TAHLEQUAH – The RiverHawks Baseball team welcomes Southeastern State to Thomas C. Rousey Field in the first of six MIAA/GAC meetings this spring Tuesday afternoon. It begins a stretch of four homes games for Northeastern State.

THE LEAD OFF

1. The RiverHawks bring a 5-2 record into the series after sweeping Saturday doubleheaders with Northwest Missouri and Pitt State most recently. They 4-2 conference record is the best start since 2015, when current head coach Jake Hendrick was an assistant.
2. At the plate, five players are hitting .300 or better. Transfer catcher Brayden Rodden leads the charge and was 6-9 to drive in four runs in two games Saturday. The backstop has an OPS of 1.098. Reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week Jaxon Phipps leads the team in slugging at .692. Blake Freeman has gotten a base knock in all seven of NSU's games while transfer C.D. White was 5-9 Saturday versus the Gorillas. NSU's lead off hitter second baseman Blaze Brothers has seen seven of his nine hits go for extra bases.
3. NSU returns 23 of its student-athletes from the 9-12 roster that had their season cut short just as conference play got underway.
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 3.77 ERA as a collective group and opposing batters are hitting .226 this season. The bullpen arms have allowed just six earned runs in 20.1 innings of work.
6. The game with Southeastern will be a bullpen day for the RiverHawks.
7. Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 103 wins. His 100th came in the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader with Northwest Missouri.

ABOUT THE SAVAGE STORM

• Southeastern State is 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in GAC play. All three of its series have been played at home in Durant and resulted in sweeps. It took three from East Central, dropped the series to Harding and is coming off a sweep of Southern Nazarene. NSU beat SNU 6-4 to open the season before weather forced 17 days without a game.
• Seth Morrow is hitting .593 to begin the season and Colton Buckner has hit four home runs.
• NSU is 7-17 against the Savage Storm all-time with meetings dating back to 2007. They played each other five times in 2020 in which NSU went 1-4.

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 Reid Fehr. Pitchers redshirt-junior Jonathan Smithey is in his fifth season with the RiverHawks while junior John Rains has been playing collegiate baseball since 2016.

NIC SWANSON'S TRANSITION TO STARTER GOING WELL

• Right-handed pitcher Nic Swanson has settled in nicely to the game three starter for NSU. The redshirt-freshman is 2-0 with one save to start the season. He maintains a 0.56 ERA in 16.0 innings. Swanson was a two-way player last season and served as the primary closer.

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.

UP NEXT

• NSU hosts Newman (0-3) for three games Saturday and Sunday. First pitch of the doubleheader Saturday is scheduled for 10 a.m.