ADA, Okla. – Henderson State splits the doubleheader to open the weekend series against East Central, winning the first game 3-1 in eight innings before falling 7-1 in the second game. The Reddies will look to take the series tomorrow in the rubber match, with the opening pitch set for 12 p.m.
 
The Reddies recorded 11 hits across the two contests, led by Abbie Moore and Josie Copeland, with two hits each. Copeland had a multi-hit game in the first contest, logging a double and home run, along with three RBIs.
 
GAME ONE: HSU 3, ECU 1
A pitcher's duel between HSU and ECU broke out in the first game as the two sides combined for five hits through the first four innings. Brooke Johnson started in the circle for Henderson and held the Tigers scoreless through the opening two frames before East Central scored a run in the third inning.
 
ECU led for the majority of the game, and the closest the Reddies came to scoring a run was in the second inning when HSU loaded the bases. Josie Golden and Justine Burch had back-to-back hits, followed by a walk from Raylee Carey to load the bases, but East Central's pitcher worked out the jam to keep Henderson off the scoreboard.
 
HSU broke through in the top of the sixth to tie the game 1-1. Moore worked a lead-off walk and moved up one on a sacrifice bunt by Katelyn McMahan. The following batter Copeland knocked a double to center field to score Moore from second base. Neither side could add runs in the seventh frame, so the game went to extra innings.
 
Similar to the sixth inning, Moore got a lead-off walk and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from McMahan to start the eighth. Copeland stepped into the batter's box next and blasted a two-run home run for her second hit of the game to give Henderson the lead 3-1. Johnson got three outs in the bottom half of the frame to secure the win in a complete-game outing.
 
GAME TWO: ECU 7, HSU 1
After being limited in the first game, East Central's offense came alive in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring three earlier runs in the bottom of the second to jump ahead 3-0. Baserunners were a premium for Henderson to start the contest, as the team went three up and three down in the first three frames before recording its first hit of the game in the fourth inning.
 
East Central recorded another crooked number in the bottom of the sixth to extend its lead to 7-0 after scoring three runs on three hits. The Reddies would score a late run off the bat of Erika Bittinger before the final out of game two, 7-1.
 
Savannah Carrigan got the start in the second contest and lasted 2.0 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and had one punch out. Tabitha Jackson and Presley Applegate pitched the remaining 4.0 frames, and each logged a strikeout. Moore was 2-2 at the plate with a walk and had zero strikeouts.