TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State makes its first appearance in the NCAA Baseball Tournament Thursday, where they will meet Henderson State in Magnolia, Ark., in a double elimination bracket. 

The RiverHawks are the Central Region's No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season with a 37-16 overall record.  Henderson State is the No. 3 seed making their third overall NCAA appearance and first since 2015.  The Reddies (38-15) set a school record for single-season wins and are 5-2 in the NCAA Tournament. 

Northeastern State was originally scheduled to play Henderson State on the season's opening weekend, but snow wiped out the game in Hot Springs, Ark.  The two teams last met in 2012, with NSU leading the overall series 13-4.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 2 p.m.  

Southern Arkansas was selected as the host earning the No. 2 seed, and will face No. 7 Washburn in the nightcap at 6 p.m.  The RiverHawks will face one of those two teams Friday in the winner's bracket or elimination bracket.  

Northeastern State opened the 2022 season with Southern Arkansas and won 7-5 in Hot Springs.  The meeting is the lone one in recent memory, with NSU never making a stop in Magnolia previously.   

Washburn is 2-2 against the RiverHawks this season and is making their first NCAA tournament in baseball. 

Blake Freeman is third nationally in hits with 89 and is just one back of the national lead.  He holds the NSU program record in single-season, and career base hits.   Brock Reller is second nationally in home runs with 27, with NSU having three players in the top-50 nationally (Matt Kaiser, 19 and Blaze Brothers, 15).  Reller owns the MIAA single-season mark in home runs, and his 82 RBI this season is the sixth most in a season in Association history. 

Northeastern State's 117 home runs tops NCAA Division II and second only to Tennessee (SEC).  It is second all-time in NCAA Division II history, trailing just West Georgia, who hit 131 in 1998.  The RiverHawks have swiped 127 bases, ninth-most in Division II, and are eighth in hits with 613. 

Cohen Bell is fifth nationally with 29 appearances this season, most in a single season at NSU and Jonathan Smithey is the program leader in innings pitch, batters faced, and strikeouts.