PITTSBURG, Kan. ---- Northeastern State's Jaxon Phipps went 2-4 at the plate with a home run and Alex Massie belted his fourth home run of the year in an 11-6 loss to Pittsburg State in MIAA baseball action at Ortolani Field here Friday evening.

The loss drops the RiverHawks 10-23 on the year and 7-12 in conference play.

Phipps and Massie combined to drive in five of the six runs the RiverHawks put on the board while each collected their fourth home runs of the year.

Errors once again played a big role in the outcome of a game for the RiverHawks.  Jonathan Smithey had a solid outing going 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits while striking out four.  The Gorilla's plated seven runs against Smithey, but only three were earned thanks to four NSU errors.

Pittsburg State plated two runs in the opening frame to claim a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.  NSU answered back in the third inning.  Back to back hits from Erick Espinosa and Phipps blast tied the game at 2-2 after three innings.

The wheels fell off the wagon for the RiverHawks in the fifth inning.  Three Pitt State hits and three NSU errors led to six runs pushing the PSU lead to 8-2 through five innings.

Northeastern State battled back in the sixth inning.  Colton Burgess was hit by a pitch and Zack Henderson walked.  Massie cleared the bases with a shot over the left field wall cutting the deficit to 8-5.

Burgess followed a Phipps double in the seventh inning with an RBI single that plated the other NSU run.  

Pittsburg State added a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to secure the 11-6 victory.

The RiverHawks will look to get back into the win column on Saturday afternoon in game two of the three-game series.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
As always, check www.goriverhawksgo.com for any schedule changes or cancellations.