PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Pittsburg State softball team will finalize its regular season schedule this weekend on the road at Southwest Baptist on Friday (April 25) and Central Missouri on Saturday (April 26). 

The Gorillas currently sit in 10th place in the MIAA and need to win this weekend, as well as have some teams above them lose nin order to extend the season with the MIAA Tournament. The top eight teams in the conference will play in the MIAA Tournament March 1-4 at the Blue Valley Sports Complex in Overland Park, Kan. Pitt State has a 9-13 record in league play. Just above the Gorillas in ninth is Lindenwood with a 10-12 record. The eight place team is currently Northeastern State with an 11-11 record. Each of theseteams also has four games left to play this weekend. Lindenwood will face Emporia State and Washburn, while Northeastern State has Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.

The Gorillas are 27-23 overall and have won each of their last five games and eight of the last 10. The Gorillas hit .330 as a team, the second best average in the MIAA. The Gorillas lead the MIAA in home runs with 74 on the season and need just two more for a new MIAA record. The Gorillas lead  the MIAA in slugging percentage (.548), on base percentage (.406), runs (327), hits (462), walks (167) and RBI (295). 

Pitt State also boasts having the MIAA's top two hitters on the team. McKenzie Rynard leads the team and the league with a .434 batting average, while TIffany Brown is second with a .428 batting average. Cheslyn Mitchell is just outside the league's top 10 hitterswith a .375 average. Brown also leads the MIAA in slugging percentage (.956), on base percentage (.521), runs (58), hits (68), RBI (71), walks (31) and home runs (26). Rynard is second for slugging percentage (.846) and third for on base percentage (.500), home runs (16) and RBI (54). She also ranks among the top 10 for runs scored and hits. Mitchell is third in the league in doubles (13) and ranks among the top 10 for hits and runs scored. Brenna George is hitting .361 on the season and is second in the league for runs scored with 55. 

Southwest Baptist is 15-27 on the season and 7-15 in MIAA play. The Bearcats have won two of their last five games and five of the last 10. Most recently the team split a doubleheader with Emporia State. The Bearcats hit .238 as a team, while allowing opponents a .276 average. The pitchers have a 5.35 ERA. Caitlyn Cooner leads the team with a .331 batting average, while Addie Murders also hits right at .300. Kyra Parker and Kacey Ayers pitche the majority of the innings for the Bearcats.

Central Missouri is 25-19 on the season and 12-10 in MIAA play. The team has lost three of its last five games and five of the last 10. Most recently the team lost both games of a doubleheader to No. 6 Emporia State. The Jennies hit .322 as a team and are led by Lindsey Dawson with a .373 average. Jakki Prather and Alex Groeger are just below her with .369 averages. Braylyn Bivens and Lauren Mabe each also hit over .300. Prather is the MIAA's second-leading home run hitter with 20 on the seaosn. 

Prather is also the Jennies top pitcher with a 3.94 ERA and a 14-10 record. Katie Shockley has also throw more than 100 innings and has a 4.07 ERA and a 10-3 record. The UCM pitching staff has a 4.49 ERA and allows opponents a .283 average.