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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State begins its quest for a second-straight Great American Conference Tournament title tomorrow when the No. 2 seed Reddies face off against No. 7 seed Arkansas-Monticello at 3:50 p.m. at the new Majestic Park Complex in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies enter the 2022 conference tournament 35-14 overall and 23-10 in league play this season. Henderson's 35 wins and 23 league victories were both school records. The No. 2 seed is the highest HSU has ever finished in the GAC. The Reddies were ranked No. 4 in the most recent Central Region Rankings and could likely wrap up an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament with a strong showing in Hot Springs. An appearance in the Central Regional would give the Reddies back-to-back NCAA postseason appearances for the first time in school history.
- Henderson had six players earn All-GAC recognition on Friday evening. Starting pitcher
Spencer Taack and reliever
Brayden Bebee each were named to the league's First Team, while first baseman
Greyson Stevens and outfielder
David Vilches earned Second Team honors. Centerfielder
Bryson Haskins and two-way player
Cade Tucker received Honorable Mention accolades.
- HSU finished the regular season as the top pitching team in the GAC. Henderson led the league in team ERA (4.12) and currently ranks 26th nationally in ERA. The Reddies' staff held opponents to a conference-low .237 batting average this season and surrendered a league-best 54 doubles. Henderson and SAU were the only two teams in the GAC to give up less than 40 home runs this spring.
- The Reddies' pitching staff has been led all season by a strong starting rotation and several reliable bullpen arms. Taack has been the Friday night ace for HSU and carries a 3.65 ERA and 8-1 record in 79 innings and 13 starts. He has struck out 71 batters this season and is 15-3 overall in his last two years on the mound. He is followed in the rotation by Tucker, who has a 5.22 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of work, and
Ryan Galvan, who boasted a 6-0 record and 3.30 ERA as Henderson's seven-inning starter. Bebee and
Andrew Howard have been the top relief options for the Reddies. Beebe has a 2.23 ERA in 17 appearances and is limiting batters to a .124 average this year. Howard carries a 3.25 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.
- Offensively, Henderson was among the leaders in the GAC in a number of statistical categories. The Reddies hit .292 for the season and racked up 100 doubles and 54 home runs. HSU was fifth in the league in batting average, runs (370) and hits (465).
- Third baseman
Dillon Thomas, who emerged halfway through the year, led the club with a .400 batting average and has recorded at least one hit in 25 of Henderson's last 27 games. Stevens was also a force at the top of the lineup and hit .362 with 67 hits, 18 doubles, nine home runs, 46 RBIs and 114 total bases. He is currently riding a program-record 41-game on-base streak and last weekend became the school's all-time leader in RBIs with 129 for his career.
- Other dangerous hitters for the Reddies include Tucker, who is batting .364 and had three home runs in the weekend series against Ouachita last week,
Kaden Argenbright, who is hitting .354 for his career at HSU, Vilches, who set the school record for single season home runs this spring with 16, and Haskins, who turned it on down the stretch for Henderson and hit .434 in his last 17 games for the Reddies with a slugging percentage of .792.
- Henderson has had success in the GAC Tournament over the years and is one of just four programs with a winning record all-time in the tournament. The Reddies are 16-12 (.571) at the conference championships and won the event last season by defeating the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds in succession. HSU has advanced to the title game four different times in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
- Arkansas-Monticello, the Reddies' first round opponent, has been a thorn in Henderson's side for the last several years. HSU is 10-23 in its last 33 meetings with the Weevils and dropped the weekend series this spring on the road in Monticello, Arkansas. Henderson's two losses to UAM this year each came on walk-off hits in extra innings. The Weevils have defeated Henderson twice in the GAC Tournament Championship game in 2016 and 2017.
- Regardless of result on Saturday, the Reddies will play again on Sunday against either No. 3 Harding or No. 6 Oklahoma Baptist. With a win, Henderson would play at 12:40 p.m. With a loss, HSU would face elimination at 7 p.m.
