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ARKDADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State will play its second-to-last home conference series of the 2022 season when the GAC-leading Southern Arkansas Muleriders come to Dee White Field for a single game Friday, April 1 at 5 p.m. and then a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
REDDIES REPORT
The Reddies are coming off their second GAC series win of the season after taking two of three against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Both wins came courtesy of the stellar pitching of
Savannah Carrigan and
Erika Bittinger, with Carrigan throwing a complete game in the first contest while Bittinger clinched the series with her six innings of work in the second outing.
In Carrigan's two exceptional performances from within the circle this past weekend, the sophomore righty dropped her ERA from 6.83 to 5.86 after only giving up one earned run in her last 10 innings of work. Carrigan has also given up the fewest hits of anyone on the pitching staff with a minimum of 50 innings thrown.
Despite a slow weekend at the plate,
Madison Treutlein still leads the Henderson clubhouse with a .356 batting average, followed by fellow freshman
Justine Burch at .347, who went 3-5 in the series finale against the Bulldogs for her second three-hit game of the season. Burch is now alone at the top among the Reddie batters with 34 hits.
Henderson's big hitters continue to be
Abbie Moore and
Brooke Johnson, who are both one and two, respectively, in slugging percentage. Moore boasts a team-leading seven home runs while Johnson paces the clubhouse with nine doubles, both of which are tied for the sixth most among the league leaders.
The Reddies have had a rough go at it against SAU as of late, with the Muleriders riding an 11-game winnings streak over HSU into this weekend. Henderson's last victory against Southern Arkansas came in Arkadelphia back in 2017.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
After being preseason ranked No. 16 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Southern Arkansas comes into this weekend having received votes in the latest installment of the NFCA poll. After a bit of a slow start to the 2022 campaign, SAU is sporting a nine-game winning streak courtesy of three consecutive GAC-series sweeps, improving to a league-best 14-3.
Graduate students Jade Miller and Tiare Lee pace the Mulerider batters with a .388 batting average, as Miller also leads the team with 45 hits and nine home runs, slugging .690, second only to Lee (.694). Both players are seeing an OPS of 1.100 or greater.
Where SAU has really shown itself to be dominant this season is from the circle. Stand-out freshman Kiana Pogroszewski is sporting a league-best 1.18 ERA, followed by freshman Sydney Ward, who occupies the second spot among the conference ranks with a 1.76 ERA. Reliever Macie Welch completes the formidable unit, having picked up a GAC-best three saves on the year.
