ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State prepares to host its third GAC series of the 2025 season as No. 18 Arkansas-Monticello visits Clyde Berry Field for a three-game set. The series will kick off with a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, before wrapping up via a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday, Mar. 1.
REDDIE NOTES
Henderson State picked up a midweek win over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Tuesday to secure a non-conference season sweep of the Lions. The Reddies will be on the hunt for redemption after a conference series loss at Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Luke Rice led the way with four RBI in HSU's 7-5 win against UAFS on Tuesday. He recorded two go-ahead hits in the game: a two-run single and a two-run home run off of the scoreboard at the Clyde. The senior first baseman leads all qualified Reddie batters with a .396 batting average.
Luke Farrar has hit safely in seven of his last eight contests, including two three-hit performances. The Calhoun, Louisiana, native paces the team with a .475 on-base percentage.
Jeremy Schork holds the Henderson lead for OPS (1.122), home runs (seven), RBI (20), total bases (42), and walks (12) through 15 games. He has reached safely in all 15 contests.
Alex Galvan has gotten on base at least once in 14 straight games. His on-base percentage of .471 is good for second on the squad.
Cal Jones and Louis Holt share the top spot on the HSU leaderboard for stolen bases with three apiece.
Payton Byrd enters the UAM series after securing his third save of the year versus UAFS. Throwing at least an inning in each appearance, the former Warren Lumberjack has not given up a run in four consecutive relief outings.
Cole Rodriguez has thrown at least five innings and given up two or fewer earned runs in each of his last three starts. The senior leads the team in innings pitched (20.2) and holds a share of first place for strikeouts (17).
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
Arkansas-Monticello checked in at No. 18 in this week's D2Baseball poll, but the Boll Weevils will be looking to rebound after dropping four of their last five. UAM lost two of three in its most recent GAC series at Oklahoma Baptist before falling 13-12 in a midweek contest at Christian Brothers. The Weevils are 1-3 in true road games this season.
The Weevils boast three players with an on-base percentage north of .500 entering the HSU series: Kirk Woolf (.576), Chaz Poppy (.569), and Camden Tanner (.507).
Woolf tops the team in on-base percentage, walks (17), and stolen bases (10 on 10 attempts). The senior from Martinez, California, went seven-for-11 with six RBI last weekend against the Bison.
Poppy has recorded back-to-back four-hit games, bringing his team-leading batting average to .509. The catcher also paces the team in hits (29), doubles (tied at four), triples (tied at two), and OPS (1.271).
A 2024 NCBWAÂ First Team All-Region selection, Tanner is showing no signs of a sophomore slump. The outfielder has reached safely in all 14 games this season, posting 20 hits (including two home runs) and an OPS of 1.035 thus far.
Connor Irvine leads the pitching rotation in innings (23.2), strikeouts (22), and wins (tied at three). He suffered his first loss of the 2025 campaign on Sunday at Oklahoma Baptist.
Maxim Mrakovcic possesses the team's best WHIP (1.22), opposing batting average (.227), and win total (tied at three) for qualified pitchers. He earned the Weevils' only win in Shawnee last weekend.
LIVE COVERAGE
To access live stats and additional live coverage of this weekend's games, please visit hsusports.com/coverage.
