TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State baseball wraps up its MIAA slate Friday with a three game series at Newman. 

Holding a 20-10 MIAA mark, the RiverHawks are even with Pittsburg State for second place in the standings and hold a two-game lead over Central Oklahoma and Washburn, tied for fourth place.  Seeding is mostly at play with the RiverHawks already clinching a home series in the MIAA Quarterfinal.

In April, the RiverHawks are 14-1 and batted .407 in its four games in the previous week.  Northeastern State outscored teams 64-to-28 and held a .500 on-base percentage in that span of games. 

The RiverHawks' 32 wins this season are the most since 2001 and second best as an NCAA member; 38 victories in 2000 is the next milestone marker for the program.   Northeastern State was the first team outside the top-30 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and received votes in the NCBWA Division II Top 25.

Despite being left out of an NCAA.com column on the "most potent lineups" it's hard to miss that NSU leads the nation with 100 home runs and needs three to break a 1998 MIAA record set by Central Missouri.  The RiverHawks are also 12th in triples, 18th in doubles, and sixth in stolen bases.   Sacrifice bunts are a lone category NSU is near the bottom with just four on the year but hasn't been necessary when the team is scoring nearly ten runs a game. 

With 24 home runs, Brock Reller needs one to take the MIAA single-season mark and leads the nation by three.  Reller is first nationally in total bases, third in RBI, and seventh in runs scored.  Blake Freeman is second in the nation in hits with 77, and Cohen Bell has made the third most pitching appearances this season with 25.

Newman will be playing for its postseason lives this weekend and is tied with Emporia State and Northwest Missouri for the final transfer spot into the MIAA Tournament, holding 12-18 MIAA records.  Interestingly, Newman has played better on the road than at home, with 15 of their 22 wins coming away from a home ballpark.  The Jets allow over seven runs per game, 11th most in the MIAA, but have had some solid hitting with Tyler Push fourth with 67 hits and leading the Association with 30 stolen bases. 

The RiverHawks lead the overall series 5-3 over the Jets, with its last two series being under extraordinary circumstances.  Due to abundant rain last season, NSU played Newman at Pryor High School, and the 2020 series in Newman came to a screaming halt with the suspension of college athletics following the opening game. 

First pitch Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m., with the series concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.