MAGNOLIA, Ark. — In a midweek marathon that lasted three-and-a-half hours, Henderson State bested Southern Arkansas on its own turf by a score of 15-10 on Tuesday night.
Luke Farrar started the game with a bang by hitting a solo home run in the first at-bat of the contest. Jeremy Schork would hit a round-tripper of his own later in the inning, giving the Reddies a 2-0 advantage. From the second to the fourth inning, the Muleriders would string together seven unanswered runs to take a 7-2 lead.
HSU cut the deficit to two in the top of the fifth via RBI singles from Jaxson Gregg and Schork as well as an RBI groundout from Tripp Campbell. SAU quickly got those three runs back in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run Lee Matsuzaki double and a Brandon Nicoll solo homer. The sixth served as the game's first scoreless inning. The seventh inning, however, would change everything.
After scoring a run on an error, Henderson used a two-run Tripp Campbell double and a Dylan Block RBI double to bring Southern Arkansas' lead to a single run. That lead would disappear when the Reddies scored yet another run on an error. From there, HSU took the lead on a two-run single from Luke Rice. An RBI base hit from Schork and a Block walk helped HSU tack on two more insurance runs. In all, the Reddies plated nine runs in the frame to claim a 14-10 advantage.
Farrar doubled in a run in the top of the eighth to give Henderson a five-run lead, which would hold for the remainder of the contest.
Schork led the team with four hits and three RBI.
Rice and Gregg both recorded three runs and two walks in the victory.
Farrar also had three hits on the night.
Campbell and Block finished off the hit parade with multi-hit performances of their own (two apiece).
Dawson Goines earned the win in relief by throwing one inning with no runs nor hits allowed. It was the first winning decision of the year for the junior from Benton, Arkansas.
Later this week, the Reddies will return to Clyde Berry Field to host Southern Nazarene in a three-game conference series. HSU's showdown with the Crimson Storm will begin with a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 21.
