The Henderson State Reddies were picked to finish fourth in softball and fifth in baseball in their upcoming spring seasons, according to the preseason coaches polls recently released by the Great American Conference office.
Ouachita Baptist was picked to finish ninth out of the 12 GAC teams in both sports.
Southern Arkansas garnered first-place expectations in both sports. Harding was voted second in softball, and Oklahoma Baptist was voted second in baseball. Arkansas Tech ranked third in both polls.
Henderson was the highest-ranked team in the softball poll not to receive any first-place votes. The Reddies were followed in the poll by Arkansas-Monticello.
The two schools flipped in the baseball poll, with Monticello ranked fourth and Henderson picked fifth after three straight 30-plus win seasons. The Reddies finished each of the last three seasons as GAC Tournament runners-up.
Henderson returns American Baseball Coaches Association All-American pitcher Bryant Haralson who recorded a 10-3 record with a 2.16 earned run average. The senior right-hander earned GAC Pitcher of the Week honors a record six times and was National Pitcher of the Week twice. The native of Atkins set the HSU single-season record for strikeouts with 114 in 104.1 innings, second-most in GAC history.
Also returning to the mound is reliever Blake Patterson, who recorded 13 saves last season along with striking out 44 batters in 34.2 innings of work. The junior from Benton earned Second-Team ABCA All-Central Region honors and ranked fourth nationally in saves.
Top offensive returnees include infielder Joe Myers and designated hitter Colton Coffman.
Myers started 51 games last year as a true freshman and finished with a .288 average which included 10 doubles, four home runs and 16 runs batted in. The sophomore from Little Rock bolstered a .429 on base percentage and was solid defensively having just 13 errors playing in the middle infield.
After sitting out 2016 due to injury, Coffman hit for a .276 average in 2017 while driving in 22 runs. The senior from Emory, Texas, collected eight doubles and hit three home runs a year ago.
Henderson begins the 2018 campaign the first weekend in February when the Reddies make their fourth appearance in the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park. The Reddies open the tournament on Feb. 2 against Tarleton State at 10 a.m., followed by a 6 p.m. contest on Feb. 3 against St. Mary's and finish the three-day event on Feb. 4 against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 10 a.m.
The Henderson softball team is scheduled to open the season with two games on Feb. 3 against Southwest Baptist and Rogers State at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, at Dee White Field. The Reddies were 22-33 overall and 17-25 in conference in 2017.
Ouachita Baptist finished 23-34 and 16-26 in GAC play in 2017. The Tigers will open the 2018 season with four games in the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational at Sully Anderson Field.
They will face Northeastern State and Missouri S&T at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, on Feb. 2. They will then host Christian Brothers at 3 p.m. on Feb. 3 and Lincoln University at 3 p.m. on Feb. 4.
Head coach Kyle Hope's Ouachita baseball team will open the season with a doubleheader on Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Union University in Jackson, Tenn. The Tigers were 16-35 and 13-20 in the GAC.
The baseball program will host the 2018 First Pitch Banquet on Jan. 27 in the Walker Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. Guests will be able to enjoy a meal and be introduced to the 2018 team, captains, coaches, managers and Diamond Dolls. Tickets for the banquet are $25 per person and advance tickets can be purchased from the university's athletics website.
The event will include a special recognition to honor the 10-year anniversary of the 2008 national runners-up. Several members of the team are scheduled to attend.
Sports on 01/16/2018