TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State will face Central Oklahoma on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to wrap up a brief homestand before going back on the road to battle against Fort Hays State in a series spanning Friday through Sunday.
The RiverHawks (11-24, 8-13 MIAA) were dealt a series loss to Northwest Missouri State across Sunday and Monday, claiming game two of the series in a 10-7 victory on Sunday evening.
Key Players to Watch:
- In his first full series back since early March, Gage Williams logged five hits across three games against Northwest Missouri, including two doubles and his fourth home run of the season. In 19 games, Williams boasts a .338 batting average and has nine extra base hits on the year.
- Austin Albright recorded two base hits in Sunday's win over the Bearcats and has a base hit and/or a RBI in five of his last six.
- Holden Yaksick limited Northwest Missouri to one run and four hits across 4.2 innings of action from the bullpen in two relief appearances over the most recent series. Yaksick enters Wednesday tied for third on the team with 24 strikeouts.
Central Oklahoma (28-8, 18-6 MIAA) faces Northeastern State Wednesday prior to traveling to Warrensburg, Mo. for a series against Central Missouri this weekend. The Bronchos have won 12 straight games, the longest active winning streak in the MIAA. UCO earned a 12-8 win over the RiverHawks in Edmond on Mar. 26 and have won 74 of 100 meetings in the all-time series between the programs. The Bronchos own the seventh-highest batting average (.292) in the MIAA and lead the conference in run production (310) behind 58 home runs, the second-highest total in the league. Offensively, Caden Robertson is fourth in the MIAA in batting average (.394) and leads the league in slugging percentage (.937) and OPS (1.397), in addition to home runs (19), base hits (56) and runs batted in (63).
The UCO pitching staff owns the third-lowest earned run average (5.13) in the league, while they pace the MIAA in strikeouts (315). Brett Pense is inside the league's top ten individually in ERA (3.66) and strikeouts (51). The bullpen ranks second in saves (ten), with Valek Cisneros tying for the conference lead individually with eight.
Fort Hays State (23-9, 17-4 MIAA) enters the middle of the week with wins in three of their last five and will travel to take on Emporia State Wednesday. With 17 conference wins, the Tigers are one league victory away from reaching their highest total since 2013. FHSU is fourth in the MIAA in batting average (.298) and fifth in home runs (46), though they rank ninth in runs scored (223). Individually, Tony Moore is sixth in the conference in batting average (.384), while Trey DeGarmo is fourth in home runs (11), sixth in slugging percentage (.685) and tied for eighth in RBI (41).
The Tigers are fourth in the MIAA in ERA (5.49) and lead the league in saves (11). Brandon Chavez joins Cisneros in pacing the conference in saves individually with eight, while Ty Riley holds the fourth-lowest ERA (2.82) in the league among qualified individuals and is second in opposing batting average (.184). Riley also sits at the top of the league in wins (seven) and is second on the strikeout ladder (79) and third in innings pitched (60.2).
