TAHLEQUAH – After 20 days and 10 games away from Thomas C. Rousey Field, Northeastern State baseball returns to host Southwestern Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Tuesday. It will be the fourth of seven midweek games with GAC member programs this spring.

THE LEAD OFF

1. The RiverHawks bring a 12-6 (10-5 in MIAA) record into the series. They are third in the MIAA standings and just two games back of #9 Missouri Southern. NSU has won the first five MIAA series for the first time in program history.
2. At the plate five RiverHawks are hitting over .300. Blake Freeman leads the group hitting .413, which is third in the MIAA, carrying a 23-game hitting streak and has 11 doubles. Blaze Brothers also has doubled 10 times and is hitting .364 as NSU's leadoff batter. He is seventh in the MIAA with a .675 slugging. Switch hitting catcher Brayden Rodden has a .324 average with six home runs. Jaxon Phipps hit two home runs at Missouri Western to bring his season total to six. 
3. Northeastern State is hitting .288 to rank third in the MIAA and is third in most offensive categories despite playing the second-fewest games. All but one in the typical starting lineup have hit a home run. The RiverHawks are slugging .482 as a team.
4. The RiverHawks infield has seen a major change from 2020 as shortstop Collin Klingensmith is the only player to return to the same position. Phipps has moved to the hot corner to allow for Brothers to play second. C.D. White has taken hold of first base. In the outfield, NSU returns experience as left-to-right, Chaz Orr, Reid Fehr and Blake Freeman roam. Freshman Nathan Norris broke into the lineup at Missouri Western playing all three games in left. Behind the plate, Rodden, a transfer, is new this spring.
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 5.13 mark this season as a collective group. NSU has had three fully bullpen games in which it is 2-3.
6. Nic Swanson leads all MIAA pitchers with a 0.94 ERA and he has guided NSU to five wins. In the first game of the season, he earned the save. He is fifth in batting average against (.194) and fourth in strikeouts (47) in the conference. Swanson, with 38.1 innings pitched, has the lowest ERA nationwide for a starter.
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 RiverHawks were picked to finish tenth in the conference.
8. Head coach Jake Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 110 wins. His 100th came in the conference-opening series versus Northwest Missouri.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

• NSU won the series at Missouri Western by sweeping the Saturday doubleheader. The RiverHawks dropped the third game 8-3.
• Four RiverHawks had multi-hit games in the 12-7 series opening win and Brothers drove in five runs while scoring four times himself. Swanson threw 7.0 innings of two-run ball in the nightcap to guide NSU to the victory while Phipps and Brothers each drove in two runs. NSU used seven pitchers Sunday and one Griffon hit two three-run homers to put the game out of reach.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

• Southwestern comes to Tahlequah with a 9-7 (8-7 in GAC) record and was swept at Henderson State this past weekend.
• The Bulldogs are hitting .332 as a team and Zach Baxley is hitting .491 and slugging .800 to open the season.
• SWOSU's pitching staff sports a 4.31 ERA and opponents hit .246.
• Dating back to 1951 the RiverHawks hold a slim margin overall, 35-32. Southwestern won 6-3 in Weatherford last season.
• Head Coach Zach Saunders is a Muskogee High School graduate.

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 reliever 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 Rousey 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 in February. 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.
• The last two series, at Washburn and Missouri Western, were pushed back one day so that the outfield could dry out completely.

UP NEXT
Northeastern State hosts Fort Hays State Friday for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. and closes the series Saturday at 1 p.m.