TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State opens its 10-game homestand to close the regular season by hosting Emporia State this weekend for three games and Southern Nazarene for the final midweek Tuesday afternoon. The RiverHawks will play four games over three days.

THE NEXT FOUR SCHEDULED AND PROJECTED ROTATION
ESU: Sunday, April 25 at 11 a.m. (Thomas C. Rousey Field; Tahlequah, Okla.) – Seth Key (3-1, 4.55 ERA, 9.3 K/9)
ESU: Sunday April 25 at 2 p.m.  – Nic Swanson (8-0, 1.02 ERA, 11.6 K/9)
ESU: Monday, April 26 at 12 p.m.  – Jonathan Smithey (3-1, 7.31 ERA, 10.4 K/9)
SNU: Tuesday, April 27 at 2 p.m. – TBD

HISTORIC SEASON THUS FAR

1. The RiverHawks bring a 20-10 (17-7 in MIAA) record into the series. They are tied for second in the MIAA standings with las weekend's foe, Missouri Southern. NSU had won seven-straight MIAA series for the first time in program history before the 1-2 weekend in Joplin and have the most conference wins by April 24 since 2014 when head coach Jake Hendrick served as the pitching coach.
2. NSU returns 23 of its student-athletes from the 2020 roster that had their season cut short just as conference play got underway. The RiverHawks were picked to finish tenth in the conference in 2021. NSU is 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2002 campaign. They reached 15 games above the mark in 2001.
3. With a sweep, NSU will lock up home field advantage for the first round of the MIAA Tournament with a top-four seed, something it has never done as a member of the conference since 2013. The most wins under Hendrick (21) came in 2016 and that season was also the last time NSU played four games in three days.
4. NSU is 14-2 in doubleheaders this season. Due to COVID-19 limited travel conference series have had a doubleheader and single game.
5. Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 118 wins. His 100th came in the 2021 home and conference-opening series versus Northwest Missouri.

THE BATS

• At the plate five RiverHawks are hitting over .299 and as a team NSU is hitting .291 which is fifth in the conference. NSU slugs .496 and ten different RiverHawks have hit multiple long balls. They are 17th nationally with 1.67 home runs per game.
• First baseman C.D. White leads the team is 10th in the MIAA hitting .374 out of the six-hole of the deep lineup. He was 9-13 at MOSO. Right fielder Blake Freeman is not far behind and is hitting .360, he had his second program record tying 26-game hit streak snapped earlier this season. Speedy second baseman Blaze Brothers has seen 22 of his 43 hits go for extra bases, is fourth nationally with 15 doubles and carries a .347 batting average as NSU's leadoff batter and has reached base in 29 consecutive games. Switch hitting catcher Brayden Rodden brings a .299 average into the series, is fifth in the MIAA with nine home runs and seventh with 31 RBI. Centerfielder Reid Fehr continues to be productive and is hitting .315 as the RiverHawks nine hitter.
• On the left side of the infield, Collin Klingensmith is second the MIAA with 21 walks and is second on the team with 29 RBI. Third baseman Jaxon Phipps has eight home runs and 28 RBI this spring.
• The RiverHawks have rotated the left field spot in the lineup. Connor Bell broke into the lineup and is getting on base at a .586 clip while playing left. Freshman Nathan Norris, last season's second-best hitter by average Chaz Orr and transfer Corbin Lill have each started four or more games in the outfield.
• Tucker Dunlap, a right-handed bat, and lefty Michael Conn have each seen time as the designated hitter.
• NSU's bats have proven to come alive late this spring as the RiverHawks have scored 68 of their 225 runs in the seventh inning or later.

