TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Rogers State this weekend at Thomas C. Rousey Field. It will be the first playoff baseball played in Tahlequah since 1996, 25 years ago. NSU last made the MIAA Tournament in 2018.

THE SERIES AND PROJECTED ROTATION
Friday, May 14 at 2 p.m. –  Nic Swanson (9-1, 1.46 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) - Presenting Sponsor: Josh Wawrzonek & INSPiRE Financial Group
Saturday, May 15 at 2 p.m.  – Jonathan Smithey (4-2, 5.75 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) - Presenting Sponsor: Alumni Lance and Beverly Jeanes
Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. (if necessary) - Presenting Sponsor: Student Engagement & Alumni Association

FAN INFORMATION

• Admission will be charged for the first time in 2021 and fans are asked to socially distance the best they can. It will cost $5.00 per game and the funds will support the program in multiple ways. Seating at the ballpark is limited, therefore, bringing a lawn chair is recommended. 
• The first 100 NSU students will get in free thanks to the presenting sponsors.
• 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.

LEADING OFF

1. The RiverHawks bring a 26-14 (23-10 in MIAA) record into the quarterfinal round. They finished with the best record in the nine years as a member of the association and have the best seed. It is the best winning percentage (0.65) since 2000 and is the best record since joining Division II. The RiverHawks last finished 10 games over .500 in 2002 and 10 games over in the conference in 1997. Northeastern State last hosted a home playoff series in 1996, which was also the last time NSU won the conference tournament when it was an NAIA school.
2. NSU is seeded higher than Missouri Southern and Pitt State which are "under consideration" for the NCAA Central Regional. Northeastern State was tabbed tenth in the preseason coaches' poll.
3. The RiverHawks have won nine of 11 MIAA series and were 18-4 in doubleheaders.
4. Northeastern State is currently amidst a 10-game homestand. It can play as many as 13 games straight at home. It played 13-straight at home to begin the 2013 campaign.

THE COACH IS TOUGH AT HOME

• Head coach Jake Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 121 wins. His 100th came in the 2021 home and conference-opening series versus Northwest Missouri. It is the best finish under his direction and second winning season. The RiverHawks' skipper was named MIAA Coach of the Year Wednesday. The last time NSU hosted a playoff game he was eight years old.
• Hendrick was an assistant coach, focusing on the pitchers, prior to being promoted to head coach. This season the staff has the best ERA under his tutelage.
• Under Hendrick the RiverHawks are 75-49 all-time at Thomas C. Rousey Field. They are 14-5 this season and 14-3 in MIAA. NSU's ballpark is one of the only in the conference without artificial turf.
• The pitching staff allows 4.4 runs in Tahlequah while the bats score 7.7 runs per game.

THE BATS

• At the plate, six RiverHawks are hitting over .295 and as a team NSU is hitting .284. NSU slugs .493 and 11 different RiverHawks have hit multiple long balls. They are 16th nationally with 1.7 home runs per game.
• NSU's bats have proven to come alive late this spring as the RiverHawks have scored 31 percent of its runs in the seventh inning or later. The team scores 7.3 runs per game which is third in the MIAA and 45th nationally. NSU is 6-5 versus a left-handed starter and 20-9 against a right-hander
• Six batters have double-digit multi-hit games led by Blaze Brothers with 17. Phipps and Klingensmith join their fellow infielder with 10+ multi-RBI games. Brothers reached in 32-straight games earlier this season.
• First baseman C.D. White leads the team hitting .349 which is 16th in the MIAA. He was a pitcher-only in junior college.
• Speedy second baseman Brothers has seen 28 of his 55 hits go for extra bases and carries a 1.089 OPS as NSU's leadoff batter. His 43 runs is third in the conference. Brothers has hit 11 home runs.
• Right fielder Blake Freeman is not far behind and is hitting .335, had his second program record tying 26-game hit streak snapped earlier this season and is 10th nationally with 17 doubles.
• Switch hitting catcher Rodden brings a .295 average into the series and leads the team with 39 RBI. He has also caught 30 percent of would-be base stealers.
• Senior centerfielder Reid Fehr continues to be productive and is hitting .307 as the RiverHawks nine-hole hitter and has scored 11 runs in his last nine games.
• Shortstop Collin Klingensmith is second in the MIAA with 29 walks.
• Jaxon Phipps has been a leader on the hot corner for the RiverHawks. He is one of three NSU batters to hit nine home runs.
• The RiverHawks have rotated the left field spot in the lineup. Connor Bell has started in 12 games and is getting on base at a .580 clip while slugging .711. True freshman Nathan Norris was 4-6 in the UCO series with his first double.
• Tucker Dunlap, Michael Conn, Chaz Orr and Matt Erwin have all seen time as the designated hitter.
• Brothers, White, Rodden, Klingensmith, Phipps, Freeman and Fehr were selected to the All-MIAA teams. 

