PITTSBURG, Kan. — The Pittsburg State softball team will travel to Southwest Baptist and Central Missouri this weekend for MIAA conference games against the Bearcats and Jennies.
Pitt State will face Southwest Baptist at 2 p.m. on Friday and Central Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Gorillas are 24-21 on the season and 8-4 in the MIAA, currently placing them third in the conference standings. The Gorillas hit .311 as a team with a .500 slugging percentage and a .379 on base percentage. Pitt State's pitching staff has a 3.38 ERA.
Senior Mannie DeCastro leads the team with a .453 batting average and a .923 slugging percentage. Of her 53 hits on the season, 28 have been for extra bases. She leads the team in RBI with 43, despite missing 12 games. Tiffany Brown has a .407 batting average and leads the team with 13 home runs on the season and shares the lead in doubles with DeCastro with 13. Brenna George leads the team with 57 hits, 41 runs, seven triples and 17 stolen bases. She is one of four regular players hitting in the .300 to .400 range.
Hilary Erbert has the most wins of the pitching staff with 11 wins. She has pitched 126.0 innings in 26 appearances with 22 starts. She has a 3.33 ERA. Jessica Barnes has the team's lowest ERA with a 2.08 and a 6-4 record. She has pitched 84.1 innings in 24 appearances.
Southwest Baptist is 13-25 on the season and 4-10 in MIAA play. The team is currently ninth in the conference standings. The Bearcats hit .235 as a team and has two players hitting over .300 on the season. Kasey Williamson leads the team with a .314 average, while Jessica Colliver hits .309. Williamson leads the team in hits and runs scored. The Bearcat pitching staff has a 5.07 ERA and allows opponents to hit .315. Colliver has by far pitched the most innings, hurling 132.1 innings in 23 appearances and has a 3.54 ERA.
The Jennies are 19-26 overall and 4-10 in league play, placing them seventh in the MIAA. Central Missouri hits .268 as a team and has two players hitting over .300 on the season. Braylyn Bivens leads the team with a .326 batting average and 44 hits. Ashlea Bengston hits .310 and shares the team lead in doubles with 10. Jakki Prater leads the team with 25 RBI. Jaydee Young leads the team in runs scored with 21, home runs with six and RBI with 15. The pitchers have a 4.76 ERA as a team. Four pitchers share the duties fairly equally with each having between 17 and 19 appearances.
