ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State won a pitchers duel 4-2 and a back-and-forth thriller 8-7 to capture both halves of a doubleheader over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday at Clyde Berry Field.
The victories gave the Reddies (26-18, 18-11) their eighth GAC series win of the season and clinched their spot in the 2025 GAC Tournament in Enid, Oklahoma on May 1-4.
HSU will go for the series sweep tomorrow at 12 p.m. on Senior Day in Arkadelphia.
GAME ONE: Henderson State 4, SWOSU 2
Henderson State used timely hitting and a strong performance on the mound to secure a 4–2 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday afternoon at Clyde Berry Field.
The Reddies plated three runs in a wild fourth inning to take a lead they never relinquished, backed by a sharp start from Ethan Roark and shutdown relief work by the bullpen.
Roark earned his first win of the season, tossing six effective innings. The right-hander allowed just three hits and one earned run while striking out two. He worked out of early traffic and kept the Bulldogs off the board until the fourth inning. Mitchell Szczygiel bridged the seventh, and Payton Byrd slammed the door with a six-out save—his GAC-leading 11th of the season. Byrd's two perfect innings included two strikeouts and a critical strand of the tying run at third in the ninth.
Trailing 1–0, the Reddies responded in the home half of the fourth with a flurry. Jeremy Schork's leadoff double sparked the rally, and Dylan Block and Tripp Campbell followed with patient plate appearances to load the bases. A wild pitch scored one, Alex Galvan delivered an RBI single to right, and Julio Vazquez added a sacrifice fly to cap the three-run frame. Cal Jones tacked on an insurance run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly after a bunt single by Galvan and a double by Campbell set the table.
Galvan was the catalyst at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI. Schork added two hits, including a double, and scored a run. The Reddies tallied eight hits on the day, drawing six walks to keep pressure on the Bulldogs' pitching.
SWOSU (23-19) managed just four hits but stayed within striking distance until the ninth, where Byrd snuffed out the rally and stranded two runners in scoring position to seal the win.
GAME TWO: Henderson State 8, SWOSU 7
Henderson State erased an early four-run deficit to secure a thrilling 8-7 win and clinch a series victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday evening at Clyde Berry Field.
The Reddies used a balanced offensive attack and clutch pitching from their bullpen to notch their 26th win of the season, overcoming a powerful start by the Bulldogs, who homered twice in the opening three innings.
Southwestern Oklahoma jumped ahead 5-1 after three innings, thanks to a solo homer and a triple from Gage Gaunt and a two-run shot from Campbell Sullivan. Gaunt finished with three hits, including a homer and a triple, driving in two runs and scoring twice.
Henderson State chipped away at the lead with a solo home run from Jeremy Schork in the third and two runs in both the third and fourth innings to close the gap to 7-5. Schork was a standout for the Reddies, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Dylan Block added a pair of hits and an RBI, while Alex Galvan had a perfect night at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double and a triple.
In the bottom of the fifth, with the Reddies trailing 7-5, center fielder Nate Moore laced an RBI single to bring the Reddies to within 7-6 before second baseman Luke Farrar delivered the biggest swing of the game — a two-out, two-run homer to right center that gave Henderson its first lead of the night at 8-7.
Pitchers Jack Haley (2-2) and Dawson Goines combined for four strong innings of relief to shut the door. Haley allowed one unearned run over two innings to earn the win, and Goines fanned five over two hitless frames to record his first save of the season.
