TAHLEQUAH -- Blaze Brothers hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth as the RiverHawks won a back-and-forth battle 8-7 to sweep the three-game series Monday over Emporia State.

The win is the 11th consecutive for NSU on their home field as they improved to 23-10 overall and 20-7 in the MIAA. Monday's sweep is the third this season of an MIAA foe. 

Northeastern State was out-hit by the Hornets 14-to-8, with the RiverHawks blasting four out of the ballpark.

Emporia State took the lead on the opening frame after a passed ball moved the runner to second. A single up the middle by their first basemen would be enough to score a run.

C.D. White opened the second with a solo homer on the first pitch, and Tucker Dunlap blasted his first long ball of the season for the go-ahead run.

The Hornets tied the game in the fourth when a failed pickoff to first allowed a runner on third to score on the play. In the bottom half of the inning, NSU would get a run back on a failed pickoff by Emporia State, allowing Jaxon Phipps to score. 

After a scoreless inning, Emporia State played small ball, swiping a pair of bags; they would tie the game on a single up the middle and get their second run on an infield bunt single. The lead was short-lived, and in the bottom half of the inning, Dunlap hit a two-out homer to left to tie the game at 4-4. 

Emporia State (12-21, 9-19 MIAA), after a leadoff single, to start the eighth, they scratched a run back across the using a pair of sacrifices. In the bottom half of the inning, NSU tied the game on Reid Fehr single, and later Brothers hit his seventh homer of the season as the eventual winning runs.

Getting to the finish proved to be interesting for NSU, with the Hornets managing to score two runs. The game would end at the plate with the tying run being tagged out two feet in front of the plate.

Brothers and Dunlap both had two-hit games, with Dakodah Jones (3-2) earning the win out of the bullpen pitching the final three innings. 

Northeastern State will quickly turn around and host Southern Nazarene Tuesday for a non-conference tilt at Rousey Field; first pitch is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m.