PITTSBURG ­— The Pittsburg State University softball team will make its long-awaited home debut this weekend when the Gorillas host the Pitt State Classic Saturday and Sunday (Mar. 6-7).
 
The Gorillas will welcome the University of Minnesota Duluth, Northwest Missouri State University and Rockhurst University to the PSU Softball Complex. The teams will play four games each day with competition starting at 10 a.m. (CST).
 
Pitt State will face UMD at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and RU at 3 p.m. that day. The Gorillas will face the same two foes again Sunday at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
 
The weekend action will mark the first home games for Pitt State since the end of the 2019 season. The Gorillas opened the 2020 campaign with 28 games on the road, before the season was prematurely halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Pitt State is 3-5 on the young season. The Gorillas posted a 2-2 record at the Washburn University Invitational last weekend at Topeka.
 
As a team, Pitt State is batting .229 and scoring 4.0 runs per game. Sophomore outfielder Kylee Bohle leads the squad with a .400 batting average. She has scored seven runs, hit two doubles and three RBIs. Senior infielder Kaity Kukowski also is hitting .389 with one double and RBIs.
 
The Gorillas pitching staff has a 4.12 ERA and has registered 35 strikeouts in 51.0 innings of work. Junior Taylor Compton leads the staff with a 2-2 record and a 3.85 ERA. She has 18 strikeouts in 20.0 innings in the circle.