GAME COVERAGE LINKS

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State heads to the Sooner State on Friday for its final GAC weekend series of the regular season against Oklahoma Baptist.

The Reddies and Bison will meet in a 6 p.m. opener on Friday and a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

REDDIES REPORT
- Henderson punched its ticket to the 2021 GAC Tournament last weekend by taking two of three games from rival Ouachita Baptist on the road. The Reddies will be one of eight teams vying for the conference tournament title beginning on May 14. The semifinal and championship rounds of the GAC Tournament will be played at Clyde Berry Field on May 17-18.

- The Reddies carry a record of 22-15 overall and 17-13 in conference play entering the final series of the regular season. HSU is currently in a tie for fifth in the league standings with Arkansas-Monticello, who has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Henderson. The Reddies could climb as high as the No. 4 seed or drop to as low as the No. 8 seed depending on the results against Oklahoma Baptist and around the league this weekend. The top four seeds in the GAC Tournament will host first rounds games next Friday.

- HSU has come on strong down the stretch of the season and has proved itself to be one of the better hitting teams in the conference. Henderson is batting .311, which is tied for fourth-best in the GAC, and has hit 44 home runs this year. The Reddies also rank third in the league in team ERA (5.15) and, along with Arkansas Tech and NWOSU, are one of just three teams in the GAC in the Top-4 in both batting average and ERA.

- Several different players have been on a tear for the Reddies at the plate. Kaden Argenbright saw a 12-game hitting streak come to a close in the finale against OBU, but still sports a team-high .383 average with 54 hits and 13 doubles. Greyson Stevens has recorded six multi-hit games in his last 10 contests and has 20 multi-hit games on the year. Danny Mitchell Jr. is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has raised his batting average from .234 to .301 in the last month.

- Pitching-wise, Henderson has been buoyed by one of the best one-two starter combinations in the GAC in Spencer Taack and Matthew Baker. The pair have a combined record of 10-2 in 18 starts this season. Taack carries a 4.27 ERA, which ranks eighth-best in the league, and has struck out 52 batters in 52.2 innings pitched. Baker boasts a 3.79 ERA — the fifth-best mark in the conference — and has hurled 54.2 innings for HSU this year.

- Closer Taylor Langston has returned to his All-American form for the Reddies in his final collegiate campaign. Langston, who was a 2018 All-American before missing the 2019 season due to injury, has a miniscule 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched this season. The senior from El Dorado has struck out 30 batters, walked just two, and surrendered only two earned runs on the year for Henderson. In his career at HSU, Langston carries a 1.54 ERA in 58.1 innings, has struck out 76 batters, walked six and allowed 11 runs.

- Henderson is 7-9 all-time against Oklahoma Baptist since the Bison formally joined the conference in 2016. The Reddies have won the series over OKBU twice — in 2017 on the road in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and in 2020 at Clyde Berry Field in Arkadelphia.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
- The Bison enter the final weekend series of the year 23-13 overall and 20-10 in GAC play. OKBU is currently in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings along with Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma. Just a game back of Southern Arkansas, Oklahoma Baptist has an outside chance to win the regular season title this weekend at home in Shawnee.

- OKBU is a talented offensive team and is No. 3 nationally with 75 home runs his this season. The Bison are batting .310 collectively which ranks sixth in the GAC. Oklahoma Baptist is 10-3 at home this year and have dropped just one home GAC series.

- Oklahoma Baptist has multiple big bats in its lineup, including Hector Ruvalcaba, Walker Keller and Cliff Pradd, who all have hit 10 or more home runs this spring. Ruvalcaba has a team-best .388 average, but Keller is batting .385 and the duo have combined to drive in 79 runs for the Bison.

- The Bison's top starter on the mound is Jake Lipetzky, who was a 2019 First Team All-GAC selection. The big right hander has a 4.31 ERA and 4-2 record this season in 11 starts. Lipetzky has struck out 73 batters in 54.1 innings pitched but also walked 41.