Henderson State falls at Union 5-4
JACKSON, Tenn. Henderson State could not hold off a late inning rally by Union, as the Bulldogs beat the Reddies 5-4 on Tuesday.
Union, 27-15 on the season, rallied from a 4-0 deficit scoring a pair of runs in the sixth and eighth-innings and the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
Parker Jones gave Henderson the lead in the third inning as the senior lined a single to left field that scored Nolan Ryan, who singled and advanced to second on an Alan Hall base hit.
Henderson, 23-17 on the year, added a pair of runs in the fourth to increase the lead to 3-0.
Joe Myers started things with a one-out single to left field.
With two outs, former Smackover standout Jackson Martin walked with both Myers and Martin advancing on a wild pitch.
Ryan then roped a single up the middle to score both runners.
The lead increased to 4-0 in the fifth as Jordan Taylor doubled to center field and scored on a Colton Coffman single to right field.
Union finally got on the board in the sixth frame as Hayden Lewis hit a two-run home run to left field.
The Bulldogs tied the score in the eight-inning as Nolen Milton hit a two-run blast.
Reddie relief pitcher Blake Patterson got the Reddies out of a jam in the eighth after Union tied the score and placed two more on base with no outs off of Jay Hawley.
Patterson retired the next three batters including striking out two batters in the inning.
However, with oneout in the ninth, Austin Orr and Tyler Mauzy hit back-to-back doubles off of the sophomore from Benton giving Patterson the loss.
Austin Cross started on the mound for the Reddies and pitched five scoreless innings allowing just three hits and striking out seven.
Henderson had 10 hits in the game with Ryan going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, while Jones was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
Henderson State will play at Northwestern Oklahoma State in a three-game Great American Conference series this weekend beginning with a single game Friday at 7 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.