TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State plays its final regular season series this weekend hosting rival Central Oklahoma for three games. The RiverHawks are looking to lock up either a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in next week's MIAA Tournament.

THE SERIES AND PROJECTED ROTATION
Friday, May 7 at 1 p.m. (Thomas C. Rousey Field; Tahlequah, Okla.) –  Nic Swanson (9-0, 1.21 ERA, 0.99 WHIP)
Friday, May 7 at 4 p.m.  – Jonathan Smithey (3-2, 6.38 ERA, 1.71 WHIP)
Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m.  – Seth Key (3-2, 5.17 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)

HISTORIC SEASON THUS FAR

1. The RiverHawks bring a 24-13 (21-9 in MIAA) record into the series. They sit in second place with a one game lead on Missouri Southern and Pitt State. NSU has won eight MIAA series and is the quickest to 20 wins in the Division II era. Northeastern State has clinched a first round playoff series at home for the first time while a member of the conference and has not hosted a playoff series at Rousey Field since 1996. With two wins they will be a No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
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. Northeastern State is 17-3 in doubleheaders this season. Due to COVID-19 limited travel conference series have had a doubleheader and single game. The RiverHawks are 12-2 at home versus conference foes.
4. Head Coach Jake Hendrick is in his sixth year at the program's helm and has amassed 119 wins. His 100th came in the 2021 home and conference-opening series versus Northwest Missouri. NSU will look to surpass the 21 conference wins in his first season.

THE BATS

• At the plate, six RiverHawks are hitting over .300 and as a team NSU is hitting .286 which is fifth in the conference. NSU slugs .496 and 11 different RiverHawks have hit multiple long balls. They are 16th nationally with 1.73 home runs per game. NSU hit six, the most since 2015, last Tuesday. Jaxon Phipps, Blaze Brothers and Brayden Rodden each have nine to tie for 11th in the MIAA.
• First baseman C.D. White leads the team is seventh in the MIAA hitting .353 and was recently moved up a spot in the lineup. Speedy second baseman Brothers has seen 26 of his 53 hits go for extra bases and carries a .349 batting average as NSU's leadoff batter. Right fielder Blake Freeman is not far behind and is hitting .342, he had his second program record tying 26-game hit streak snapped earlier this season. He is 10th nationally with 16 doubles. Switch hitting catcher Rodden brings a .302 average into the series and leads the team with 39 RBI. Centerfielder Reid Fehr continues to be productive and is hitting .323 as the RiverHawks nine-hole hitter and has scored ten runs in his last six games.
• The left side of the infield started the season slow but has been steadily improving statistically. Shortstop Collin Klingensmith leads the MIAA with 27 walks and is third on the team with 33 RBI. Third baseman Phipps has one more home run and is hitting .245.
• The RiverHawks have rotated the left field spot in the lineup. Connor Bell broke into the lineup and is getting on base at a .564 clip and slugs .655. True freshman Nathan Norris, last season's second-best hitter by average Chaz Orr and junior college transfers Corbin Lill and Matt Erwin have each started three or more games in the outfield.
• Tucker Dunlap, a right-handed bat, and lefty Michael Conn have each seen time as the designated hitter. Conn has hit three homers while Dunlap blasted two in Game 3 of the ESU sweep. With Conn at the DH the RiverHawks are 8-2.
• NSU's bats have proven to come alive late this spring as the RiverHawks have scored 84 of their 276 runs in the seventh inning or later. The team scores 7.5 runs per game which is third in the MIAA and 54th nationally.
• Six batters have double-digit multi-hit games led by Brothers with 17. Phipps joins his would-be replacement with 10 multi-RBI games. Brothers reached in 32-straight games earlier this season.

