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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - In its second-to-last road GAC series of the 2023 regular season, Henderson State will travel to Seminole, Oklahoma to face off against Oklahoma Baptist in a three-game stand. Game one is scheduled for Friday, Apr. 21 at 6 p.m. followed by a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

REDDIES REPORT (26-17, 17-10 GAC)
Henderson comes into this weekend's series off its second series sweep against a conference opponent this season after taking all three contests against Southern Nazarene by a combined score of 36-6. The trio of victories now has HSU at 17-10 in conference and one victory away from clinching a spot in the 2023 GAC Tournament.

The top four seeds in the postseason conference tournament will host a first round best-of-three series before the semifinals and finals are moved to Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas. As it stands now, with six conference games remaining, the Reddies are in that coveted fourth spot with a one-game lead on Arkansas-Monticello and a three-game advantage on the Bison.

Andrew Howard highlighted the performances from this past weekend's series, delivering a complete-game shutout in game two against the Crimson Storm that earned him the GAC Pitcher of the Week award. Howard allowed just three hits to eight strikeouts in the effort. The North Little Rock, Arkansas, native is tied for seventh in the league with the fewest walks allowed (18).

After a big weekend against SNU that saw him go 7-for-10 at the plate, Kaden Argenbright is now leading the team with 58 hits on the season and second with 33 RBIs. Luke Rice is leading the club with 40 RBIs as he needs just six more to be tied for ninth on the program's all-time single season RBI list.  

The Reddies have enjoyed success over Oklahoma Baptist as of late, having won five in a row in the career series, including a 3-2 win at in last year's GAC Tournament. The last time this series was played away from Arkadelphia, however, the Bison took two of three from HSU. Henderson does hold the slight edge on the all-time series, 13-11. 

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST (24-17, 14-13 GAC)
Oklahoma Baptist took a brief break from conference play where it picked up a pair of victories over Emporia State, 23-17, and Newman, 12-6. The Bison recorded double-digit hits in both outings, including 20 hits and nine home runs against ESU. Oklahoma Baptist leads the league in home runs (58) and team slugging percentage (.529).

The Bison offense is where they make their money. The green-and-gold are second in the conference with a .324 batting average as senior outfielder Kade Self leads the charge with a .389 clip while leading the squad with 60 RBIs. Assisting in the slugging category is fellow senior Dan Pruitt, who is slugging .800 with a team-leading 17 home runs.  

Oklahoma Baptist is sixth in the GAC with a team-ERA of 6.45. Starting pitchers Jake Hamilton and Brek Galbreath have spent the most time on the mound where they each have a sub-5.60 ERA while Hamilton is fifth in the league with 77 strikeouts in just 56.2 innings of work.