TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- Northeastern State heads to Emporia, Kansas, as the No. 7 seed in the MIAA Softball Tournament, opening postseason play Wednesday against No. 10 seed Northwest Missouri at 5:30 p.m.

The RiverHawks (28-22) return to the postseason for the first time in three seasons and mark their seventh appearance in the MIAA era.

Northeastern State enters the tournament with strong momentum in the circle, posting a 1.57 ERA over its last five games with two shutouts. Brooke Wyatt has been dominant, tossing back-to-back shutouts in wins over Arkansas Tech and Rogers State. The RiverHawks have eight shutouts this season, their most since 2013.

Offensively, NSU has set the tone on the base paths with a program-record 81 stolen bases, surpassing the previous mark of 55 set in 2014. Annsleigh Morris leads the team with 13 doubles, the most by a RiverHawk since 2019, while the team's 71 doubles rank among the top totals in program history.

Northwest Missouri (31-20) enters after dropping six of its last eight conference games, including two shutout losses to Missouri Western to close the regular season.

The teams split their regular-season series in Tahlequah. Northeastern State holds a slight edge in recent meetings, winning three of the last four, though it trails the all-time series 19-18.

The winner will advance to face Central Oklahoma in Thursday's quarterfinal round.