GAMES 48, 49, and 50

Newman Jets (21-26, 13-17 MIAA) at Northeastern State Riverhawks (19-24, 13-17)

Friday, April 28^th – Sunday, April 30^th | Tahlequah, Oklahoma | Rousey Field

Friday – 5 PM | Saturday – 2 PM | Sunday – 1 PM

Series Record: NSU leads the all time series 7-4 Last meeting: NU 9, NSU 6 BOX SCORE | RECAP

Video: THE MIAA NETWORK Live Stats: www.goriverhawksgo.com 
 
Up next: TBD, MIAA Tournament | Date TBD  | Location TBD 
 
A CHANCE AT PROGRAM HISTORY
After a huge series win at Pitt State that many might not have expected, the Jets are one win away from making the MIAA tournament for the first time in program history. (Newman has been competing in the MIAA since the 2019-2020 season)
Newman was predicted in the preseason coaches poll to finish in 10^th place and miss post season play for the 8^th straight season but have been dominant on the offensive side all season and have gotten quality pitching when they have needed it to eventually set themselves up for a "win and in" situation.
After taking a series win at Pitt State, Newman sits at 6^th place in the MIAA standings and needs just one win in three games vs the Riverhawks to clinch. A post season berth would be the first time the Jets played post season baseball since the 2014 season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The bats got hot Sunday afternoon with Newman earning their first MIAA shutout of the season behind six strong innings from Nate Denniston and one strong inning from Andrew Prieve. The offense scored seven runs in the 2^nd inning to dismantle a Gorilla pitching staff that held the Jets to just one run the day before. Four more runs off the bats of NU spread out through the 3^rd – 7^th innings helped Newman cruise to an 11-0 win in seven innings. Jenner Steele hit his 19^th home run in the win and his three game offensive performance earned him MIAA Hitter of The Week and NCBWA Central Region Player of The Week. Shawn Marquis had 3 RBI's in the win. BOX SCORE | RECAP


MEET YOUR COACHES
Drew Maus is in his 4th season as head coach of the Jets. His 2022 campaign saw the Jets post their best record since the 2016 SEASON, finishing 23-23 and 1 game shy of making the MIAA tournament for the first time ever. 2022 SCHEDULE

James Cullinane is 19-24 in his 1^st season as head coach at NSU.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State and Newman sit at 13-17 in MIAA play and the series this week will determine final standings. The Riverhawks come in to the series losers in 3 of their last 4 games. The lost a midweek matchup to NWOSU in seven innings and lost their first two games vs Missouri Southern before avoiding the sweep in game three, defeating the Lions 11-8.

NSU is 8^th in the MIAA offensively. They're hitting .289 as a team and have five players batting above .300, led by CD White who is hitting .342. Isaiah Keller leads the team with 11 home runs.

On the pitching side the Riverhawks sit at 5^th in the MIAA with a 5.99 ERA. Lee Carlson has the most wins with four. NSU has given up the 3^rd least amount of earned runs in the MIAA.

SERIES HISTORY BETWEEN NU AND NSU
NSU leads the all time series 7-4 and have won two of the last three meetings. Newman took the season finale win over the Riverhawks 9-6 last season. The two losses vs the Riverhawks in games one and two last season knocked the Jets out of the post season tournament after Emporia State held the tie breaker over NU.

Newman has never won back to back games vs Northeastern State. SERIES HISTORY
 
MR. MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK AND NCBWA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Don't blink, Jenner Steele just hit another home run, and then another after that as I typed this sentence. Jenner wasn't a hitter you wanted to face last weekend. Steele went 6-14 with four home runs and eight RBI's in route to earning his 1^st ever MIAA Hitter of The Week award. Two days later the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association announced that Steele was the Central Region Player of The Week.

Steele is among the nation's best and is the 3^rd different player this season to earn MIAA AOTW Honors. He joins Jake Angelico and Garrett VanDeventer in the club this season. MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK

Jenner is 1st in the MIAA in average (.417), 1st in OPS (1.299), 1st in total bags (153), 1st in slugging % (.818%), 2nd in hits (78), 2nd in home runs (19), and 3rd in OBP (.481) and RBI's (60). He is the first player to earn NCBWA Player of The Week honors since Nick Griffin in 2017.
 
