PREVIEW: Bison at Henderson State

SHAWNEE -- Oklahoma Baptist is heading to Henderson State for a Great American Conference series against the Reddies starting on Sunday. With six GAC games left, the Bison (26-16, 14-13 GAC) are holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot with the top eight squads advancing into the conference tourney starting May 3-4.
 
This weekend's series with HSU has been an awfully competitive one since the two schools started competing in the D2 era. The Reddies lead 15-13 and have won the last two regular-season series. However, the Bison have had plenty of success too, winning four series including two in Arkadelphia in 2016 and 2018.
 
As we head into the weekend, here are some notes on the Bison:

• Will Joseph collected two hits on April 16 against East Central, bumping his hit streak to 20 games. Only one other Bison player in the D2 era has reached that many hits in consective contests: Dan Pruitt. Last season, Pruitt hit safely in 26 straight.
• Joseph, who is having a superb first season at OBU, ranks 37th in the country and fourth in the GAC with 15 doubles.
• Senior Alex Schroeder moved into first place in the GAC in career homers. His third-inning, three-run blast versus ECU was his 59th, passing Southern Arkansas player Brett McGee (58). The Rocklin, Calif., native also leads the GAC with 118 total bases, a mark that's 13th in D2.
• Over the last two games, the Bison have scored 33 runs. This season, OBU is 19th in D2 with a 9.3 scoring average.
• Also of note offensively, the green and gold are eighth nationally with 65 homers, ninth in hits (465) and slugging percentage (.555) and 11th in on-base percentage (.441).
• Schroeder and Troy Shields are second and sixth, respectively, in the nation with 64 and 59 runs batted in. They also have each hit at least 13 homers, and are slotted in the top-26 in the country.
• Speaking of Shields, he was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's (NCBWA) Central Region Player of the Week on April 18. This season, he has posted career-bests in batting average (.389), RBI (59), slugging (.715) and on-base percentage (.527).
• Look out for first baseman Jayden Shafer. He's gotten into a bit of a groove lately. The junior has hits in 12 of the last 13 games, increased his batting average from .269 to .310 between March 23 and now and ranks fourth in the nation with 41 walks.

The Reddies (22-19, 16-11 GAC) are coming off an explosive series against Southern Nazarene last weekend. They scored 49 runs, its most-ever in a three-game GAC series. Part of that was a six home run performance in the finale, its highest single-game total since 2020.
 
One aspect that sticks out about HSU is its pitching. They allow 8.76 hits per nine innings, a total that ranks No. 31 in the country and fourth in the GAC. However, Henderson's staff has allowed 6.01 walks per nine. That's 10th in the conference.
 
Individually, HSU is led by Reese Weaks and Kyle Williams. With 11 games started, Weaks is slotted 11th in D2 in that category and his 49 strikeouts are good for 18th in the GAC. As for Williams his five wins are seventh in the league while his WHIP of 1.34 is ninth.
 
Offensively, Henderson doesn't have the same eye-opening numbers as the Bison. Their team batting average of .283 is ninth in the GAC while their 32 homers check in at No. 11. HSU's 7.2 scoring average is also in the middle (6th) of the conference.
 
Kaden Argenbright leads the HSU attack with 59 hits and 14 doubles. Those are both top-six marks in the league. Plus, Logan Cowart and Cal Jones are second and sixth, respectively, in sacrifice flies. They have tallied a combined 11 for the Reddies.