RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — At the start of the day, Henderson State had not won a baseball game against Arkansas Tech in Russellville since 2017.

They won two of them on Monday in a span of six hours. 

Down a game in the series, Henderson State turned in a gritty performance in the doubleheader to take both games from the Wonder Boys and capture the series victory over their GAC rival by scores of 7-6 and 7-4.

In game one, the Reddies held off a huge Tech rally late to tie the series. In game two, HSU rallied from a 3-0 deficit, and got a game-winning home run from Luke Farrar, to win it in extra innings.

The Reddies are now 14-10 in GAC play and 20-17 overall on the year. They will be on the road again this weekend when they face Northwestern Oklahoma State for a three-game series in Alva, Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday.

GAME TWO: Henderson State 7, Arkansas Tech 4 (8 Innings)
With the game tied at 4-4 and the series hanging in the balance, Luke Farrar delivered a three-run home run on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Reddies rally from a 3-0 deficit and defeat Arkansas Tech 7-4.

Farrar was 2-for-5 in the game with two runs, and the three RBIs. Alex Galvan and Nate Moore both added two hits each. Payton Byrd earned his second save of the day by recording the game's final out with the bases loaded in the eighth.

In a scheduled seven-inning contest, the Reddies fell behind 3-0 after three innings and trailed 4-1 with the bases clear and two outs in the sixth. A two out rally built some momentum for HSU as three singles and two walks — all with two outs — plated two runs and trimmed the Wonder Boy lead down to 4-3.

In the seventh, a leadoff double from Farrar was followed by an RBI single from Luke Rice, which tied the game at 4-4. Henderson put runners on the corners with no outs, but Tech did well to strand them and keep the score locked at 4-4.

After ATU went down in order in the seventh to send the game into extras, the Reddies threatened immediately in the eighth. A hit batter, a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt gave HSU two runners in scoring position with just one out and a golden opportunity to seize the lead.

For a moment, it looked as if the Reddie threat might fizzle out quietly. A soft grounder in front of the plate in the next at-bat led to a wild rundown, which failed to score a run for Henderson but did allow Arkansas Tech to record a critical second out.

In the game's deciding moment, it was Farrar who came through for HSU. After working his at-bat into a full count with two outs in the frame, the senior launched a no-doubter over the left field fence to deliver a haymaker for the Reddies and make it 7-4.

The Wonder Boys didn't go down without a fight, and loaded the bases with two outs, but Byrd stepped in to slam the door for Henderson and finish off the series victory. 

GAME ONE: Henderson State 7, Arkansas Tech 6
The Reddies jumped on the Wonder Boys early and held on late to even the series at one game apiece with a 7-6 victory in the first contest of Monday's doubleheader.

Luke Rice finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs while Tripp Campbell drove in three runs with a two-out home run in the third inning.

Caleb Wilson earned his first win of the year in relief of starter Ethan Roark. Wilson pitched two innings and gave up one run on a single hit. Roark went 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on four hits with four strikeouts.

Henderson led 7-0 in the fourth, but watched as Arkansas Tech rallied to close the gap to 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs in the bottom of the frame and two runners aboard, Payton Byrd picked off the potential game-tying runner at second base to end the inning and help the Reddies escape the threat. 

Byrd closed it out for HSU in the ninth to earn his GAC-best eighth save of the season. He pitched the final 2.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits.