TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State will wrap up their first homestand of the season this weekend when they host William Jewell for a four-game series. The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday starting at noon, with single games Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting).
Leading Off
1. The RiverHawks dropped their home opener 7-3 to Oklahoma Baptist on Monday afternoon.
Blake Freeman went 3-3 at the plate with two runs batted in and extended his hitting streak to 18 games. It was his 27th multi-hit game at NSU.
Chaz Orr went 1-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to seven games. After the Bison hit three home runs early, Freeman got the RiverHawks back into the game in the fifth when he singled to right field to score two.
Nic Swanson would drive in NSU's final run with a sacrifice fly to right field in the eighth that allowed Freeman to score.
2. Orr leads the RiverHawks on the season with a .423 batting average. He has one home run and seven runs batted in. Freeman is right behind him with a .407 batting average, with six runs batted in and five runs scored on the season.
Cohen Bell has been the top pitcher so far for the RiverHawks, making four relief appearances, throwing nine innings, allowing just one run and recording seven strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .188 against him. His brother
Connor Bell has been on the mound for six innings, allowing four hits and two runs.
3. NSU is led by fifth-year head coach
Jake Hendrick. He is assisted by
Butch Rea,
Tyrie Blalock and
Justin Zertuche.
4. William Jewell enters with a 2-0 record after opening the season with two home wins over Minot State. They opened the season with a 6-4 win before beating the Beavers 10-8 in the second game of the doubleheader.
5. Christian Chalabi leads the William Jewell offense with a .625 batting average. He has scored three runs and hit two doubles so far this season. Anthony Hansen is batting .571 with one home run and three runs batted in. Alex Schneider has thrown five scoreless innings for the Cardinals, recording four strikeouts in his only outing of the season. Shane Cavallo has thrown one relief inning, picking up the win in game one against Minot State.
Up next: The RiverHawks will embark on a five-game road trip that will see them face Arkansas Tech on Tuesday before opening MIAA play at Northwest Missouri.
