GAME INFORMATION
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(5) ARKANSAS TECH
GOLDEN SUNS
25-20 (17-13 GAC) |
(8) HENDERSON STATE
REDDIES
22-29 (13-20 GAC) |
Thursday, May 2 | 10:30 a.m.
Tiger Athletic Complex | Bentonville, Ark.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
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FIRST PITCH
The Arkansas Tech softball team begins its GAC Tournament run on Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. as the No. 5-seed against No. 8-seed Henderson State. The winner of this opening round matchup will advance in the tournament to the quarterfinals and will take on No. 4-seed Southern Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. later that day.
The Golden Suns and Reddies have met 90 times historically in a series that started in 2003. In terms of the all-time series record, the series is tied at 45-all.
The two teams met three times earlier season with a three-game series being played at a neutral site in Conway. Arkansas Tech would win the series, taking the first and third games.
TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns ended their regular season with an overall record of 25-20 and a 17-16 mark in conference play. With their conference record, the Golden Suns tied for fifth-place with Southeastern Oklahoma, but thanks to their series win over Southeastern, Tech garnered the No. 5-seed in the conference tournament.
Entering play against Henderson State, the Golden Suns are hitting .254 as a team (298-for-1,171) with 182 runs scored, 61 doubles, nine triples and 10 home runs.
Maycie Hardy currently leads the team in batting average at .314 (37-for-118).
Hardy has also provided the most power production thus far with a .458 slugging percentage thanks to eight doubles and three home runs.
Sydney Keaton leads the team in RBIs with 19 while
Chavers leads the team in runs scored with 22. Seven other Golden Suns have scored double-digit runs and eight have driven in double-digit runs.
Hardy leads the team in home runs with three while
Sydney Keaton and
Savannah Snow are right behind with two apiece. The other three homers on the team have come from
Gorniak,
Aidan Gorton and
Lillee Mahan, who's homer was an inside-the-park home run against Oklahoma Baptist.
In the circle, the Golden Suns have a team ERA of 2.86 and have struck out 204 batters in 304.0 innings of work.
Bradi Basler,
Aidan Dayberry,
Alexis Findley and
Jaycee McKee have made multiple starts this season with
Basler having the most with 15.
Dayberry is next with 14 while
Findley is one off at 13.
Ella Thornley has also made appearances in relief for Tech as part of their five-person pitching staff.
Basler is currently 7-5 with two saves and has posted a 3.19 ERA and struck out 72 in 83.1 innings of work.
Findley has the lowest ERA among the prominent starters at 2.39. She is currently 4-6 with 67 strikeouts in 88.0 innings of work.
Dayberry is 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.
Leading the Golden Suns is
Jordon Jones. In her second season as head coach of the Golden Suns,
Jones is looking to build off her first year in which Tech posted a 28-24 overall record and were 17-15 in the Great American Conference. Prior to coming to Tech,
Jones had head coaching stops at the NAIA level at Central Baptist in Conway and MidAmerica Nazarene in Kansas. Overall, her career record is 206-118.
SCOUTING HENDERSON STATE
The Reddies ended their regular season with an overall record of 22-29 and were 13-20 in conference play. With their conference record, the Reddies claimed the No. 8-seed in the tournament. It will be the first appearance in the GAC Tournament for the Reddies since 2018.
Entering play against Tech, the Reddies are hitting .281 as a team (386-for-1,372) with 206 runs scored, 52 doubles, three triples and 24 home runs.
Hilary Ackers currently leads the team in batting average at .339 (38-for-112).
Ackers is also the top overall power threat as she paces the team with a .500 slugging percentage thanks to nine doubles and three home runs.
Ackers also leads the team in RBIs with 20. Seven other Reddies have driven in double-digit runs as well.
In the circle, the Reddies have a team ERA of 3.53 and have struck out 194 batters in 345.0 innings of work.
Five different pitchers have started multiple games for the Reddies with
Brooke Johnson leading the way with 15.
Meagan Allen is next with 12 starts while
Savannah Carrigan is third with 11.
Johnson is 4-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 61.0 innings of work.
Allen is 5-8 with a 3.68 ERA and has 34 strikeouts in 66.2 innings.
Carrigan is 2-4 with a 6.88 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.
Leading the Reddies is
David Martinez, who is in his fourth season as head coach at Henderson State. In his time,
Martinez is 66-132.