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 4.81 mark this season as a collective group, third in the conference. It the best ERA since 2002.
• Nic Swanson is second of all MIAA pitchers with a 1.46 ERA and when he starts NSU is 10-1. In the first game of the season, Swanson earned the save. He is sixth in batting average against (.210) and third in strikeouts (97) in the conference while allowing just 19 extra base hits. Swanson, with 80.0 innings pitched, has the second-lowest ERA for a starter nationally. His 1.04 WHIP is fourth in the conference. Additionally, Swanson's 10.8 K/9 throughout his career is better than current St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley (10.76). His complete game at Washburn was the first for the RiverHawks since 2016. 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 4.85 ERA and threw a two-hit complete game at Rogers State. 
• Jonathan Smithey has five quality starts and a 0.82 ERA his last two starts. When he starts, NSU is 8-3.
• Long reliever Lee Callison recorded eight of the 11 outs in his ESU series appearance via the punchout.
• John Rains has navigated through 18.2 high-leverage situational innings, has a 1.93 ERA and opponents hit just .164. He has a 0.96 WHIP.
• Dakodah Jones leads the MIAA with eight saves which is fourth nationally, and has 12 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 and his nine in a career is second all-time.
• Swanson, Key, Jones and Rains all were selected to the All-MIAA teams.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

• Northeastern State took the final two games against Central Oklahoma for another series win.
• In Game 1, Swanson suffered the first loss of his career and NSU was three-hit.
• The RiverHawks bounced back by run-ruling UCO in the seventh inning of the nightcap.
• White smoked a single to center in the rubber game and Brothers hit a 3-run homer to give NSU the runs it needed to clinch the No. 2 seed.

ABOUT THE HILLCATS

• Rogers State finished 18-20 (14-19 in MIAA) but were 12-11 on the road. It dropped its final two series to UCO and MOSO.
• The Hillcats have a 5.72 ERA and top starters Corey Murphey and Brett Karalius have a 5.12 combined ERA.
• Murphey and Swanson went head-to-head in a pitcher's duel in Game 2 of the season series. Each tossed 7.2 innings but Murphey allowed two runs compared to Swanson's one.
• The RiverHawks jumped on Kiralius in a 15-1 win to open the series.
• RSU's bats do not have much pop as it is 11th in the conference with a .397 slugging and have hit the fewest home runs. The Hillcats have the third-best team on-base percentage of .386, though. Brandon Bradshaw leads the team hitting .346.
• Phipps was 5-12 in the series and drove in five. Klingensmith hit the only grand slam of 2021.
• Dating back to 2008, NSU leads the series 14-11, before the sweep earlier this spring RSU had won five consecutive.

SUPER SENIORS AND RECORDS TO WATCH

• 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. Four other players graduated last weekend.
• Phipps has the second-most assists in program history, the most sacrifice flies (11), fifth most homers (23), is four hits from second in program history, his 114 RBI is three off the all-time career record, his 31 doubles is fourth in program history and is third in games started in an NSU jersey as well as 18 at bats from the record of 610.
• Fehr is seventh all-time as he's reached 16 times on a fielder's choice. Freeman is tied for third in program history with 32 doubles.
• Smithey is in his fifth season as a RiverHawk while Rains has been playing collegiate baseball since 2016. Smithey has made a program record 35 starts since 2004, thrown the second-most innings in a career (198.1), has 11 career victories which is fourth all-time, is third all-time with 42 strikeouts looking, and second with 193 total punchouts. Rains has the third-best all-time batting average against in NSU history.

ALL-MIAA

• 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. 
• 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 11 games he's pitched in and he has four 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.
• On May 4, Swanson repeated as Pitcher of the Week for his four hit 7.0 inning outing versus No. 3 Central Missouri. He did not allow an earned run. It was the first time a RiverHawk claimed the award twice in two seasons.
• On Wednesday, 11 different RiverHawks were named to the All-MIAA teams. NSU tied UCM with 11 different players claiming awards. Brothers and Swanson were named First-Team selections, and the second baseman claimed the gold glove. It was the largest class of conference selections in program history.
  • First-Team: Swanson and Brothers
  • Second-Team: White
  • Third-Team: Jones
  • Honorable Mention: Rains, Key, Rodden, Klingensmith, Phipps, Freeman, Fehr
  • Coach of the Year: Hendrick

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.
• As for Rogers State, Chandler Suddath attended Broken Arrow HS with Dunlap as well as Warwick and Zaccary Whisler was teammates with White at Owasso HS.

WEATHER IMPACTING SCHEDULE

• NSU has played just 17 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 was 3-4 in nonconference 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.

PLAYOFF PICTURE DETERMINES WHAT'S UP NEXT

• If Northeastern State wins the best-of-three series it will head to Joplin, Mo., for the double elimination tournament. It will play a single game against Missouri Southern or Central Oklahoma on May 20 at 4 p.m.