COVERAGE LINKS

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Henderson State will play three of its final six conference games over the next 48 hours when Oklahoma Baptist comes to Clyde Berry Field for a three-game series.

First pitch will be Sunday, Apr. 21 at 1 p.m. followed by the latter game of the twin bill beginning at approximately 4 p.m. The series finale will be Monday, Apr. 22 at 12 p.m.

Prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. contest, Clay Berry, brother of Henderson State chancellor Dr. Trey Berry and son of the late Clyde Berry, will receive the inaugural Clyde Berry Award.

REDDIES REPORT (22-19, 16-11 GAC)
Henderson State heads into the final two weeks of the the regular season with a 16-11 GAC record and is tied for fifth in the league standings while sitting one game out of fourth. The top four seeds in the eight-team conference tournament will host a first-round best-of-three series before the four remaining teams will meet at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Ark. for a four-team double elimination tournament to crown a champion.

The Reddies have been a top four seed in the GAC Tournament each of the last two seasons while having made the conference postseason eight straight years (was not played in 2020). Henderson St. is currently three games clear of ninth-place Southwestern Oklahoma State. The red-and-gray will clinch a spot in the GAC Tournament with at least a three-game lead over SWOSU, having won the head-to-head three-game series earlier this season.

As a team, HSU is sporting the eighth-ranked hitting offense in the conference with a .283 batting average. Individually, Kaden Argenbright is fueling the offense with his team-high 59 hits and 46 RBI, which is 15.5 percent and 18.5 percent of the Reddies' hits and RBI, respectively. Luke Rice is backing up Argenbright in both categories with 45 hits and 24 RBI.

Henderson St. is carrying a GAC-sixth best 5.74 team-ERA while opposing teams are hitting .257, which is the fourth-best mark in the conference. Starting pitchers Reese Weaks and Kyle Williams are second and third in the league with a .198 and .206 opposing batting average while Weaks is allowing just 38 hits in 53.1 innings of work for third in the conference.

The Reddies have not lost to Oklahoma Baptist in Arkadelphia since 2020, while having not lost a three-game series to the Bison at Clyde Berry Field since 2018. Henderson is 10-10 at home in 2024 and have won three best-of-three GAC series' while dropping just one. The red-and-gray have won at least four conference series on their home turf in each of the last two seasons.    

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST (26-16, 14-13 GAC)
Oklahoma Baptist is currently alone in eighth place in the conference standings and one game safe of ninth. After this weekend, OKB finishes off the year with a three-game home series against 12-31 Southern Nazarene while ninth-place Southwestern Oklahoma State has to travel to first-place Arkansas-Monticello this weekend before finishing off at home with fourth-place Northwestern Oklahoma State.

The Bison boast the top offense in the conference with a league-best .335 batting average with 465 hits - ninth in NCAA Division II and 26 more than the next closest GAC team. With the team having hit 65 home runs this season, Oklahoma Baptist's biggest bat comes from senior Alex Schroeder, who is leading the team with 15 home runs while slugging .733.

The green-and-gold pitching staff carries a 6.72 team-ERA, which is ninth in the conference, while leading the league with 12 saves. Starters Nolan Feazle and Brek Galbreath are allowing opposing batters to hit .289 and .292, respectively, while Cameron Pool, who has made the third most starts on the staff, is allowing batters to hit .347 as he has a 9.37 ERA.