TAHLEQUAH – Fresh off its 3-1 week and with three MIAA series wins under its belt, Northeastern State baseball travels to Washburn for a series this weekend to begin a stretch of seven straight true road contests.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 20 at 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 at 4:30 p.m.
 
THE LEAD OFF

1. The RiverHawks bring a 8-3 (6-3 in MIAA) record into the series. They are off to their best start since 2001 and are third in the MIAA standings. It has won the first three series in MIAA play by sweeping the doubleheaders. NSU last won three-straight MIAA series to close out the 2016 season. It has never won four-straight MIAA series.
2. At the plate five RiverHawks are hitting over .300. Blake Freeman leads the group hitting .413 carrying a 15-game hitting streak and has doubled in the previous four games. Brayden Rodden has a .391 average and is slugging .935. Rodden hit three-straight home runs in the first game with Newman last weekend and is 11th nationally with six home runs on the season. The two rank second and third in slugging conference-wide.
3. Northeastern State is hitting .318 as a team and leads the MIAA in home runs despite playing the second-fewest games. All but one in the typical starting lineup have hit a home run. The RiverHawks are slugging .580 to lead the conference with 59 of its 118 hits for extra bases.
4. The RiverHawks infield has seen a major change from 2020 as the shortstop Collin Klingensmith is the only player to return to the same position. Phipps has moved to the hot corner. In the outfield, NSU returns experience in the outfield as left-to-right, Chaz Orr, Reid Fehr and Blake Freeman roam.
5. NSU returns 86 percent of its innings from a season ago in which the staff had a 5.11 earned run average. The staff has a 5.57 mark this season as a collective group. The RiverHawks starters have a combined 5.14. Before the Newman series, NSU's rotation held a 4.37 ERA
6. Nic Swanson leads all MIAA pitchers with a 0.40 ERA and NSU he has guided NSU to three wins. In the first game of the season, he earned the save. Swanson, with 22.1 innings, has the lowest ERA nationwide for a pitcher who has thrown more than 11.0 innings.
7. NSU returns 23 of its student-athletes from the 9-12 roster that had their season cut short just as conference play got underway. The 2020 series with Washburn was canceled.
8. Head coach Jake Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 106 wins. His 100th came in the conference-opening series versus Northwest Missouri.

ABOUT THE ICHABODS

• Washburn is 5-8 (5-4 in MIAA) to open the season. It has played just three games at home. WU is coming off a high-scoring series win at Pitt State.
• Five Washburn batters are hitting over .300 and the staff has a 6.73 ERA.
• The Ichabods were picked sixth in the preseason MIAA coaches' poll. They finished with a 11-11 (3-3 in MIAA) record last spring. They have 26 players with three or more years of collegiate experience.
• NSU holds a slim 13-11 edge dating back to 1990. Washburn has won the last six in Topeka.

SUPER SENIORS

• The entire RiverHawks roster received an additional year of eligibility. NSU has three 2020 seniors taking advantage of the opportunity to continue their collegiate careers; third baseman Phipps, first baseman Michael Conn and center fielder Fehr. Redshirt-junior Smithey is in his fifth season with the RiverHawks while junior John Rains has been playing collegiate baseball since 2016.

MIAA PLAYER OF WEEK

• Phipps was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week in the second week of the season in which he was 5-10, hit two doubles, two home runs, drove in five runs and walked three times. It was the first time a RiverHawk claimed the award in two seasons.

ALL ABOUT CONNECTIONS

• Northeastern State has developed talent pipelines from multiple junior colleges and the local area. Throughout the history of the program it has included at least one player from Cherokee County.
• From the Northeastern Oklahoma area (18): Seth Key– Arkoma, Conner West – Berryhill, Spencer Carlin and Nic Swanson – Bixby, Braedan Warwick and Tucker Dunlap – Broken Arrow, Chandler Wheeler and Ryan Summers – Coweta, Seth Knight – Council Hill, Matt Erwin – Muskogee, Brayden Rodden – Oktaha, C.D. White – Owasso, John Rains and Dakodah Jones – Sapulpa, Cody Jeanes and Trey Havens – Tahlequah, Tatum Watie – Tulsa, Dylan Hight – Verdigris.
• From Cowley County Community College (5): Blaze Brothers, Reid Fehr, Corbin Lill, C.D. White, Cade Gonzales.
• From Seminole State Community College (5): Cal Howard, Chaz Orr, Tucker Dunlap, Nic Swanson, Brayden Rodden.
• From Grayson College (3): Connor Bell, Cohen Bell, T.J. Mullins.

FAN INFORMATION

• Fans are permitted at Falley Field and asked to socially distance the best they can. 
• Live stats and NSU Digital Network coverage will be available for the game via goriverhawksgo.com.

WEATHER IMPACTING SCHEDULE

• NSU has played just six of its originally scheduled games in the correct timeslot.
• The RiverHawks were forced into a 17-day layoff due to winter weather. The five games impacted were offset by adding six midweek games with GAC member schools throughout the spring.
• The Newman series was bumped up two days as rain threatened the area. It was moved to a brand-new turf field at Pryor High School.
• This series was pushed back one day as a precaution.

UP NEXT

• Northeastern State plays at Southeastern Oklahoma State Tuesday at 2 p.m. NSU won the first meeting 11-10 on March 9 at Thomas C. Rousey Field.