TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State finishes the regular season this week with a non-conference test Tuesday against Oklahoma Baptist and a trilogy of battles with Washburn this weekend, all at home.
The RiverHawks seek to regroup after dropping three of four last week, including two to MIAA foe Northwest Missouri.
The Setup
- Northeastern State baseball is guided by head coach Sunny Golloway. Golloway was hired last summer after spending a season 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 entered 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.
- The midweek encounter with OBU is the team's final non-conference matchup of the regular season, while the team concludes their 33-game MIAA schedule with the Washburn series this weekend.
Around the Diamond
- After losing last weekend's series to the Bearcats, the RiverHawks sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in the league standings entering the final week of the regular season at 11-19 in MIAA action. Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri share a spot on the ladder with NSU, with all three teams sitting a game back of sixth-place Rogers State at 12-18. Central Missouri (27-3 MIAA) clinched their fifth consecutive regular season title last week, while Missouri Southern (23-7 MIAA) is primed to finish second, serving as the most likely draws in the tournament quarterfinals for the RiverHawks, in the event of an MIAA postseason berth.
- Tyson Fourkiller is set for a photo finish against Central Missouri's Brennan vanBreusegen for the MIAA's batting title. The duo enter the final week of the regular season with identical .412 averages on the campaign. Fourkiller ranks among the top newcomers in the league, also sitting in second in base hits (70), one back from Missouri Southern's Will Doherty, while ranking sixth in stolen bases (17).
- The RiverHawks tallied their most home runs in a single game since 2022 with a seven-homer performance in the opening game of last week's series at Northwest Missouri. Isaiah Keller logged his second multi-homer performance of 2024 with two shots over the wall in Maryville on Friday, while Drew Miller matched his total with two of his own.
- Matt Kaiser continued to stay a regular occupant in the base hit category of the box score last week, extending his hitting streak to 11. The longest active hitting streak on the team, it sits just a game back of the longest streaks for an NSU player this season (Isaiah Keller and Ty Van Meter, 12).
- Gage Williams has reached base in 14 straight games, the longest active streak on the team and the second-longest across the season, two games back of Tyson Fourkiller's 16-game stretch. Williams has been the team's top hitter in conference play, holding a .398 average with nine home runs and 35 RBI against MIAA opponents.
Northeastern State vs. Oklahoma Baptist (Apr. 23 at 6 p.m.) // Live Coverage
About Oklahoma Baptist (27-18, 15-15 GAC)
- The Bison travel to Tahlequah after finishing a three-game series with Henderson State Monday in Arkadelphia, Ark., where the Reddies found late offense to claim a 4-3 win.
- Chris Cox is in his fifth season leading Bison baseball, having been with the school since 2014. Winning over 100 games across his first four seasons in Shawnee, Okla., he led the program to the GAC Finals in 2023 to highlight a 32-win season.
- Isaiah Lissade (.374, 9 HR, 40 RBI) ranks as one of the top contact hitters in Division II baseball. The duo of Alex Schroder (16 HR) and Troy Shields (14 HR) are the top power sluggers on a group that's hit 66 homers on the year.
- The Bison rank in the lower half of the GAC in earned run average, though the bullpen has been strong, leading the conference in saves (12).
Series Notes
- Oklahoma Baptist leads the series, 64-28.
- The Bison claimed the most recent duel earlier in April in Shawnee, with a four-run eighth inning allowing OBU to take the victory.
- One of NSU's older opponents, the series dates back to 1948, though Tuesday will mark just the 11th meeting since 1997.
Northeastern State vs. Washburn (Apr. 26-27 at 6:30 p.m., Apr. 28 at 2 p.m.) // Live Coverage
About Washburn (24-19, 18-12 MIAA)
- Entering off a Senior Day victory on Sunday against #21 Central Oklahoma, the Ichabods battle Emporia State at home on Tuesday before traveling for their non-conference finale on Wednesday at Southern Nazarene.
- The Ichabods sit in fifth place on the MIAA ladder at 18-12 in conference ball, two games back of a tie for third between Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State at 20-10 and hosting duties for the postseason's quarterfinal round.
- Harley Douglas is the head baseball coach, in his tenth season leading Washburn baseball. Douglas played for the Ichabods from 1997-2000, part of a playing career that saw him spend time in the New York Mets organization. The first former player to lead the program, Douglas has guided Washburn to nearly 250 wins during his tenure and five winning seasons, highlighted by a NCAA Regional berth in 2022.
- Washburn possesses the second-highest batting average in the league (.320), while holding the same position in home runs (81). The pitching staff places eighth in earned run average (7.40) and 11th in strikeouts (316).
Series Notes
- Northeastern State leads the series, 24-16.
- NSU was the lone team to knock off a host in the quarterfinals of last season's MIAA Tournament, when the sixth-seeded RiverHawks took down the third-seeded Ichabods in Topeka, Kan. in three games.
- The offenses produced some late spring fireworks when they last met in Tahlequah in March of 2022, with the squads combining for 81 runs over their most recent two meetings at Rousey Field.
Coming Up
Should they qualify, Northeastern State will travel for the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament, taking place from May 3-5 at individual sites of the league's top four teams in the regular season standings.
