2023 GAC TOURNAMENT HOME PAGE

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State continues its quest for a Great American Conference Tournament crown this week in Springdale, Arkansas as the Reddies head to Arvest Ballpark to compete in the GAC Final Four on Thursday.

The No. 4 seed Reddies (32-20) face No. 1 seed and regular season conference champion Southern Arkansas at 1 p.m. on Thursday in the opening game of the four-team, double-elimination bracket. The winner moves on to face the winner of the Ouachita Baptist versus Oklahoma Baptist game at 3 p.m. on Friday, while the loser faces the loser of the second game in an elimination contest at 11 a.m. Friday.

HSU was No. 10 in the Central Region Rankings released by the NCAA last week and is looking to add to its resume as a potential at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament this week in Springdale.

REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies enter the final round of the GAC Tournament on the heels of a big 2-0 series victory over No. 5 seed Arkansas-Monticello last weekend in Arkadelphia. In the only first round matchup of two regionally-ranked teams, the Reddies outscored UAM 18-2 and out-hit the Weevils 22-6 on their way to the league's Final Four stage in Springdale.

- HSU is hitting .294 as a team this year and holding its opponents to a .254 average at the plate. The Reddie pitching staff has an ERA of 5.14 — the third-best mark of the four teams at Arvest Ballpark this weekend. 

- Rice leads the Reddies with a .356 batting average, .429 on base percentage, 49 RBIs and nine home runs. He had four hits and six RBIs in the two wins over Arkansas-Monticello last weekend. Stevens is HSU's leader in hits (72), doubles (21), runs (50) and total bases (124). His 72 hits are tied for fifth-most in a single season in school history.

- Six Henderson State players earned 2023 All-GAC recognition on Wednesday afternoon. Greyson Stevens was named to the First Team as an outfielder, Henry Coppens (Relief Pitcher) and Kaden Argenbright (Third Base) were each named to the Second Team, and Luke Rice (First Base), Cade Tucker (Relief Pitcher) and Ryan Galvan (Starting Pitcher) all earned Honorable Mention All-GAC honors.

- Reese Weaks is the presumed starter on Thursday for Henderson. Weaks has a 4.01 ERA in 13 starts and 60.2 innings pitched. The Reddies are 11-2 in his starts this season and have won the last six times he has started a game on the mound. In his last two starts against Ouachita and UAM, Weaks allowed a combined two runs on four hits in eight innings of work. 

- Henderson State has reached the semifinal round of the GAC Baseball Tournament in six of the last seven seasons in which the tournament was held: 2022 (Runners-Up), 2021 (Champions), 2018 (Semifinals), 2017 (Runners-Up), 2016 (Runners-Up), 2015 (Runners-Up).

- The Reddies are now 21-13 all-time in the GAC Baseball Tournament — the second-best record and second-most wins of any school in the league. HSU is 5-6 all-time against SAU in the GAC Tournament, accounting for nearly half of the Muleriders' losses (12) in GAC Tournament history.

- HSU is 15-10 all-time as the No. 4 seed at the GAC Tournament — the most wins for any team at any seed other than SAU's 21 victories as a No. 1 seed.

- Henderson is looking for its third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament this season. The Reddies rank second all-time among GAC programs with nine NCAA Tournament wins in just three appearances (2015, 2021, 2022). 

- The Reddies have won seven-consecutive GAC series dating back to the weekend of March 25-26. In 12 total GAC series this season including the opening round of the tournament last weekend, HSU is 10-2 with losses to Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma. 

- Henderson State won the regular season series against all three of the other teams in Springdale this weekend. The Reddies took two games from SAU in Arkadelphia and went 2-1 against both OKBU and Ouachita in road series wins.  

- HSU handed Jeremy Adorno, the presumed starter for SAU on Thursday, the first loss of his college career back on March 9, 4-1. Adorno entered the contest 18-0 in his career for the Muleriders, but the Reddies tagged him for four runs on eight hits in eight innings pitched.

- The last time this four-team, double elimination format was set for the final round of the GAC Baseball Tournament was in 2017, when No. 4 seed Henderson State defeated No. 1 seed SAU 13-5 in the opening round and then again 9-5 in an elimination game to advance to the championship game against UAM.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
The No. 1 seed and No. 18 ranked Muleriders enter the GAC Final Four after staving off elimination in their three-game series against No. 8 seed Southeastern Oklahoma. SAU dropped the first game of the series last Friday 5-3, but dominated both ends of the Saturday doubleheader to advance to Springdale. Southern Arkansas is 36-16 overall and finished 24-9 in the league during the regular season to win the conference title. SAU leads the GAC in on base percentage (.421) and is fifth in the conference with a .301 team batting average. The Muleriders carry a 4.22 team ERA into the weekend, which ranks third in the GAC. Southern Arkansas is 29-13 all-time in GAC Tournament play and have won the tournament six times, including last season in Hot Springs. SAU was ranked No. 3 in the Central Region Rankings last week. 

SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
The No. 2 seed Tigers are in the midst of their best season in over a decade and are looking to win their first-ever GAC Tournament title in baseball. Ouachita swept Harding in its opening round series last weekend and comes into the tournament 37-15 overall on the year. OBU is batting .299 as a team this spring, but is bolstered by its tremendous pitching. The Tigers have a GAC-best 4.15 staff ERA and gave up just one run in 18 innings against the Bisons in the first round. Ouachita is looking for its second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid in 2022 and was No. 4 in the Central Region Rankings last week.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
The No. 6 seed Bison of Oklahoma Baptist were the only lower-seeded team to advance to the GAC Final Four. OKBU outlasted No. 3 seed Arkansas Tech in three games in Russellville to punch its ticket to Springdale. The Bison have one of the most high-powered offenses in not only the GAC, but in all of NCAA DII. Oklahoma Baptist leads the conference with a team batting average of .322, a slugging percentage of .550 and ranks seventh nationally with 88 home runs this year — 23 more than the next closest team in the league. OKBU has a team ERA of 6.51 this spring, which ranks ninth in the GAC, but the Bison have been able to out-score opponents all year and lead the conference in runs scored and RBI.