Steele ranks 5^th in NCAA DII with 19 home runs, which is currently the single season home run record at Newman. He also holds the single season RBI and total base record. He is 5 hits away from breaking the single season hit record, and is on pace to own the slugging percentage single season record. NCBWA PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
 

SWINGING IT
The Jets offense ranks 2nd in the MIAA in average (.323). They're 2^nd in hits, 3^rd in RBI'S, and are 3^rd in runs. They put together a streak of 4 games where they mercy ruled their opponents a few weeks ago. Newman has mercy ruled 8 opponents this season.
With their 5 home runs this past weekend, the Jets broke the school record for home runs in a season. Steele, Jake Angelico, and Zack Stewart have combined for 45 of the 66 home runs hit this season.

Multiple team records have been broken this season and more will be broken by the end of the season.

The Jets 23 runs scored in game 3 at SNU and vs Southeastern Oklahoma State are 2^nd in the MIAA for most runs scored by an MIAA team this season and their 23 RBI's in the win vs Southeastern Oklahoma State are tied for most by an MIAA team all season. (2023 SEASON STATS)

ANGEL(ico)S IN THE OUTFIELD
Jake Angelico has started in 46 games for the Jets. The senior out of New Braunfels, Texas earned MIAA Hitter of The Week in week 1 for his 6 hit, 10 RBI performance, the first MIAA AOW for Baseball in Newman history.

Angelico is batting .358, good for 2^nd best on the team, with 63 hits, 12 doubles, 2 triples and 11 home runs to go along with a tied team lead in RBI's with 60. Jake and Jenner Steele are neck and neck in the race to become the single season RBI leader at Newman. Jake had one of the most impressive weeks of the season, going 10 for 16 with 4 home runs and hit for the cycle in the series against Northwest to walk it off in game 3 to clinch the series victory over NW Missouri.

Angelico is 10^th in the MIAA in hits and 8^th in runs. He is 2^nd on the team in hits and tied for 1^st in RBI's.

Eli Wohl (JR/Ponca City, OK) is 47 for 147 this season in 44 starts in his first season as a member of the Jets. The transfer from Cowley CC is 12-13 on stolen bases. Wohl has 4 home runs this season and is 4th on the team in average.
 
HAY HAYDEN
Hayden VanDePol is a popular face on the campus of Newman University. VanDePol is hitting .264 with 22 RBI's in 32 starts. He went 2-3 with 2 RBI's in the game three win over Pittsburg State.

21 MARQ'S THE SPOT
Shawn Marquis is hitting .333 in 34 games played this season. Marquis has 24 RBI's this season and can be seen playing either of the corners in the outfield. He had a game high 3 RBI's in the win vs Pittsburg State on Sunday.

THE MEN IN THE MASK 
Dalton Smith and Anthony Ferrante have split time behind the plate for Newman this season, both contributing to a very good offensive Jets team.
 
Smith (SR/Norman, OK) is 18 for 63 with 19 RBI's this season and Ferrante (SR/Midlothian, OK) is batting .310 in 78 at bats with 5 doubles AND 8 RBI's.

TOEING THE RUBBER
Garrett VanDeventer is 6-4 in 12 appearances in 2023 with 46 K's. The senior out of Arkansas City got the win in his first start of the season at SNU and his 2^nd win in the 2-0 3 hit complete game shutout vs Rogers State, his most impressive start to date. He went 7 innings strong only allowing 2 runs in his outing vs Washburn. He helped keep the Griffon's bats cold in their 10-run victory over MWSU. He threw 8 innings of 3 hit and 1 run baseball vs UCO three weeks ago to earn the win 5-1. VanDeventer went 7 innings, throwing 83 pitches in route to his 6^th win of the season at Pitt State.
 
Garrett had a season high 8 strikeouts in game one vs ESU three weeks ago. No. 15 leads the team with 70.1 innings pitched and topped his 2022 strikeout stat line when he earned his 45^th strikeout of the season two weeks ago.

Asher Finke is 3-6 in 11 starts this season. He got the win in game two of the series vs Rogers State, allowing just two earned runs and fifth hits in five innings of work. He has struck out 48 batters in 46.2 innings of work. He earned his 3^rd win of the season three weeks ago vs ESU in game two.

Nate Denniston is 4-4 in 11 starts this season. Denniston was 5-7 a season ago with 68 K's. No. 20 struck out 9 batters in his outing vs Minot State. He has pitched the 2^nd most innings on the team this season (64.2). and is the team leader in strikeouts with 56. Denniston pitched 6 innings of 3 hit baseball, striking out 8 in the win.

Jaret Granger has appeared in 14 games in relief with 18 K's in 18.2 innings pitched.

Braden Oberle has appeared in 5 games with 4 K's in 4.2 innings.

