TAHLEQUAH— Northeastern State softball is in action at RiverHawks Park against an MIAA opponent for the first time in nearly three weeks when they host Central Missouri on Friday (12/2 p.m.) before battling Missouri Southern on Saturday (1/3 p.m.) in Tahlequah.
The RiverHawks (10-22, 4-8 MIAA) earned one win across six contests last week, splitting with Newman but being dealt sweeps at the hands of Arkansas Tech and Central Oklahoma.
Key Players to Watch:
- Maddie Messenger led the team with ten base hits across last week's action and leads the team on the season with a .376 batting average on 35 base hits, including four home runs.
- Korynn Tindel recorded eight base hits on the week, including multi-hit performances against Arkansas Tech and Newman. Tindel leads the team with 15 stolen bases and earned a season-high four swiped bags in NSU's 9-8 victory over Newman in the early game of Friday's doubleheader in Wichita. The redshirt sophomore's stolen base total marks the most for an NSU individual since Rhomie Bradshaw (16) in 2021 with five weeks left in the regular season.
- Lauryn Heinle has collected a base hit in eight of her last nine appearances and enters the week with 21 hits on the season on a .356 batting average.
The RiverHawks split last season's doubleheader in Tahlequah against the Jennies and hold a 14-16 record against UCM across program history. The Jennies enter the week at 15-11 overall and 4-4 in conference play, most recently earning a pair of victories on Saturday against Missouri Western in Warrensburg. UCM possesses the fifth-highest batting average in the MIAA (.315) and is tied for fifth in home runs (15). The Jennies are seventh in the league in run production (153). The pitching staff is eighth in earned run average (3.19) and fourth in strikeouts (183), while the Jennies walk batters the fourth-most in the association (107).
Missouri Southern is 25-11 overall and 5-3 in MIAA action. The Lions are off on Friday before traveling to Tahlequah on Saturday. MSSU leads the all-time series with 44 wins across 71 meetings, including five straight victories. The team sits in a tie for seventh in batting average (.301) in the MIAA, but are fourth in runs scored (199). The pitching staff holds the lowest ERA (1.99) in the MIAA and is second in strikeouts (199) and third in fewest walks allowed (60). Kiki Pickens (12-4, 1.65 ERA, 114 SO, 23 BB) and Avery Tallman (10-3, 2.11, 33 SO, 15 BB) are in the top four among starters in ERA, while Pickens leads the league in strikeouts and NaTalia Sewell (0-1, 1.80, 21 SO, 5 BB) leads in conference in saves (four).
