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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State baseball team looks to get back on track this weekend when the team heads to Larks Park in Hays, Kansas, for a four-game MIAA series against Fort Hays State.
 
The RiverHawks (14-9, 8-8 MIAA) and Tigers (5-18, 4-12 MIAA) will open the series under the lights at 7 p.m. March 27. The contest is the annual Pack the Park promotion for FHSU and will feature bounce houses, free T-shirts, mascot races and more. Admission for adults is $3 and admission for non-FHSU students is $1. Admission for the other three games of the series will be free of charge. The two teams will battle in a 1 p.m. doubleheader March 28 before closing out the series with a single game beginning at noon March 29.
 
The RiverHawks are currently tied for seventh in the MIAA standings, while the Tigers are 12th. NSU is 6-2 on the road this year, while FHSU owns a 2-10 home record.
 
NSU is coming off a 7-4 midweek victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State after dropping its first series of the year to Emporia State three games to one. The green and white has dropped five of its last six MIAA contests after starting the year 7-3 in league play.
 
Junior Charles Sims leads the team with a .391 (18-for-46) batting average. He is 10-for-18 (.556) over his last five games. He has a total of 12 runs scored, eight runs batted in and three doubles this season. Junior Gabriel Wurth (.354, 29-for-82) is the team leader in hits, runs scored (18) and steals (7-for-10), and he also has 11 RBI. Junior Eric Kirkpatrick (.324, 22-for-68) is the team leader in both home runs (2) and RBI (15). Sophomore Bryce Davenport (.338, 23-for-68), sophomore Caleb Hill (.317, 19-for-60) and senior Preston Cash (.310, 22-for-71) are also hitting better than .300 this season.
 
Northeastern State features two of the top pitchers in the MIAA in senior Kyle Shambaugh and sophomore Ryan Helsley. Shambaugh is 4-0 on the mound with a 5.87 earned-run average. He has conceded 15 runs and struck out 24 batters in 23.0 innings pitched. Helsley owns a 2.70 ERA in 30 IP. He leads the MIAA and is fourth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (14.4). Junior Jake Kern (1.80 ERA) is second in the entire country with eight saves. He also leads the MIAA in appearances (13), games finished (13) and games in relief (13).  
 
Fort Hays State is coming off a series loss at Northwest Missouri State this past weekend. The Tigers also won a midweek contest at McPherson College (11-1) and lost a home game to Southwestern Oklahoma State (12-10).
 
FHSU is one of the top home run hitting teams in the nation, ranking 11th in HR per game (1.2). Cooper Langley (.276, 24-for-87) leads the squad with seven round-trippers and 29 runs batted in. He has also scored 17 times. Kevin Czarnecki (.385, 30-for-78) leads the Tigers in average and hits, and he also owns five home runs, seven doubles, 14 RBI and 25 runs scored. Austin Unrein (.354, 28-for-79) is the team leader in runs scored (28) and is second in home runs (5) and RBI (18).
 
Tyler Patty leads FHSU in innings pitched at 25.1. He owns a 9.24 ERA and a 1-2 record. Gabe Cook (5.75 ERA) is 0-2 on the mound in 20.1 IP, and Steven Federau (7.32) is 0-2 in 19.2 IP. Justin Hersch (8.64 ERA) has started four games and is 0-2 in 16.2 IP.
 
Since NSU joined the MIAA prior to the 2013 season, the green and white owns a 2-1 record over the Tigers. Northeastern State won two out of three games in the lone series meeting between the two clubs in 2013.
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-