Andrew Prieve has struck out 30 batters and 2 saves for NU in 18 appearances. He struck out the side to end the game vs Southwestern College. He earned his 1^st win of the season against Southeastern Oklahoma State on April 4^th. Prieve earned his 2^nd save of the season in game one vs Pittsburg State.

Colby Wilson has recorded 35 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. Wilson has appeared in 15 games, starting 7 of them. He pitched 5 innings and earned his first win of the season over Fort Hays State in their midweek matchup.

Lance Elsen has appeared in 12 games, recording 12 strikeouts.

Ian Lecki has 30 strikeouts in 25 innings of work. He is 3-1 on the season and earned his 2^nd save two weeks ago in game three vs ESU. He threw 1.1 innings of shutout baseball to secure the 2-1 win.
 
Justin Durnill has appeared in 10 games, pitching 9 innings and striking out 4 batters.

AROUND THE HORN
Carson Hawks has 16 hits, 5 being home runs in 21 starts at first base and DH this season.

Don't be fooled by his freshman status, second basemen Jack Kiser has started in 42 games this season and has a .306 batting average and a .473 OBP.

Shortstop Zack Stewart has 47 RBI's in 45 games. Stewart has been another feared hitter in the Jets lineup. Stewart, who is batting .282 this season, is 2^nd on the team in home runs with 15. He and Jenner were neck and neck in the home run race until Steele took off this past weekend at PSU.

Third baseman Jason Schneider is 60 for 173 (.339) in 42 starts. He has hit 5 home runs this season. His 5 triples this season leads the MIAA. Schneider is 3^rd on the team in average and has been a silent assassin for Newman this season, coming up huge with defensive plays when the Jets needed him most.

Joe Kinneberg has seen more playing time lately. He went on a tear two weeks ago when he put together a 12-23 showing at the plate from April 4^th-19^th, giving a what was a struggling Jets offense a much needed boost.
 
THE 300 CLUB
Jenner Steele, Jake Angelico, Jason Schneider, Shawn Marquis, Jack Kiser and Eli Wohl all are hitting above .300 heading into the final weekend of the MIAA regular season schedule.

EARNING MIAA RECOGNITION
Jake Angelico became the first MIAA Hitter of The Week award winner in Newman history. The senior earned MIAA Hitter of The Week in week 1 for his 6 hit, 10 RBI performance in the opening series at Southern Nazarene. MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK 

Garrett VanDeventer decided he wanted in on the awards too. The Senior threw a 3 hit complete game shutout over then No. 21 Rogers State, putting a stop to the Hillcats 8 game win streak and giving the Jets their best win of the season. He was voted MIAA Pitcher of The Week for the performance, the first in Newman Baseball history. MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK

VanDeventer earned MIAA week 8 Pitcher of The Week after his 8 inning, 3 hit and 1 run performance vs UCO in a 5-1 win. MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK (2)

Jenner Steele became the 3^rd member of the Jets to earn MIAA Player of The Week, earning Hitter of The Week for week 12. Jenner brought his average up to .417 after a 6-14 week that saw the senior from Branson, Missouri hit four home runs against Pittsburg State to finish the series with eight RBI's. Steele hit two home runs in game one, one home run in game two, and one home run in game three. The 2nd home run in game one was the deciding factor in the game, as it made it a 7-4 game from a 5-4 game, which the Jets would eventually win 7-6. MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK

UP NEXT
One win this weekend puts the Jets in postseason play for the 1^st time in almost 10 seasons. This section will remain TBD.


2023 MIAA Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Central Missouri [11] – 121 Points
2. Pittsburg State – 100 Points 
3. Northeastern State [1] – 97 Points
4. Central Oklahoma – 94 Points 
5. Washburn – 85 Points
6. Missouri Southern – 77 Points
7. Rogers State – 60 Points
8. Northwest Missouri – 45 Points
9. Emporia State – 43 Points
10. Newman – 33 Points
11. Missouri Western – 26 Points
12. Fort Hays State – 11 Points

2023 MIAA Baseball Standings
1. Central Missouri (33-13, 24-6)
2. Missouri Southern (36-11, 23-7)
3. Pittsburg State (30-15, 20-10)
4. Washburn (27-19, 19-11)
5. Central Oklahoma (29-16, 16-14)
6. Newman (21-26, 13-17)
7. Northeastern State (19-24, 13-17)
8. Rogers State (24-19, 12-18)
9. Emporia State (17-29, 11-19)
10. Fort Hays State (20-27, 10-20)
11. Missouri Western (14-30, 10-20)
12. Northwest Missouri (12-32, 9-21)
* Nebraska Kearney and Lincoln do not have baseball programs