Live StatsTAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State baseball team is set to play host to Emporia State for a crucial four-game MIAA series this weekend at Rousey Field.
The RiverHawks (12-6, 7-5 MIAA) and Hornets (12-5, 6-5 MIAA) are set to lock up first at 3 p.m. March 20, followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader March 21 and a series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. March 22. If all four games are played as scheduled, this would mark the first time all season NSU will have completed a weekend series without being altered due to inclement weather.
Emporia State enters the series as the No. 9-ranked team in the NCBWA Central Region, while the RiverHawks are the No. 10-ranked team in the region. ESU owns a 5-1 road record, while NSU is 7-4 at home.
Northeastern State is coming off a road split at Lindenwood this past weekend. The team won the opening two games, while the Lions captured the final two on their home diamond.
Junior
Gabriel Wurth leads NSU at the plate with a .381 (24-for-63) batting average. He also has nine RBI and a team-leading 15 runs scored. Senior
Preston Cash is second in batting average at .346 (18-for-52). He has seven doubles, one home run, six RBI and 13 runs scored. Junior
Cody Begovich (.259, 15-for-58) leads NSU with 14 RBI, and he also has one of the team's two triples. Sophomore
Caleb Hill (.302, 16-for-53) is second on the team with 12 RBI. He has also scored 10 runs and owns four doubles. Six different members of the squad have hit a home run this season, and none have more than one. Northeastern State has gone six games without hitting a home run.
Sophomore
Ryan Helsley (4-0) is the ace of the pitching staff. So far this season, he leads the MIAA in victories and strikeouts (38). He is also fourth in ERA (2.16) and seventh in opposing batting average (.218). He ranks 11th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (13.7). Sophomore
Bobby Sehgal owns a 2-2 record to go along with a 3.60 earned-run average. He ranks fifth in the MIAA in opposing batting average (.214). Senior
Kyle Shambaugh is 3-0 on the mound despite a 6.00 ERA. Junior
Jake Kern (1.46 ERA) remains second in the entire nation with seven saves.
Emporia State is coming off a weekend where the team split a four-game series with previously-undefeated Washburn. The Hornets also swept UCO in a three-game set two weekends ago and have won seven of their last nine contests. ESU won 42 games last season and competed in the NCAA Championship after winning the MIAA Championship tournament.
The team has a high-octane offense that ranks inside the top 20 nationally in nine statistical categories. ESU is led by Dean Long, who is one of the top hitters in the NCAA. He ranks inside the top 10 in the country in eight categories. He is third in both home runs per game (0.53) and slugging percentage (1.062), fourth in RBI per game (1.94), and fifth in doubles (12) and home runs (9). Long is batting .462 (30-for-65) this season and leads the MIAA in RBI (33) along with a number of other categories. Justin Harris (.418, 28-for-67) is 10th in the nation in steals per game. He currently has 13 stolen bases to go along with 24 runs scored, 10 doubles and 12 RBI.
Garrett Brummett (3-0) is the ace of the staff. He owns a 2.62 ERA in 24 IP. Travis Hendry (3-1) has a 3.51 ERA and one complete game in 25.2 IP, while Shawn Talkington (2-2) owns a 6.17 ERA in 23.1 IP.
Since NSU joined the MIAA prior to the 2013 season, the green and white owns a 2-3 record against the Hornets. The two teams split a pair of doubleheaders in 2013, and ESU defeated NSU 10-3 in the MIAA Championship semifinals last season in the lone meeting of 2014.
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