TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State closes out its regular-season home slate Thursday to open a three-game series with Missouri Southern at Thomas C. Rousey Memorial Field. 

First pitch on Thursday and Friday is at 2 p.m., with Saturday's start time scheduled for 1 p.m.  The program will have its senior day Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The RiverHawks have won 11 of its previous 12 games and are in a three-way tie for second place in the MIAA standings, with Pittsburg State and Washburn holding 17-10 records.  By winning the three game series with both teams, NSU would claim second place if the three were to tie after the end of the regular season. 

However, the three teams are just a game up on fifth place and two games ahead of Missouri Southern, who is in sixth.   The top three teams in the regular-season standings will host a best-of-three game series on their home field in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament.

Holding a 29-13 record, the RiverHawks are a game away from its first 30-win season since 2002, have climbed up to sixth in the NCBWA Central Region voting, and have received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for the previous two weeks. 

Brock Reller's home run total climbed to 21 Tuesday with a three-run blast at Northwestern Oklahoma and has given the fifth-year senior the national lead.  His single-season home run mark is now tied for fifth in MIAA history and needs three more to tie the Association's mark.  Blake Freeman is two hits back of the national leader with 74 on the year and six hits from the NSU single-season mark as an NCAA member. 

C.D. White enters the series with a 17-game hitting streak and is third in the nation with 70 hits.  

Missouri Southern comes to Tahlequah with a 25-17 overall record and 15-12 in the MIAA.  The Lions have lost five of their last seven games and are 8-12 this season away from Joplin.   Statistically, they lead the MIAA in doubles and have tossed six shutouts.  Logan VanWey is third nationally with 92 strikeouts and has averaged 13 per nine-innings tossed.  Jordan Fitzpatrick has 17 doubles, fifth-most nationally, and holds an MIAA high .831 slugging percentage.  

The Lions lead the overall series 34-24-1 over Northeastern State with the series 9-9-1 in Tahlequah.  If one were to fall into the rabbit hole, the tie with the Lions happened in NSU's home opener to start the 1997 season.  Lance Jeanes, the father of Cody Jeanes, was the starting pitcher for that contest.