The Reddies will be on the road this week, hoping to keep their postseason alive at the Great American Conference Baseball Championship. This year, the tournament will take place at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma. The opening round will feature the Reddies and Arkansas-Monticello; first pitch is scheduled for 8:00 pm Thursday, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday game times to be determined. All games will be broadcasted on the GAC Sports Network.

This year's tournament format is similar to the NCAA Regional setup: there will be two pods of four teams each, and the teams will play double elimination. The winners of each pod will meet May 9-11 at the higher remaining seed's field in a Best-of-Three championship series. The Reddies, the number six seed, will play in the same pod as three seed Arkansas-Monticello, two seed Southern Arkansas, and seven seed Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Henderson comes into the tournament having won three out of their last four GAC series, with the exception being this past weekend's Battle of the Ravine series at Ouachita Baptist. The conference has been very evenly matched this season, with just three games separating one seed Arkansas Tech from the sixth seeded Reddies. Northwestern and Southeastern Oklahoma needed wins and some luck on rivalry weekend to salvage the last two places.

Coach Cody Hooten's squad is led offensively by Luke Farrar, who leads the team in both hits and runs and is second in home runs and RBI. Alex Galvan leads the Reddies with a .363 batting average, while Jeremy Schork paces with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. The pitching staff is anchored by Peyton Byrd, who leads all of Division 2 with 12 saves in 20 appearances while boasting a 2.12 ERA, which leads the conference among qualified relievers.


Team Previews

Henderson State Reddies: 28-20, 20-13 GAC
Coach: Cody Hooten (15th season)

Team Statistical Leaders: 
AVG: Alex Galvan (.363)
H: Luke Farrar (64)
HR: Jeremy Schork (16)
RBI: Schork (55)

Probable Pitching Rotation:
Gm 1: Ethan Roark (1-1, 3.86 ERA)
Gm 2: Cole Rodriguez (5-2, 5.03 ERA)
Gm 3: Reese Weaks (4-4, 7.10 ERA)

Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils: 30-19, 21-12 GAC
Coach: John Harvey (15th season)

Team Statistical Leaders: 
AVG: Chaz Poppy (.391)
H: Poppy (72)
HR: Justin Santoyo (8)
RBI: Poppy (53)

Probable Pitching Rotation:
Gm 1: Connor Irvine (6-5, 4.28 ERA)
Gm 2: Tyler Bribiescas (4-1, 4.82 ERA)
Gm 3: Maxim Mrakovcic (8-2, 3.84 ERA)

Southern Arkansas Muleriders: 30-19, 22-11 GAC
Coach: Justin Pettigrew (9th season)

Team Statistical Leaders: 
AVG: Trace Shoup (.351)
H: Lee Matsuzaki (65)
HR: Brandon Nicoll (14)
RBI: Matsuzaki (45)

Probable Pitching Rotation:
Gm 1: Jeremy Adorno (6-2, 3.32 ERA)
Gm 2: Beau Leonards (6-4, 4.74 ERA)
Gm 3: Carter Gaston (2-3, 6.97 ERA)

Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers: 30-20, 17-16 GAC
Coach: Ryan Bowen (9th season)

Team Statistical Leaders: 
AVG: Dylan Bradford (.360)
H: Connor Green (69)
HR: Carson Wright (11)
RBI: Wright (52)

Probable Pitching Rotation: 
Gm 1: Logan Sandoval (4-2, 4.71 ERA)
Gm 2: Kaden Spray (3-0, 4.70 ERA)
Gm 3: Kyle Holzer (1-0, 4.43 ERA)