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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State welcomes Union to Dee White Field on Wednesday for a midweek doubleheader. The first pitch of game one between the Reddies and Lady Bulldogs is 2 p.m.
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson got its first conference win this year with a reverse sweep of East Central, taking the final two games by a combined score of 10-1.
Brooke Johnson got the start in the circle in both wins, delivering nine strikeouts in 9.0 frames and allowing just one run on ten hits to improve to 3-4. At the plate, the Reddies totaled 20 hits over the two victories and committed zero errors.
Hilary Akers provided the biggest bat in the three games with two doubles, a home run and three runs driven in on four hits. The Houston native entered the series hitting .293 and saw her batting average jump to .327 on the year with 16 hits and is slugging .571.
Justine Burch extended her hit-streak to seven games across the series, going 4-of-7 with a double and a pair of stolen bases.
This season, Henderson ranks fourth in hitting, with a batting average of .291 through 31 games, and has recorded 244 hits and 132 runs. The Reddies have six players batting over .300, led by freshman
Lily Warren, who has 36 hits and a .364 batting average. In the circle, HSU has a 4.91 ERA across 207.0 innings, allowing 145 runs on 236 hits.
Johnson highlighted the strong pitching performances in the final two games, picking up back-to-back wins after going 9.0 innings and allowing just one run. The Rockwall, Texas native is 3-4 in 10 appearances and leads the team with 33 strikeouts in 40.2 frames.
Meagan Allen got her first save of the season in her second appearance in the series, pitching the final 2.0 innings in game two.
Henderson State and Union meet for just the second time, having first played each other in a midweek doubleheader in 2022. The two sides split the twin bill, with HSU winning the first contest 4-2 and UU taking game two 7-6 after nine innings. Current Reddies Burch recorded two hits over the doubleheader, while
Erika Bittinger pitched a complete game in the 4-2 victory.
SCOUTING UNION
Union is 19-13 overall and 11-7 in Gulf South Conference action heading into the midweek games against Henderson. The Lady Bulldogs recently lost a series to then No. 17 Auburn-Montgomery, who took two of three games from UU. Before heading over to Dee White Field, Union will first play Ouachita Baptist in a doubleheader on Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs are led by stand-out hitter Macey Neal, who leads the team with 49 hits, 11 doubles, three triples and eight home runs. Neal is batting a team-high .454 and has driven in the most runs this season for UU with 38 RBIs. The senior infielder helps lead a team that is batting .308 with 265 hits and 156 runs scored.
Union has one of the best pitching staffs in the GSC, with three pitchers ranked inside the top 10 in ERA. Leading the Lady Bulldogs in the circle is sophomore Lainey Baker, who leads the GSC with 115 strikeouts on the year and ranks second with a 2.25 ERA across 81.0 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .196 against the right-hander, and she has only allowed 60 hits in 306 at-bats. Baker is averaging 9.9 punch outs per seven innings, which ranks tenth best across all DII.
