ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Exactly one week after taking down then-No. 14 Southern Arkansas in a midweek contest, Henderson State will go for its second Top-25 midweek victory when No. 20 Arkansas Tech comes to Clyde Berry Field for an non-conference, under-the-lights showdown Tuesday, Mar. 28 at 6 p.m. 

REDDIES REPORT (18-12, 10-8 GAC)
Henderson St. picked up its fourth GAC series win of the season by taking the rubber match against East Central on Sunday, 8-4. After dropping the opening game, 4-1, the Reddies won the next two contests by a combined score of 27-4, including 19-0 in the the latter game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Pitcher Andrew Howard delivered a gem in the shutout, pitching all seven innings while allowing just one hit to four strikeouts and a pair of walks. Thanks to a pair of double plays from the HSU defense, Howard faced just 22 batters with 21 being the minimum he could have faced in the seven-inning outing as his efforts earned him the conference's Pitcher of the Week honor.

Charles Hoof continued his strong play after hitting .556 (5-of-9) on the weekend, including delivering his second grand slam of the season in the series finale. Hoof is now third on the team with a .343 batting average and tied for second on the team with six home runs. Henderson now boasts eight batters hitting .306 or better on a minimum of 25 games played as the team batting average is now .311 for third in the conference.

The Reddies have made the most of their 309 hits this season with 111 of them going for extra bases, which is second in the league (Southern Nazarene, 113). The red-and-gray are leading the GAC and are fifth in NCAA Division II with 13 triples and, with 20 regular season games remaining, need just seven more to notch the most triples in a single season since 1978.

In the last four years, the home team has had the upper hand in the series with Arkansas Tech. Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the host team is 14-3. Earlier this season, Arkansas Tech, prior to entering the NCBWA Top-25 poll, took all three in Russellville against the Reddies, including a 26-15 contest, which is the highest scoring GAC game this season.

SCOUTING NO. 20 ARKANSAS TECH (22-9, 15-3 GAC)
The Wonder Boys have won six consecutive GAC contests to aid their league-best 15-3 conference record. After starting out the season unranked, ATU has won 22 of its 31 games, including 20 of its last 25, to warrant the national ranking. Most recently, Arkansas Tech swept Southwestern Oklahoma St. in its three-game weekend series.

Arkansas Tech is sixth in the conference with a team-ERA of 6.37, but make up for it on offense where the green-and-gold are second in the league with a .320 batting average. The Wonder Boys are also second with 285 runs and tied for second with 67 doubles, which is tied for 12th in all of Division II. 

Similar to Henderson, ATU boasts eight guys who are hitting .307 or better on a minimum of 22 starts. Leading the charge is redshirt sophomore outfielder Brandon Bunton, who is hitting .387 in 30 game appearances and 28 starts. Fellow-outfielder Keaton Ranallo has started all but one game for the Wonder Boys as he backs up Bunton with a .373 batting average while also leading the club with 44 hits.