By David Salley
HSU Sports Information

ARKADELPHIA — No. 18 Henderson State got the bats going in a big way on Friday afternoon as the Reddies’ rolled past Pittsburg State 13-3 in just seven innings at Clyde Berry Field.

The win improved HSU to 5-0 on the year, which matches the program’s best start to a season since 2009.
The Henderson offense exploded for 13 runs on 10 hits in the victory. The Reddies hung crooked numbers on the board in four different innings and held a lead as large as 13-1 in the fifth.

Three different players finished with multi-hit games, but David Vilches stole the show with a 3-for-4 day which featured two towering home runs and four RBIs. Both Cade Tucker and Alec Lewis had two hits, while Lewis and Nick Butler each drove in two runs. 

Spencer Taack was good again for HSU and picked up his second win of the year on the mound. Taack pitched six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. The senior from Dallas struck out five batters and walked just one. Ethan Roark recorded the last three outs for the Reddies in the seventh.

It was all Henderson from the very beginning on Friday. The Reddies used four hits, including Vilches’ first home run and an RBI double from Lewis, to open up a 4-0 lead after one inning. HSU poured it on in the second when Vilches homered for the second time and Bryson Haskins came up with an RBU single to make it 7-0.

The lead ballooned out to 11-0 for the Reddies in the fourth. HSU plated four runs on just one hit — a two-RBI single from Butler. The Gorillas issued four walks in the frame, including two with the bases loaded, as well as a hit batter. Henderson’s final two runs again came off the bats of Tucker and Lewis in the sixth on a double and a sac fly. 

The Reddies return to action on Saturday when they face Missouri Western at 11 a.m. The Griffons defeated St. Cloud State 18-1 on Friday.