Tweet #theGAC  MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Henderson State used a grand slam from Kaden Argenbright and a three-inning save from Taylor Langston to upset regular-season conference champion Southern Arkansas 9-6 on Friday night and advance to the semifinals of the GAC Tournament.

With the victory, the No. 7 seed Reddies (24-17) earned a date at their home field with No. 3 seed Oklahoma Baptist on Monday at 4:30 p.m. in Arkadelphia. The winner will play for the 2021 GAC Tournament title on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Argenbright led HSU at the plate and was 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Five other players recorded two-hit games for Henderson, who racked up 16 total hits in the win.

Spencer Taack got a no-decision in his 12th start of the season for the Reddies. Taack pitched four innings, surrendered four runs on five hits, struck out four and walked four. Brayden Bebee was excellent in relief of Taack and pitched a scoreless two innings to earn his second win of the year.

The Reddies took a 1-0 lead on a Joe Myers RBI single in the first inning, but SAU answered quickly with three runs on three hits in the bottom half to surge in front, 3-1. Both teams traded runs in the third and fourth, but after a scoreless fifth frame, Henderson broke through in the sixth.

A two-out RBI single up the middle from Greyson Stevens cut the deficit to 4-3, and after a fielding error loaded the bases, Argenbright took advantage. On the first pitch he saw, the freshman unloaded a grand slam to right-center which flipped the game on its head and gave Henderson a 7-4 advantage.

HSU's momentum continued in the seventh, as the Reddies scored on heads-up baserunning from Jake Dunn and another RBI single from Stevens to make it 9-4. With a five-run lead, Henderson turned to Langston, who entered in the seventh attempting to match his longest outing of the year.

The Muleriders got to Langston in the bottom half, plating two runs on three hits, but that was the extent of their damage. The senior All-GAC selection locked the game down from that point on and struck out eight batters over the final three innings to secure the win for HSU.

The victory was the first for Henderson against SAU in Magnolia since 2013 and marks the Reddies' first GAC Tournament win since 2018.