1 innings pitched between the three, they have a record of 11-2 in Arkadelphia and have surrendered just 27 total runs.Â
- Argenbright, who was the hero on Friday, has been scorching hot at the plate for HSU. The freshman has eight multi-hit games in his last 11 contests and has driven in 18 runs during that time frame. Argenbright leads the Reddies with a .390 batting average, 13 doubles and .637 slugging percentage. He has a hit in 32 of the Reddies' 41 games this season.
- The Henderson bullpen, led by Taylor Langston, Cade Tucker and Brayden Bebee, has been fantastic this season. HSU is 20-0 on the year when leading after six innings and 18-1 when leading after five. Langston shut the door against the Muleriders on Friday with eight strikeouts in a three-inning save.
- The Reddies and Oklahoma Baptist have met just once at the GAC Tournament, in 2018, when the Bison defeated HSU 11-5 in the opening round of play at David Allen Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma. OKBU is 8-2 all-time in the conference tournament and the Reddies are 14-12 after winning on Friday. The Bison took the series two weekends ago in Shawnee, Oklahoma two games to one.
- HSU is seeking its fourth appearance in the GAC Tournament title game. The Reddies are 0-3 all-time in the championship final, including two losses in Arkadelphia in 2016 and 2017.
- Prior to Friday, No. 7 seeds were 1-4 all-time at the GAC Tournament. HSU is the lowest seed to ever advance to the GAC semifinals and would be the first team seeded lower than No. 5 to reach the title game with a win over OKBU.Â
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
- The No. 3 seed Bison (26-14) advanced to the GAC semifinals after outlasting Harding 7-6 on Friday night. OKBU broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning on a home run from Ramon Enriquez and stranded Harding's tying run on third base to win it.
- Oklahoma Baptist is No. 4 in all of NCAA DII in home runs with 83 this season. The Bison are one of just four teams in the country with 80 or more deep flies. OKBU hit eight home runs, including five in the series finale, in the weekend series against HSU.
- OKBU has several pitching options for the semifinal contest. Brek Galbreath was excellent against the Reddies in the rubbermatch of the GAC series between the two teams and pitched seven innings allowing just one run on six hits. Bo Dallas has also started 12 games for the Bison and carries a 5.40 ERA in 50.1 innings of work.
- The last trip to Clyde Berry Field for the Bison was in 2020, when they dropped a GAC series to the Reddies. HSU claimed 5-2 and 15-5 victories over No. 16 Oklahoma Baptist behind 10 doubles and four home runs.