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 4.90 mark this season as a collective group, third in the conference.
• Nic Swanson leads all MIAA pitchers with a 1.21 ERA and is undefeated (9-0). When he starts NSU is 10-0. In the first game of the season, Swanson earned the save. He is sixth in batting average against (.200) and fourth in strikeouts (92) in the conference while allowing just 15 extra base hits. Swanson, with 74.2 innings pitched, has the lowest ERA for a pitcher with 53.0-plus innings in the nation and is ninth in strikeouts. His 0.99 WHIP is third in the conference. Additionally, Swanson's 11.0 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. He is the backend of the doubleheader starter.
• Seth Key seems to have settled into the Game 1 starter role. The redshirt-sophomore has a 5.17 ERA. Jonathan Smithey has four quality starts and allowed just one earned run to the Mules in 5.0 innings of work last time out. When he starts, NSU is 7-3. Midweek starter/long reliever Lee Callison has a 10.5 K/9 average and recorded eight of the 11 outs in his ESU series appearance via the punchout.
• John Rains has navigated through 17.2 high-leverage situational innings, has a 2.04 ERA and opponents hit just .172. Dakodah Jones leads the MIAA with seven saves which is seventh nationally, and has 11 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 eight in a career is second all-time.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

• Northeastern State lost just its second series of the season and nearly walked off No. 3 Central Missouri twice.
• The Mules took Game 1 by a wide margin while NSU was limited to just four hits.
• In the second game of the doubleheader, Swanson threw 7.0 innings and the pitching staff allowed just one earned run. Four RiverHawks had multi-hit games and Rodden delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by a final of 5-4.
• The RiverHawks pitching staff again did their job in the rubber game Sunday allowing just two earned runs. Blaze Brothers hit two mammoth home runs and NSU had two on with just one out in the bottom of ninth. Collin Klingensmith had two RBI in the 6-5 setback.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS

• Central Oklahoma is 21-16 (15-12 in MIAA) and won its last road series at Rogers State. They beat Oklahoma Christian 11-2 Tuesday using seven pitchers. It has played the fewest games in the conference.
• The Bronchos pitching staff has a 5.36 ERA and eight pitchers have started a game. Brayden Nelson leads the team with a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings.
• UCO hits .274 as a team with five batters over .300 and slug just .407. NSU scores nearly a run more per game.
• NSU last won a season series in 2013 over the rivals from Edmond. The teams did not meet in 2020.
• Assistant coach Braden Brown played at NSU in 2014 and pitching coach Jacob Evans pitched in the minor leagues with Ryan Helsley.

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.
• Phipps has the second-most assists in program history, the most sacrifice flies (11), fifth most homers (23), is five 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 28 at bats from the record of 610.
• Fehr is seventh all-time as he's reached 16 times on a fielder's choice.
• Redshirt-junior Smithey is in his fifth season with the RiverHawks while junior reliever Rains has been playing collegiate baseball since 2016. Smithey has made a program record 34 starts since 2004, thrown the second-most innings in a career (193.1), has 10 career victories which is fifth all-time, is third all-time with 41 strikeouts looking, and second with 189 total punchouts. Rains has the third-best all-time batting average against in NSU history. Jones is three saves from tying the program record with 11.

MIAA PLAYERS OF WEEK X4

• 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 in two seasons.

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.

TOUGH AT HOME

• Under Hendrick the RiverHawks are 73-48 all-time at Thomas C. Rousey Field. They are 12-4 this season and 12-2 in MIAA. NSU's ballpark is one of the only in the conference without turf.
• The pitching staff has a 4.56 ERA in Tahlequah while the bats score 8.1 runs per game.

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.

SENIOR DAY

• Pregame, at 12 p.m., Saturday the RiverHawks' coaching staff will honor seven seniors; Phipps, Fehr, Conn, Justin Murphey, Conner West, Ryan Summers, Connor Bell.

WEATHER IMPACTING SCHEDULE

• NSU has played just 14 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.

UP NEXT

• Northeastern State will host a team they took the series from this season in the MIAA Tournament Opening Round May 14-16. All games are tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m.