SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (10-10, 5-7 GAC) will visit Henderson State (11-9, 4-8 GAC) on March 13-14 for a three-game Great American Conference series.
The opener is Friday at 6 p.m. before a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon. HSU leads the all-time series 19-15 and has won four of the last six. Below are notes on both teams.
For the Bison:
OBU has won six of eight after winning its GAC series at East Central last weekend.
In that span of games, the Bison are hitting .446, slugging at .794 and have six players batting at least .429.
Keenan Morris leads that host of players at .625.
This offensive surge has lifted OBU into several top NCAA statistical ranks. The team's .365 batting average is fourth, with their 33 homers are slotted tenth. Plus, the Bison are second in slugging (.618) and 14th in hits (250).
Also of note, the green and gold's 9.6 scoring average is good for 27th in Division II.
Individually,
Quinn Johnson and
Tui Amosa are ranked within the top-37 in hits at 36 and 34, respectively.
Lucas Schaefer's eight bombs are No. 13 nationally while Amosa's four sacrifice flies are No. 7.
Lastly on the offensive front, Johnson has 10 doubles, good for 15th in D2 while
Matt Marsic's .567 on-base percentage is slotted 32nd.
On the mound,
Kody Bialas has continued to shine for OBU. His 2.55 ERA is second-best in the GAC while his six starts are fifth nationally. He's also No. 13 in D2 with 39 strikeouts.
Freshman
Teagon Standlee has been solid too in his last three appearances. He's got a 2.35 ERA, 1-0 record, allowed two earned runs in 7.2 innings pitched and struck out six.
For the Reddies:
HSU dropped a mid-week affair at Arkansas Tech, 16-2, but prior to that took two of three against Harding.
The Reddies are 8-3 at home this season.
A few things stick out about Henderson. They are second in the GAC averaging 2.40 doubles per game. On the mound, HSU's staff is third in the league with 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Plus, HSU is fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.66).
Offensively, though, the Reddies check in at No. 10 in the GAC in batting average (.261) and last in hits (148).
Tripp Campbell is the GAC leader and ranks third nationally with 12 doubles. He's also seventh (GAC) with 17 walks. Teammate Tanner Ross has produced five homers, slotted 10th in the league.
On the pitching front, Ethan Roark is fourth nationally and tops in the conference with 14.73 strikeouts per nine innings.
