TAHLEQUAH –
Isaiah Keller homered and led the way with three base hits as Northeastern State completed their first sweep of MIAA competition with an 11-8 win over Newman Sunday afternoon.
The RiverHawks (13-14, 4-9 MIAA) attacked in every frame in the first half of the matchup, scoring in the first five innings, highlighted by a solo home run from Keller in the bottom of the second to mark the senior's fourth of the season. The consistency on the offensive end gave the hosts an 8-0 lead, as
Christian Johnson tossed five scoreless innings in his fifth start of the season.
NU (4-24, 0-13 MIAA) mustered an official answer in the sixth and seventh, attacking the NSU defense for four runs in both innings to account for eight unanswered to even the score. Defensive woes were the defining aspect of the visitor's outburst, as only one of the eight runs were tagged against NSU pitching.
NSU benefitted from similar miscues from the Jets in the bottom half of the seventh, as the RiverHawks scored two off of a throwing error from the NU infield and an additional run from a balk on the following play. The three runs proved to be the difference after both sides were shut out the remainder of the game.
Keller's three hits included two RBI in the process, while
Drew Miller provided two hits. Johnson's start on the hill was guided by seven strikeouts, while the bullpen added another six, with
Hayden Key receiving a winning credit in the process.
Northeastern State goes on the road from Friday to Sunday to battle Emporia State.
