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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — No. 11 Henderson State looks for its fourth GAC series win of the year this weekend when it hosts Northwestern Oklahoma State in a single game at 4 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at noon on Saturday. All three games will be played at Clyde Berry Field.
REDDIES REPORT
- Henderson enters the weekend series 17-4 overall and 9-3 in Great American Conference play. The Reddies four losses have come by a combined five runs and they have outscored their opponents 175-85 this season. HSU moved up to No. 11 nationally in the latest Collegiate Baseball DII Poll and stayed at No. 16 in Wednesday's NCBWA DII Poll.
- The Reddies' pitching staff continues to impress and now boasts the top ERA in the GAC (3.44). Henderson has four relievers with sub-4.00 ERAs and in 11 or more innings pitched and two starters with sub-3.00 ERAs in 30-plus innings of work. HSU is 2-3 in its last five contests but has allowed just 11 runs during that five-game stretch — its fewest in any five-game span this spring.
- Senior Spencer Taack earned the third GAC Pitcher of the Week award of his career on Tuesday afternoon after a strong outing against Harding. Taack threw seven innings and surrendered no runs on just three hits. He is now 5-0 in six starts this season and 12-2 overall since the start of the 2021 campaign. Taack's 2.78 ERA is the second-best mark of any pitcher in the GAC and he is one of just three pitchers league-wide holding opponents to a batting average of under .200 (.191).
- Offensively, Henderson is hitting .296 as a club and slugging .498. The Reddies were 20-for-87 (.230) at the plate in their last weekend series against Harding and hit five home runs in the three games. Kaden Argenbright, who is batting .393 this year, had a strong showing, going 5-for-10 with two home runs and six RBIs.
- HSU has had success in recent years against NWOSU and is 16-8 overall in its last 24 contests with the Rangers. The last six meetings in the series between the programs have come on the road in Alva, Oklahoma and Northwestern has not been to Arkadelphia since April of 2018. The Reddies are 7-2 against NWOSU at Clyde Berry Field since 2013 and have held the Rangers to an average of 2.2 runs per game in those contests. Northwestern won the GAC series over Henderson in both 2018 and 2021.
 SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
- NWOSU comes to Arkadelphia with a 10-12 overall record and a mark of 6-6 in GAC action. The Rangers have swept both UAM and East Central, but have been swept by Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma State, who are a combined 21-3 in the league this year. Northwestern ended a four-game losing streak on Tuesday when it defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State 13-10 in a midweek clash.
- The Rangers are hitting .296 as a team and have an impressive .500 slugging percentage. NWOSU has hit 34 home runs and has seven different players with at least three deep flies. Infielder Yugo Hamakawa leads the club with a .380 batting average, while two-way player Blake Hoffman had a team-high 32 hits, eight doubles, six home runs and 26 RBIs.
- Northwestern's pitching staff has struggled at times this spring and carries an 8.52 ERA, which ranks 10th in the GAC. Opponents are hitting .304 against the Rangers, who have had seven different players start a game this year. Right-hander Emilio Lovato has started six contests and has an 8.37 ERA in a team-high 33.1 innings. Lovato has struck out 39 and walked 21 while surrendering 44 hits. NWOSU's top bullpen arm is Edwin Colon, who has a 1.35 ERA in 10 relief appearances and has earned two saves.
