TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State continues its spring with a three-game conference weekend series with nearby Rogers State before heading Shawnee to meet Oklahoma Baptist for a Tuesday midweek. The conference series will be played at split locations with the RiverHawks as the visitors for the Saturday doubleheader at the Diamond Sports Complex in Claremore and as the home team Sunday at Thomas C. Rousey Field.

THE NEXT FOUR SCHEDULED AND PROJECTED ROTATION
RSU: Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m. (played in Claremore) – Seth Key (2-0, 5.51 ERA, 9.5 K/9)
RSU: Saturday April 10 at 4 p.m. (played in Claremore) – Nic Swanson (6-0, 0.79 ERA, 11.6 K/9)
RSU: Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m. (played in Tahlequah) – Jonathan Smithey (3-1, 6.93 ERA, 10.6 K/9)
OBU: Tuesday, April 13 at 5 p.m. (played in Shawnee) - Bullpen (6.90 ERA, 8.7 K/9)

HISTORIC SEASON THUS FAR

1. The RiverHawks bring a 16-7 (13-5 in MIAA) record into the series. They are second in the MIAA standings behind only No. 5 Central Missouri and completed their first sweep of the season last weekend at home over Fort Hays State. NSU has won six-straight MIAA series for the first time in program history and have the most conference wins by April 9 since 2015 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 was 10 games over .500 for the first time since 2002 following the FHSU sweep.
3. Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 114 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 .330 and as a team NSU is hitting .311 which is second in the conference. Despite playing the third-fewest games in the 12-team MIAA NSU is third with 40 home runs. Ten different RiverHawks have hit a long ball.
• Right fielder Blake Freeman leads the team is fifth in the MIAA hitting .402, and had his program-record tying hit streak snapped at 26 last weekend. Speedy second baseman Blaze Brothers has seen 18 of his 36 hits go for extra bases, is third nationally with 13 doubles, carries a .360 batting average as NSU's leadoff batter and has reached base in 22 consecutive games. First baseman C.D. White has proved just how deep NSU's lineup is and is hitting .348 in the six-hole. He hit two line drive home runs at Northwestern to push his total to four. Switch hitting catcher Brayden Rodden brings a .341 average into the series, is fourth in the MIAA with eight home runs and third with 29 RBI. Centerfielder Reid Fehr continues to be productive and is hitting .330 as the RiverHawks nine hitter.
• On the left side of the infield, Collin Klingensmith leads the MIAA with 19 walks and is hitting .438 across his last eight games. Third baseman Jaxon Phipps has seven home runs and is second on the team with 22 RBI.
• The RiverHawks have rotated the left field spot in the lineup. Connor Bell broke into the lineup last week and is getting on base at a .778 clip while playing left. Freshman Nathan Norris, last seasons 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 63 of their 188 runs in the seventh inning or later. NSU had two come-from-behind victories last week.

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 5.44 mark this season as a collective group. NSU has had six fully bullpen games in which it is 3-4.
• Nic Swanson leads all MIAA pitchers with a 0.79 ERA and he has guided NSU to six wins. In the first game of the season, he earned the save. He is fifth in batting average against (.186) and third in strikeouts (58) in the conference. Swanson, with 45.1 innings pitched, has the lowest ERA for a pitcher with as many innings in the nation. His 0.95 WHIP is the third-best in the conference. Additionally, Swanson's 11.24 K/9 throughout his career is better than current St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley (10.76).
• Connor Bell has thrown 3.1 scoreless innings while John Rains has navigated through 11.0  high-leverage situational innings and has a 1.64 ERA. Dakodah Jones leads the team with four saves and has seven scoreless appearances including a five-inning performance to complete the sweep of Fort Hays State.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

• NSU had its first 4-0 week of the spring and first since 2019 by downing Southwestern in walk off fashion and sweeping Fort Hays State. It most recently fell at Northwestern by an 11-10 final Tuesday with strong winds blowing out to center.
• In the first game at Thomas C. Rousey Field in 20 days the RiverHawks scored four runs in the ninth to grab an 11-10 victory over the Bulldogs. 
• In the first sweep of the season, NSU took the first game via the run rule in the seventh, jumped out early to secure the sixth-straight series win and took the lead in the seventh for the Game 3 victory.
• Key threw 5.2 innings and struck out eight in the series opener, Swanson threw 7.0 innings of three-hit ball while striking out 11 and Jones earned the win in the nightcap with 5.0 innings of two-hit ball out of the bullpen.
• In Alva, the RiverHawks scored in seven innings and had back-to-back home runs in the ninth but couldn't quite get over the hump.

ABOUT THE HILLCATS

• Rogers State is 12-10 (9-9 in MIAA) and was most recently swept at home by Pitt State. They also dropped two of three to Northwestern, NSU's last opponent, to open its season.
• The Hillcats' series have often resulted in sweeps. They swept Missouri Western and Fort Hays State but were swept by Northwest Missouri and Pitt State.
• RSU has received strong starting performances all season long. Their rotation has a 4.24 ERA and the 4.59 staff ERA is the third best in the conference.
• Rogers State hits .278 on the season and is yet to find a consistent lineup.
• Dating back to 2008, the series is tied 11-11. RSU has won the last five.

ABOUT THE BISON

• Oklahoma Baptist is 15-7 this spring and have won five GAC series. It plays at NWOSU this weekend.
• All of OBU's bullpen arms have ERA's over 4.70.
• The Bison hit .298 as a team and have seven hitters over .290 this season. They have 42 home runs and slug .531.
• Since 2017, the teams have met for at least a game a season. OBU leads the series 3-2.

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 (286) is three assists from tying for the second-most in program history. 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 32nd at NSU Smithey will tie the program record for starts since 2004.

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.

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 both venues 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.

WEATHER IMPACTING SCHEDULE

• NSU has played just nine 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 these games the final has been 11-10. The game at Northwestern was a makeup for a missed doubleheader in February.
• 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 series at Washburn and Missouri Western were pushed back one day so that the outfield could dry out completely.
• This series with RSU was originally scheduled to begin Friday but the threat of rain pushed it back a day.

UP NEXT

• Northeastern State will remain on the road after the OBU game to play a ranked Missouri Southern team in Joplin, Mo. April 16-17.