Brewer pitches Reddies to win over East Central 3-2

ARKADELPHIA - Madie Green hit a solo home run to give Henderson State the lead and Mallory Brewer pitched five scoreless innings of relief to help the Reddies defeat East Central 3-2 and sweep the first doubleheader in the teams' Great American Conference series.

Brewer, who entered the game in the third inning for starter Becca Almond, got her first win of the year for the Reddies and gave up no runs on just four hits in 5.0 innings of work. Brewer is a freshman from Smackover.

Henderson won both games in the doubleheader 3-2. The Reddies (17-12, 9-9) face the Tigers (13-14, 8-10) in the second doubleheader today at Dee White Field, with games set for noon and 2 p.m.

For the second-straight game, ECU got on the board first, when Bridget Gleason hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Tigers in front 2-0 in the second inning.

Henderson tied things up in the bottom half of the inning, after a swinging bunt from Selena Mendoza scored Lindsey Williams and a base hit into left from Alexis Morton scored Alexia Lopez to

make it 2-2. In the third the Reddies took their first lead of the game, when Green connected on her team-leading sixth home run of the season to push HSU in front 3-2.

The Reddies put two runners on base in both the fourth and sixth innings but could not score them and carried their 3-2 lead into the seventh. Down to its final three outs, ECU got a leadoff double and a hit batter to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a ground out moved both runners into scoring position, Brewer found a way out of the jam, as she got the next hitter to pop out in foul

territory to Bethany batter and to Allen, ground the giving ensuing out Henderson a 3-2 win and a sweep of the day's doubleheader.

Williams finished the game 2 for 2 at the plate, which helped raise her batting average to a teambest .413 this season, and also scored a run. Green's six home runs this year has already surpassed last year's team leader in home runs, Keirsten Seahorn, who had five in 2017, and is the most home runs by a freshman since Ashlyn White hit 10 as a newcomer in 2014.

The two wins over ECU on the day helped the Reddies move one game ahead of the Tigers in the Great American Conference standings. Henderson is now alone in fifth place in the league.