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PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will begin a 10-game home stand with a four-game series with MIAA rival Northeastern State this weekend.

The Gorillas and RiverHawks will open the series with a single game at 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday (Mar. 14) at Al Ortolani Field. The two teams then will play a doubleheader Saturday (Mar. 15) at 1 p.m. and wrap up the series with a single game Sunday (Mar. 16) at 1 p.m.

Pitt State is currently 5-11 with a 4-8 record in MIAA play. The Gorillas have now lost five straight contests after falling 13-8 to Newman Tuesday (Mar. 11). Northeastern State has opened the season 8-10 with a 5-7 mark in conference games. NSU has won four of its last six games, but fell in a 12-11 decision to Rogers State Tuesday.

Senior outfielder Cody Ball leads Pitt State with a .405 batting average. The Shawnee, Kan., native currently ranks second on the team with three home runs and 12 RBIs. Senior utility infielder Brad Foss and junior catcher Nate Arnold are both batting .393. Foss has tallied a team-high five doubles on the season. Senior outfielder Kyle Dickens leads the team with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

Probable starters for this weekend for Pitt State are senior Tyler Thompson (1-3, 7.06 ERA), junior George Brandecker (0-3, 6.89 ERA), junior Nate Arnold (2-1, 6.14 ERA) and freshman Cort Lesmeister (1-1, 7.63 ERA).

As a team, the Gorillas are batting .284 and scoring 4.6 runs per game. Pitt State has a 8.02 team earned run average. The Gorillas sport a .943 fielding percentage.

NSU is batting .271 and scoring 5.4 runs per game. The RiverHawks have a 5.74 ERA and a .939 fielding percentage with 39 team defensive errors.