ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — No. 10 Henderson State put on an offensive display in the doubleheader with Southern Nazarene on Sunday and defeated the Crimson Storm 13-5 and 19-6 to clinch the series at Clyde Berry Field.

The Reddies had 36 hits and 22 extra-base hits on the day in just 16 innings of play. The two wins improved HSU to 13-0 and 5-0 in Great American Conference play. 

Henderson will go for its 14th-straight win and second-consecutive sweep of a GAC weekend series tomorrow when it faces SNU in the finale at 12 p.m. in Arkadelphia. 

GAME 1: Henderson State 13, SNU 5
No. 10 Henderson State scored seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings to break open a close contest and defeat Southern Nazarene 13-5 in the series opener. The win improved HSU to 12-0 on the season and 4-0 in GAC play.

The Reddies scattered 16 hits in the game, 10 of which went for extra bases, and also drew 10 walks. Greyson Stevens led HSU by going 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and a double, while Jacob Carroll also had three hits, two doubles and two RBIs. David Vilches hit his ninth home run of the season in the first inning.

Spencer Taack picked up his fourth win of the season in his fourth start on the mound. Taack pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits while striking out five. Brayden Bebee was terrific in relief and earned a save by going the final 3.1 innings for the Reddies. The senior from Arkadelphia allowed no runs, no hits and struck out six batters.

HSU jumped in front early with two runs in the first inning courtesy of Vilches' home run and an RBI walk. SNU responded in its half of the inning and scored three runs on four hits to take a 3-2 lead after one complete.

The Reddies took the lead back in the third with RBIs from Carroll and Kaden Argenbright, then increased the advantage out to 6-3 in the fourth on a triple from Cade Tucker and a groundout RBI from Alec Lewis. 

Henderson threatened to blow the game open in the fifth, but left the bases loaded and did not score. The Crimson Storm capitalized and scored runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to trim the deficit down to just 6-5. SNU had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth with a chance to take the lead, but Bebee entered and escaped the jam for HSU.

After a scoreless seventh, the Reddies got rolling in the final two frames to pull away. Henderson bat around in the eighth, scored four runs on five hits — four of which were doubles — and also took advantage of three walks and a balk. HSU scored three more in the ninth behind Stevens' home run, an error and a wild pitch.

SNU did not record a hit in the final three innings thanks to the work of Bebee. Henderson stranded 14 baserunners in the win and had at least two men reach base in seven of the nine innings. 

GAME 2: Henderson State 19, SNU 6
The Reddies scored a combined 18 runs in the fifth and sixth inning of the second game on Sunday to blow out Southern Nazarene and win the series at Clyde Berry Field.

HSU racked up 20 hits in the game, which included nine doubles and three triples. It was the first 20-hit game for the program since March of 2020.

Eleven different players recorded a hit for Henderson in the victory. Pate Fullerton and Kaden Argenbright each had three hits and three RBIs. Fullerton recorded two triples in the same half-inning in the fifth. Braden Carpenter got the first two hits of his Reddie career in his first start of the season behind the plate.

Starter Ryan Galvan got his third win of the year and threw five innings allowing just one earned run on two hits. Galvan struck out a season-high 10 batters and now has a 2.16 ERA for the year.

Henderson trailed 3-1 after four innings of play after a Crimson Storm two-run homer in the third. That lead did not hold up long for SNU, however, as the Reddies put together their two biggest innings of the season in the fifth and sixth.

In the fifth, HSU sent 13 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on seven hits. The Reddies had four singles, two triples from Fullerton and a double in the frame and also capitalized on three walks, two wild pitches which scored runs, and an error.

The onslaught continued in the sixth, as Henderson hawed eight hits in the inning — six of which went for extra bases — and scored eight more runs to go in front 19-3. The Reddies had hits on six-straight at-bats at one point and hit four-consecutive doubles.

Overall, Henderson was 20-for-40 at the plate in the game and hit .545 (12-for-22) with runners in scoring position.