COVERAGE LINKS
 
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – In a pivotal final GAC series with a shot at the conference tournament on the line, Henderson State will welcome Southwestern Oklahoma State to Dee White field on Apr. 26-27. The Reddies will open the weekend series with a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 12 p.m., before the conclusion on Saturday at noon.

Ahead of Saturday's game, six seniors will be honored on the last home game of the season: Meagan Allen, Jorika Alvarez, Savannah Carrigan, Jodi De Hart, Bre Jones and Katelyn McMahan.

REDDIES REPORT
Heading into the final GAC series of the season, HSU (20-28, 11-19 GAC) is in a win-and-in situation. Sitting alone in eighth place in the conference standings and one game ahead of East Central and Southwestern Oklahoma State, if the Reddies win the series against SWOSU, they will clinch the last spot at the GAC Tournament.

Freshman Hilary Akers continues her impressive first season after recording her tenth multi-hit game in the series finale against Oklahoma Baptist. The Houston native is third on the team in hits this year with 34 while batting .333 with a team-high 18 RBIs. In addition, Akers paces the Reddies with eight doubles and 51 total bases.

Henderson ranks sixth in the conference in hitting with a .280 batting average in 48 games. The Reddies have complied 363 hits this season and scored 189 runs while ranking fourth in stolen bases with 69. Freshman Lily Warren leads the efforts at the plate with a team-high 44 hits on a .349 clip and has registered 29 stolen bags, which ranks third-most in the GAC.

Similarly, the HSU pitching staff also ranks sixth across the league with a 3.65 ERA. Leading the team in the circle this year has been Presley Applegate and Brooke Johnson. Applegate holds a team-best 1.44 ERA across 18 appearances, while Johnson leads the team with 42 strikeouts in 56.0 innings and a 2.62 ERA. The pair have a combined 7-7 record in the circle and have provided four of HSU's five shutouts.

Henderson and Southwestern Oklahoma State will meet for the 41^st time in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. The red-and-grey lead the all-time series 26-14 and have been excellent at home against the Bulldogs with a 13-4 record. SWOSU has struggled on the road in 2024 with just 2-13 record away from home, while HSU has been at its best this year at home with a 14-15 record. 

SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Like HSU, Southwestern Oklahoma State is battling for the last spot in the 2024 GAC Tournament. The Bulldogs are 15-31 overall and 10-20 in conference play after taking two of three games from Arkansas-Monticello this past weekend at home. SWOSU is currently tied with East Central in ninth and one game behind Henderson and needs a series win and ECU to lose to reach the tournament.
 
The Bulldogs enter the final regular season GAC series seventh in batting, just behind the Reddies with a .275 average. Jadyn Hook is the team's top hitter, ranking fifth in batting average (.378) and third in hits (56) across the conference. In the UAM series, the junior infielder notched three hits in ten plate appearances, including her 14th multi-hit game in the second contest, and scored two runs and batted in a pair of scores.
 
In the circle, SWOSU has leaned on Blaire Gentry and Courtney Hill this season, who have thrown a combined 252.0 innings. Gentry paces the side with a 10-12 record and has struck out 53 batters in 123.1 frames while holding opposing batters to a .303 clip. Hill has posted a team-high 94 punchouts in 128.2 innings and has all three saves recorded by SWOSU this season.