COVERAGE LINKS
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State resumes conference play on the road against Arkansas Tech on Mar. 1-2. The Reddies open with a single game on Friday at 5 p.m. and will conclude the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon.
Due to Arkansas Tech's turf not being ready, the three-game series will take place on Field 1 at City of College Park in Conway.
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson improved to 9-8 on the year after sweeping Christian Brothers in the midweek. The Reddies opened the doubleheader with an 8-2 win and followed that with a 5-2 victory. The red-and-grey swung the bats well against the Lady Bucs, combining for 20 hits across the two games, which has seen the team's batting average jump to .332 through 17 games.
Miyah Jackson tallied four hits in the doubleheader, with three coming in the opening game and one in the second contest. Two of Jackson's three hits in game one went for extra bases, recording a pair of doubles as she leads the team now with seven on the year. The Mansfield, Texas native leads HSU with 37 total bases and has shown the most power on the team, ranking second in the conference in slugging percentage (.804).
The Reddies have two players ranked in the top five in batting average on the GAC leaderboard, with
Lily Warren (2
nd) hitting .481 and
Josie Golden (4
th) batting .444. After notching three hits and two stolen bases in the doubleheader, Warren leads the GAC with 25 hits and in stolen bags with 15. Golden had a stellar day at the plate in the first game, going 3-of-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, along with a solo home run.
Savannah Carrigan picked up the first win in the circle this season in the opening game after pitching a complete game. The senior from Little Rock, Ark., saw a season-high four strikeouts and gave up two runs on five hits. Carrigan is tied with
Brooke Johnson for most innings pitched (19.2) this season in five appearances and has made four starts.
Heading into this weekend's series, Henderson State leads Arkansas Tech in the head-to-head matchup by one game, 44-43. However, it's the Golden Suns who have seen the more recent success as the Reddies search for their first series win over ATU since 2015. Last season, Arkansas Tech took the series 2-1 at Dee White Field after winning the rubber match 3-1.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS TECH
Similar to the Reddies, Arkansas Tech is searching for its first GAC series win after going 1-2 against Southern Nazarene. The Golden Suns tied the series 1-1 following a 9-1 in the opening game but would fall in the rubber match 8-0. The Golden Suns are 9-4 overall with standout wins over then No.17 Wingate and then No. 11 Central Oklahoma.
Through the early goings of the season, ATU has already cemented itself as one of the top teams in the circle. Junior pitcher Bradi Basler has been part of the Golden Suns' success through 13 games, as she ranks inside the top ten in ERA (2.14), batters struck out (32) and walks allowed (3). Basler is 5-1 in seven starts and has thrown four complete games and a shutout.
The Arkansas Tech bats struggled to get going against SNU, as the Golden Suns were limited to 13 hits over the three games. ATU tallied seven hits in the 7-5 win and was held to three in the other two contests. Leading the Golden Suns at the plate is Dani Lindsey with a .375 batting average on 12 hits, including five doubles and two triples.