ON THE MOUND

• 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 5.05 mark this season as a collective group.
• Nic Swanson leads all MIAA pitchers with a 1.02 ERA and he has guided NSU to eight wins. In the first game of the season, he earned the save. He is fifth in batting average against (.193) and second in strikeouts (79) in the conference while allowing just 11 extra base hits. Swanson, with 61.2 innings pitched, has the lowest ERA for a pitcher with 40.0-plus innings in the nation and is eighth in strikeouts. His 0.96 WHIP is fourth in the conference. Additionally, Swanson's 11.2 K/9 throughout his career is better than current St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley (10.76). With his next win, his tenth, he will tie for second in a season for an NSU hurler.
• Seth Key seems to have settled into the Game 1 starter role. The redshirt-sophomore has a 4.55 ERA.
• John Rains has navigated through 14.2 high-leverage situational innings and has a 1.84 ERA. Dakodah Jones leads the MIAA with seven saves which is fifth nationally, and has 10 scoreless appearances including a five-inning performance to complete the sweep of Fort Hays State. The all-time program mark in a season is 10.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

• The RiverHawks lost their first conference series of the season at No. 9 Missouri Southern last weekend.
• In the Game 1 5-0 setback NSU was limited to four hits.
• After a break between games of the doubleheader, the RiverHawks won a pitching duel 3-2. Swanson threw 8.2 scoreless frames and struck out a career-high 14.
• The Sunday rubber game was a back and forth battle. Seemingly ever time the RiverHawks scored in the 10-9 setback the Lions responded. Ryan Summers and Jones combined for 6.0 innings allowing just three hits. There were six home runs in the game and MOSO put one over the right field fence for a walk-off.

ABOUT THE HORNETS

• Emporia State is 12-19 (8-16 in MIAA) and has dropped its previous two MIAA series.
• ESU's pitching staff has a 7.05 ERA and have allowed the second-most free passes in the conference.
• Emporia State hits .300 as a team and has six batters over .295. Brady Michel leads the conference with a .422 average and gets on base at a .508 clip.
• Since 2013, ESU leads the series 16-5. The teams did not meet in 2020.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM

• Southern Nazarene is 5-25 (5-19 in GAC) on the season. They were swept by Northwestern and Southeastern.
• The Crimson Storm hit .255 as a team and are led by Jarrett Phillips who hits .368 with a .678 slugging.
• SNU's pitching staff has allowed opposing bats to hit .408. Nine different pitchers have started a game and the staff has a 13.02 ERA.
• Since 2000 the programs have met just three times. NSU has won each including a 2021 season-opening 6-4 road victory. It will be the first time SNU has visited Tahlequah after last Tuesday's game was postponed.

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/designated hitter Conn and center fielder Fehr.
• Phipps has the second-most assists in program history, his 110 RBI is seven off the all-time career record, his 31 doubles is fourth in program history and is third in games started in an NSU jersey.
• Redshirt-junior Smithey is in his fifth season with the RiverHawks while junior reliever Rains has been playing collegiate baseball since 2016. With his next start, his 33nd at NSU, Smithey will break the program record for starts since 2004. Rains' .219 batting average against is third-best all-time.

MIAA PLAYERS 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.
• Swanson was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week for Week 7. He threw 7.0 innings of three-hit ball, did not allow a run and struck out 11. NSU has won all seven games he's pitched in and he has three starts with no runs allowed in his first season as a starting pitcher.
• Jones earned Pitcher of the Week honors on April 13 following two massive saves in the sweep of Rogers State. He struck out four across his 2.1 innings of work. The RiverHawks closer was the first MIAA reliever to claim the award in 2021.

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 and asked to socially distance the best they can. 
• Live stats, NSU Digital Network and MIAA Network coverage will be available for the game via goriverhawksgo.com.
• Fans can follow the team on Twitter for the most up-to-date information at @RiverHawksBSB.

WEATHER IMPACTING SCHEDULE

• NSU has played just 12 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. In three of those games the final score has been 11-10. NSU is 3-3 in midweek contests.
• 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.
• Four road MIAA series were pushed back one day so that fields could dry out completely.

UP NEXT

• Northeastern State will stay at Thomas C. Rousey Field and host No. 3 Central Missouri for a three-game series beginning Saturday, May 1.