TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State returns to the road Friday, where they will visit No. 10 ranked Central Oklahoma and then travels up I-35 to face Newman Saturday. 

The RiverHawks (21-18) are tied for fifth place in the MIAA standings with a 9-5 mark and a game back of Missouri Southern for fourth place. 

Central Oklahoma (34-6, 13-1 MIAA) has won seven consecutive games and is 20-1 at home this season.  The Bronchos lead the MIAA in hitting (.347 BA) and are second in pitching (2.35 ERA).   Northeastern State split the previous two MIAA regular-season meetings in Edmond, and since 1996, they trail the series 59-32. 

Saturday's games in Newman are the final home contests of the season, where they are 7-9 in Wichita.  The Jets (14-22, 5-9 MIAA) are the first team looking outside the top eight in the MIAA standings and are fourth in batting (.319 BA).   Pitching has been the Achilles heel for Newman, where they are second to last in the MIAA, allowing nearly seven runs per game.  All-time against the Jets, NSU is 10-1, and 4-1 at Newman. 

Head Coach Clay Davis enters the week with 249 wins at Northeastern State and is seven games away from being the program's NCAA era leader.  The RiverHawks are 13th nationally in home runs (47), with Chloe Bohuslavicky second in the MIAA with 11 homers.  Gail Young is ranked eighth across all divisions of NCAA softball with 732.3 innings pitched and fourth with 82 complete games. 

First pitch in Edmond is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, and the RiverHawks start Saturday at noon.