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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State baseball team heads on the road for the first time in MIAA play this season for a four-game series with Lindenwood.
 
The RiverHawks (10-4, 5-3 MIAA) and Lions (6-11, 0-4 MIAA) are set to kickoff the series at 1 p.m. March 14. The two teams will then battle in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. March 15, and first pitch of the series finale is scheduled for 3 p.m. March 16. All four games will be contested at Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Missouri.
 
Northeastern State is off to its hottest start since 2001, and the green and white will attempt to stay above the .500 mark in league play. NSU picked up a midweek non-conference victory over Rogers State March 11 after taking three out of four games from Southwest Baptist March 7-9.
 
Junior Gabriel Wurth currently leads the RiverHawks with a .404 batting average (19-for-47). He has a pair of doubles, seven runs batted in and a team-best 12 runs scored. Sophomore Caleb Hill is batting .292 (14-for-48) and is the team leader in RBI with 12. Six different members of the squad have hit a home run this season, and none have more than one.
 
NSU has been dominant on the mound up to this point. Senior Kyle Shambaugh (1.29 ERA) and sophomore Ryan Helsley (1.89 ERA) are both 3-0 this season, while sophomore Bobby Sehgal (2.60 ERA) is 2-1. The trio of RiverHawks have combined to pitch 50.1 innings, and they have only conceded 11 runs. Helsley is currently fifth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, while junior closer Jake Kern (0.93 ERA) is second in the entire country with six saves. He has only allowed one earned run in 9.2 innings.
 
Lindenwood is coming off a midweek split with Missouri S&T. The Lions have only played one conference series this season, dropping all four games last weekend to Missouri Southern State. LWU is 1-6 in its last seven games after opening the season 5-5. The team has only played once at home this year.
 
Wes Degener paces a group of eight Lions hitting better than .300 this season. He is 26-for-69 (.377) with nine RBI and 12 runs scored. Nathan Prindle (.310, 22-for-71) is the team leader in runs scored (16) and home runs (5), and he is second in RBI (14). Wade Rothermich (.368, 21-for-57) leads LWU with 17 runs batted in.
 
Austin Klein owns the lowest ERA (5.19) of all starting pitchers on staff. He has allowed 11 runs in 17.1 IP and owns a 0-3 record. Dylan Terrell is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in a team-best 21.1 IP.
 
Since NSU joined the MIAA prior to the 2013 season, the green and white owns a 5-2 record over the Lions. Northeastern State won two out of three in 2013 and took three of four last season. Despite owning the lead in the series, Lindenwood has actually outscored NSU 75-67 in those seven contests.
 
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