COVERAGE LINKS

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Henderson State returns to Clyde Berry Field off its big midweek victory over then-No. 14 Southern Arkansas to host the East Central Tigers in a three-game weekend series. First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. while Sunday's stand-alone game is set for 1 p.m.

REDDIES REPORT (16-11, 8-7 GAC)
The Reddie pitching staff delivered one of its best performances as a unit against Southern Arkansas, holding SAU to just one run on five hits. Six pitchers took to the mound Tuesday evening with junior Ethan Perry earning the win while newcomer Mitchell Szczygiel recorded the save. Perry went two complete scoreless innings while picking up three strikeouts and only allowing two hits before Szczygiel sat down the final six Mulerider batters in order in his two innings of work to seal the deal.

Charles Hoof was the only HSU batter to see multiple hits in the outing as the redshirt junior outfielder went 2-for-5 at the plate. Hoof has claimed 10 hits in his last seven games while being tied for third on the team with five home runs. In that seven-game stretch, the Lillie, Louisiana, native has elevated his batting average from .281 to .311.

Through its 27 games, Henderson is hitting .307 as a team, which is fifth in the GAC, and carrying a 5.27 ERA on the bump for fourth in the conference. Both Greyson Stevens and Kaden Argenbright are pacing the team with 38 hits each. The program's current all-time hits leader and the current second-place HSU hitter could see themselves move up in the record books in a different category with a big weekend. Stevens and Argenbright have 46 and 45 career doubles, respectively, and two more double-base knocks for the pair would move them into second and third on the program's career doubles list.

The Reddies are sporting an eight-game winning streak against East Central, with their last loss against the Tigers at Clyde Berry Field coming in 2019. During that winning streak, Henderson has defeated East Central by double-digit runs three times. Henderson has not dropped a series to ECU since 2014 and have never lost 2-of-3 to the orange-and-black at home since joining the GAC.

SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL (5-23, 0-15 GAC)
The Tigers have struggled in conference play this season, dropping all 15 league games by an average of nine runs per outing. When playing on the road against GAC opponents this season, their average loss per game reaches 11 runs. East Central has lost 12 straight coming into Clyde Berry Field this weekend.

Junior infielder Christian Whitaker leads the offensive charge for ECU as he is pacing the team after hitting .370 through his 26 games and is tied for the team-lead with three home runs and three triples. Fellow-infielder Nolan Herchock backs up Whitaker as the Tigers' offensive threat with the sophomore's 29 hits leading the club.