Box Score (html)
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU overcame one three-run deficit but were unable to make a second comeback against Henderson State on Friday as the Reddies took the opening game of their Great American Conference series by a 6-3 count.
HSU took the lead in the second inning with three runs on three hits along with two Bulldog errors, building a 3-0 lead after two frames. That margin would hold up for the Reddies until SWOSU made a sixth-inning comeback to tie the game.
Dalton Daniels singled and advanced to second on a groundout before scoring SWOSU's first run on an RBI single from
Bryan Holt.
Jacob Spring then stepped in and smashed his team-leading fourth home run of the season to tie the game at 3-3 after six frames.
That score would hold until the bottom of the seventh, when the Reddies got their bats going again and scored three runs on four hits, including a two-out, two-run double that pushed their lead to 6-3. SWOSU got three baserunners in the eighth and ninth innings, but were unable to push any past second base as the Reddies hung on for the victory.
Reigning GAC Pitcher of the Week
Jon Chidester lasted 6.2 innings against the Reddies, allowing 10 hits and five earned runs with just one strikeout as he suffered the loss, which evened his record at 4-4 for the year.
Taylor Weifenbach tossed the final 1.1 innings, holding HSU to just one hit. Seven different batters had a hit for SWOSU with Holt and Spring accounting for the RBI in the sixth inning.
"Our guys played hard today, we just weren't able to get our bats going enough to pick up the victory," SWOSU Coach
Zack Saunders said. "The good news is we have the chance to get right back at it tomorrow and we're going to come back and try to win this series."
The loss drops SWOSU to 14-16 overall on the year and 7-9 in GAC play heading into a noon doubleheader on Saturday that will conclude the series.
