PITTSBURG – The Pitt State softball team will open the 2016 season this weekend (Feb. 5-7) at the Southeastern Regional Invitational in Durant, Okla. The Gorillas will get off to a quick start with six games over the opening weekend.
The season opens on Friday at 12:30 p.m. against host school Southeastern Oklahoma. The teamm will face Southwestern Oklahoma at 3 p.m. Saturday sees the Gorillas face off against Arkansas Tech at 10 a.m. and Henderson State at 3 p.m. Sunday the Gorillas will wrap up the tournament with back-to-back games against Southeastern Oklahoma and Oklahoma Christian at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
This will be the first weekend of play for all the teams in the tournament.
The Gorillas return 11 starters from the 2015 season that saw them finish as the MIAA runner up in both the regular season and the conference tournament and earn a 36-19 record. The team returns seven position starters and three pitchers, including NFCA All-Region selections Nicole Nease and and Emmie Robertson and All-MIAA selections Kylie Guthier and Ashton Pratt. Four of those returning starters, Katy Remy, Nease, Guthier and Pratt, hit over .300. Seniors Alex Perez and Jordan Bradshaw were just under .300 hitter at .295 and .294, respectively. Nease led the team in home runs with 15, while Guthier was just behind with 12. Pratt added speed to the Gorillas' power with 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts. She is the team's lead returning run scorer with 39 last season, Remy was just behind her with 38.
In the circle, the Gorillas will again rely on sophomore Emmie Robertson. Robertson went 26-10 in her freshman campaign and set a school record for strikeouts in a season with 238. Zoe Price was a strong balance to Robertson last season until she encountered a season-ending injury. She is back for her senior season. She was 7-3 in 2015 and gave up only 18 walks in 74 innings of work. Lynsey Conner will continue to aid the pitching staff along with new addition Morgan Myers.
Perez will anchor the infield again at first base, and Pratt will head up the outfield in center. Their leadership has assisted the Gorillas in becoming a stronger defensive team in the off season.
In addition to strong returners at every position, the Gorillas added a talented crop of newcomers including Neosho County Community College transfer catcher Tiara Ewy and freshmen Andi Cumbie and Sierra Hall in the outfield, infielder Jenna Bolton and utility players Myka Hayward and Kristen Van Hoosen.
Unfortunately, there will be no live stats available for this weekend's games. However, daily recaps and box scores will be posted each evening on PittStateGorillas.com and fans can follow @PittStGorillas or @gorillasoftball on Twitter for updates.
