ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State baseball won its third consecutive season-opener Friday afternoon, defeating Northwest Missouri State at Clyde Berry Field, 5-1. The win also extends HSU's winning streak over the Bearcats to three games.
 
Senior Cade Tucker had himself a day, going 3-for-4 at the plate – including a double and a triple – while also earning his sixth career save on the mound. With a slim 3-1 lead heading into the top of the eighth, the Conway, Arkansas native faced just six batters in two innings of scoreless work, recording five strikeouts in the effort. Junior Henry Coppens took the win at pitcher after he threw two innings, during which HSU took the lead for good.
 
Luke Farrar and newcomer Luke Rice both added two hits in the opener, with both of Farrar's registering as doubles. Rice, the University of Arkansas-Rich Mountain transfer in his first contest with the Reddies, logged one double and one single-base knock.
 
Starting pitcher Ryan Galvan and NWMSU's Preseason Third Team All-American Max Spitzmiller dueled it out on the mound in the early going, with each arm retiring their respective first three innings with the score remaining 0-0. Farrar put HSU on the scoreboard in the fourth with one of his two doubles, which scored Tucker after his single got the half-inning started.
 
The Bearcats responded quickly with a bases-loaded base-knock that tied things up in the top of of the fifth. With a man still on first and second with only one out, the next batter flew out to center field before Louis Holt took the flyout and sent it to shortstop Logan Cowart who delivered it to catcher Jacob Carroll for the tag out at home on the eager Bearcat base runner to retire the inning.
 
The heads-up defensive play kept the score at a deadlock, 1-1, when Henry Coppens relieved Galvan in the sixth. After allowing just one hit in his season debut half-inning, Tucker gave the Reddies an RBI-double that scored Holt after getting on via a bunt single. Now ahead 2-1, a hitless top of the seventh for NWMSU opened the door for HSU to extend the lead with a two-out throwing error from the visitors that scored pinch-runner Charles Hoof.
 
Now sporting a 3-1 lead with play heading into the eighth, the Henderson coaching staff sent Tucker to the bump to slam the door shut. The next six Northwest Missouri batters were sat down in order as HSU added to its lead one final time in what would be its final at-bat with RBI's from Greyson Stevens and Kaden Argenbright in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the tally to 5-1.
 
Henderson St. (1-0) will return to Clyde Berry Field for its second game of the Dugan Collegiate Baseball Invitational tomorrow at 2 p.m. with the Rogers State Hillcats next on the docket.