PITTSBURG – The Gorilla softball team will take its 5-0 record on the road again, this time staying a bit closer to home for the 8-State Classic hosted by Arkansas-Monticello in Bentonville, Ark.

The tournament features 31 teams playing a total of 92 games over three days, February 12-14. The games will be played on six fields at Bentonville Memorial Park and Bentonville High School. The Gorillas will play two games each day. Each of Pitt State's games will be at Memorial Park.

The Gorillas open the tournament at 9 a.m. on Friday against Upper Iowa on Field 1. Game two also takes place on Field 1 at 1 p.m. against Drury. Saturday The Gorillas have a bit later start on Saturday, taking on Southern Nazarene at 11 a.m. on Field 8. The Gorillas will face Henderson State for the second weekend in a row at 1 p.m. on Saturday on Field 6. On Sunday, the Gorillas do not begin until 1 p.m. against Harding on Field 5. The team will wrap tournament play at 3 p.m. against Arkansas Tech on Field 6. Live stats will only be available for the Southern Nazarene game on Saturday.

The Gorillas went 5-0 in their opening weekend of play. They hit .246 as a team with a .408 slugging percentage and a .353 on base percentage. Five different players hit home runs on the weekend. The Pitt State pitching staff put up a 1.00 ERA, while holding opponents to a .190 batting average. The hurlers struck out 40 batters in 35.0 innings  of work, while only walking seven.

Alex Perez leads the Pitt State offense with a .500 batting average and eight RBI. Catie Cummins and Katy Remy also hit above .300 in the first five games, Cummins at .429 and Remy at .333. Each of the Gorillas top three hitters hit two doubles in the first weekend of play. Perez also added a grand slam. Ashton Pratt leads the team in runs scored with seve. She also stole a team-leading five bases. Pratt and Kylie Guthier also lead the team in walks with five.

Emmie Robertson was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.00 ERA and a .176 opponent batting average. She fanned 31 batters in 21 innings, while walking five. of the 13 hits she gave up, none were for extra bases. Morgan Myers also had an excellent opening weekend, as she also posted a 1.00 ERA. She was 2-0 in her first weekend as a Gorilla. She pitched 14.0 innings and struck out nine batters and gave up only two walks.

While this will be the first weekend of play for Upper Iowa, the rest of the teams have been in action and have played many of the MIAA schools. Playing many common opponents will give the Pitt State coaching staff a chance to evaluate how they stack up against the rest of the MIAA. Drury is 1-1 after a home opening doubleheaders against Christian Brothers on Sunday. The Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm went 2-2 in the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala. last weekend. The team earned wins over Union and Rockhurst, but lost to Midwestern State and Missouri-St. Louis. Henderson State went 4-2 last weekend at the Southeast Regional Invitational. The team's two losses were to the Gorillas and Central Oklahoma, while it earned wins over Emporia State (two), Central Missouri and Missouri Southern. Harding is 3-3 so far on the year. The Bison opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of Christian Brothers, then went 1-3 in the Ronnie Hawkins Memorial Classic in Arkadelphia, Ark. The team lost two games to Missouri Western and one to Northeastern State, while earning a win over Mississippi College. The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns are 4-1. Their only loss was a 2-0 loss to Missouri Southern last weekend, while they earned wins Central Missouri (two), Central Oklahoma and Emporia State.