MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Henderson State outlasted Northeastern State 11-10 on Saturday to advance to the championship game of the Magnolia Regional, but Southern Arkansas hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Reddies 12-11 and advance to the NCAA DII Super Regional next weekend.

The win over the RiverHawks was the school record 40th for the Reddies (40-17), whose campaign ended at the Central Regional Tournament for the second-straight season. The previous record for wins in a single season was 34, set in 2009.

GAME 5: Henderson State 11, Northeastern State 10
The Reddies scored all 11 of their runs in the fourth and fifth inning on Saturday afternoon, and then held off a furious rally by NSU, to eliminate the RiverHawks and advance to the subregional title game.

Cade Tucker finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead HSU at the plate, while Dillon Thomas and Greyson Stevens also added three RBIs each. Austin Cross earned the win in the final outing of his career at Henderson by pitching 5.2 innings and allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out four.

HSU fell behind 2-0 early, but exploded for seven runs on five hits in the fourth. Six of the seven runs in the inning were scored with two outs, as Tucker had a two-RBI single and Thomas cleared the bases with a three-RBI double. 

The Reddies got four more runs in the fifth, three of which came on a home run from Stevens, to take a commanding 11-2 lead. Northeastern refused to go away, however, and scored three runs in the fifth and sixth to cut the deficit to 11-5.

Up by six runs in the bottom of the ninth, Henderson saw the RiverHawks mount a huge comeback. NSU used three hits, a walk, a hit batter and an error in the inning to plate five runs and nearly erase the Reddies' lead. 

With the bases loaded, Northeastern got a two-out single to clear the bases and bring the score to 11-10, but the hitter Blaze Brothers was thrown out trying to go to second base. The tag out was the final out of the game and sent the Reddies into the championship round of the sub-regional.

GAME 6: Southern Arkansas 12, Henderson State 11
Henderson jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and held a lead of as many as five runs, but SAU rallied and hit a walk-off home run in the ninth to defeat HSU and win the Magnolia Regional, 12-11.

The loss ended the season for the Reddies, who dropped five of the seven contests this spring against the Muleriders. 

Nick Butler had three hits and four RBIs to lead HSU offensively. Butler had a bases-clearing double in the first inning and a solo homer in the fourth. Stevens also added two hits and three RBIs. 

Cade Tucker pitched five innings and earned a no-decision by surrendering six runs on six hits. Tucker struck out four batters in his longest outing in over a month.

HSU struck for four runs in the top of the first thanks to a leadoff home run by Tucker and Butler's three-RBI triple. The lead grew are large as 8-3 for Henderson in the fourth when it tacked on three more runs on a Butler home run, a Stevens single and a wild pitch.

The Muleriders used two big home runs to come roaring back. A two-run shot in the fifth spearheaded a three-run inning which cut the deficit to 8-6, then Brandon Nicoll launched a grand slam in the sixth with gave SAU its first lead, 10-8.

After giving up the lead, Henderson immediately responded with three runs in the seventh to go back in front 11-10. Luke Farrar had a pinch hit double to plate the first run, while Stevens came through with a two-out single that beat the shift to score the last two.

Southern Arkansas tied the game at 11-11 with a two-out double from Nicoll in the eighth. HSU got the lead-off hitter on base in the top of the ninth, but was unable to plate a go-ahead run. Needing just one run to win, the Muleriders' Tucker Burton led off the bottom of the ninth with a blast to centerfield. His home run won the game for SAU and ended the Reddies' run at the Central Regional.

Nine of the Muleriders' runs in the game came off of four home runs.