TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State Baseball goes to Missouri for four games this week. Starting with a Tuesday contest at Missouri Southern (3 pm), the RiverHawks start official conference baseball with a three-game series from Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25 at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo.
The RiverHawks enter with victories in eight straight, including four last week.
The Setup
- Northeastern State baseball is guided by head coach Sunny Golloway. Golloway was hired last summer after spending a season in Ada, Okla. in the same position at East Central. He brings decades of experience at the Division I level to Tahlequah, also leading teams at Oral Roberts (1996-2003), Oklahoma (2005-13) and Auburn (2014-15). Golloway-led teams have appeared in 15 NCAA Regionals and four Super Regionals, while he led the Sooners to an appearance in the 2010 College World Series.
- NSU enters the season two removed from one of their best in program history, where the RiverHawks won 38 games and made the Central Regional in 2022. The RiverHawks were only a couple wins shy of returning last season, as one of the last three teams remaining in the MIAA tournament as part of a 25-win effort in 2023.
- This week marks the start of the team's 33-game MIAA schedule, with their conference home opener taking place on Mar. 1 at Rousey Field against Central Missouri.
Around the Diamond
- 51 runs scored over the Friday and Saturday contests at Rousey Field for Northeastern State, as the RiverHawks feasted on the pitching of Randall and Hannibal-LaGrange in commanding wins, including a 23-0 triumph against RU Friday evening.
- Entering the weekend with the highest RBI total in Division II baseball, C.D. White added to his total with a four-RBI performance against Randall on Friday. The senior enters Tuesday with 25 on the campaign.
- C.J. Briley became the first NSU pitcher to go the distance in a game this season with seven scoreless in the Friday win over the Saints. Briley struck out 12 hitters in the victory.
- Drew Miller gave Northeastern State their second multi-homer game of the season by delivering two over the right field wall on Saturday against RU, with one clearing a loaded bases situation with a grand slam.
- The RiverHawks have been aggressive on the base paths to begin the year, with the team accumulating 48 steals in their first 12 games. Isaiah Keller leads all NSU players with 14 in as many attempts.
Northeastern State at Missouri Southern // February 20 at 3 p.m. // Live Coverage // Listen
About Missouri Southern (10-2)
- The Lions have had a strong beginning to the season, with notable wins over then-#17 Southern Arkansas in their season opener and three over Ouachita Baptist.
- MSSU meets UMary on Monday at Warren Turner Field in Joplin before hosting NSU Tuesday.
- Bryce Darnell is in his 17th season leading Missouri Southern's baseball program. Darnell has won 489 games at the helm, ranking in the top ten all-time among MIAA head baseball coaches, with his most recent full season of work seeing the Lions win 45 in 2023, their second-most since 1991.
- The offense has scored at least ten runs in five games this season, while Cole Gayman has taken national weekly accolades as an anchor of the team's pitching staff.
Series Notes
- MSSU holds the advantage in the all-time series (36-31-1).
- The Lions won three of five in 2023 against the RiverHawks, including two of three in Joplin.
- Northeastern won nine of the first 14 games in the series, but hold a 22-32 record since 2001 against Missouri Southern.
Northeastern State at Missouri Western (Feb. 23 at 4 p.m., Feb. 24 at 2 p.m., Feb 25 at 1 p.m.) // Live Coverage
About Missouri Western (7-3)
- The Griffons have won seven of their first ten entering league action, including series wins over St. Cloud State and Drury, in addition to a split four-game series against Southwestern Oklahoma.
- Damian Stambersky was named the program's third head baseball coach in May 2023 after serving as an assistant pitching coach on the staff, where he coached six MWSU arms to All-MIAA accolades the previous year. Stambersky spent time on staffs at Radford and Central Missouri prior to his time at Missouri Western.
- Leading the pitching rotation's returning arms includes a pair of 2023 All-MIAA Honorable Mentions in Zack Cushing and David Steffen. Both have seen multiple appearances out of the bullpen in 2024, while Brayden Haug (0.69 ERA, 13 IP) and Christian Whiting (1.17 ERA, 7.2 IP) have had strong beginnings to the campaign over multiple starting appearances.
- Travis Wiese joined Cushing and Steffen as an Honorable Mention from last season's All-MIAA honorees and has homered with four RBI to begin the year, while Jackson Bryant leads the team with a .452 batting average and 13 RBI with ten games in the record books.
Series Notes
- MWSU leads the all-time series 18-11.
- The RiverHawks have won eight of the last ten.
- NSU won two across the three-game series in 2023 in St. Joseph, with both wins being decided by one run.
Coming Up
Northeastern State begins their home MIAA slate with Central Missouri on Mar. 1 in a three-game series that runs through Mar. 3.
