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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - With the postseason one week away, nine teams are still in the mix with three games remaining to try and lobby for better positioning in the eight-team 2024 GAC Tournament, with the top four seeds hosting a first-round best-of-three series May 3-4.

Henderson State will look to be one of those teams to climb into that upper echelon of first-round hosts with the Reddies currently tied for fifth and half a game out of fourth. Joining HSU in the fifth spot is this weekend's all-too familiar foe Ouachita Baptist as the cross-street rivals meet for a three-game series rich with postseason implications beginning Friday, Apr. 26 at 6 p.m.

Prior to first pitch of Saturday's doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., Henderson will recognize its 13 seniors for Senior Day at Clyde Berry Field.  

REDDIES REPORT (25-20, 18-12 GAC)
Henderson St. remained in the hunt for a prized Top-4 slot in the GAC Tournament with a pivotal series victory over Oklahoma Baptist this past weekend. Despite being outscored in the first inning 14-3 in the three games, the Reddies clawed their way to a pair of 8-6 and 4-3 victories in the series opener and finale, respectively.

First baseman Luke Rice had his best weekend series of the season at the plate against the Bison, hitting .600 while also holding a .692 on-base percentage, finishing with six hits, six RBI, three runs scored, two walks and a home run. Since the beginning of April, Rice is one of four Reddies hitting .400 or better with a .438 clip on 14 hits while leading the team with 12 RBI, 15 walks and a .617 on-base percentage during that time. Additionally, all three of Rice's home runs this season have come in the last two weekend series'.

Joining Rice with a hot April has been Kaden Argenbright who, over the last 10 games, is leading the team with a .444 batting average while also pacing the squad with 20 hits, 15 runs scored and five doubles. In Henderson's last midweek game against Delta State, Argenbright secured his program-record 23rd consecutive game with a hit as he is now up to 67 this season, which is five off the best hitting season of his career.

On the mound, Reese Weaks has pitched 17 innings in three appearances over the last 10 games, holding a basement 1.59 ERA after allowing just three runs on seven hits. While opposing batters are only hitting .123 against Weaks during that time, opposing teams have had their chances as the Princeton, Texas, native has issued 17 walks while recording 16 strikeouts. 

After going 5-4 in league play this month, HSU is 18-12 in the GAC and tied for fifth in the conference standings. The Reddies can finish anywhere from third to seventh in the standings following this weekend's games. A red-and-gray sweep plus an Arkansas Tech sweep of Harding will position HSU third while simply a series win plus a Southern Arkansas series loss will lock in Henderson at fourth. The Muleriders are playing at second-place Arkansas-Monticello this weekend.

While Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist have split the last 10 meetings, 5-5, the Reddies have won four consecutive GAC series' over the Tigers, with Ouachita's last series win over HSU coming in 2018. Earlier this season, the red-and-gray and purple-and-gold played at Rab Rodgers Field, where OUA took the non-conference dual, 5-1. Ouachita Baptist's pitching held the Reddies to just five hits, four of which came from Argenbright (2-for-4) and true freshman Cal Jones (2-for-3).   

SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST (26-19, 18-12 GAC)
Ouachita Baptist is 6-3 in conference play this month for a 18-12 GAC record. Similar to HSU, a Top-4 seed is in reach with a series victory plus a series loss by Southern Arkansas. This season, OUA is 11-11 in true road games and is 8-7 away from Rad Rodgers Field in conference play, having lost three of its five such series'.

Through 44 games, the Tigers have the fifth best team-batting average at .295 while leading the league in home runs (75) and the fourth best team-ERA at 4.50. In conference play, that team-ERA improves to 3.89 as starters Chase Oberle, Luke House and Cooper Timmons have ERAs of 2.01, 4.02 and 4.21 in such games, respectively.

Offensively, OUA boasts five batters hitting .324 or better on the season, led by senior outfielder Tallon Heine with a .365 average while being tied for second with 57 hits. Aiding in their league-leading home run numbers is three Tigers who are slugging .620 or better, with senior infielder Dustin Bermudez leading the effort with team-highs in doubles (16) and home runs (13).