PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team is set to host Washburn University in a first round series of the 2021 MIAA Baseball Championship presented by Mammoth Sports Construction May 14-16.
 
The Gorillas and Ichabods will meet in the best two of three games series at 6 p.m. (CDT) Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday at Al Ortolani Field. A third game, if necessary, would start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
Single day walk-up tickets for the quarterfinal round series are $5. Gates open and tickets are available for purchase one hour prior to first pitch each day.
 
Pitt State, the tournament's No. 4 seed, wrapped up the regular season with a 26-13 overall record and a 21-12 mark in MIAA play. Fifth-seeded Washburn enters the series 19-20 overall and 18-15 in the MIAA.
 
This will be the 12^th all-time MIAA Tournament appearance for the Gorillas since 1991. Pitt State has compiled a 19-20 record in MIAA Tournament play, capturing the 1999 MIAA Baseball Championship. The Gorillas and Ichabods have met twice previously in MIAA Tournament action. The two squads are 1-1 in those contests.
 
Pitt State enters the postseason action batting .286 as a team and scoring 7.4 runs per game. The Gorillas pitchers sport a 5.25 ERA and defensively Pitt State has a .975 fielding percentage. The Gorillas rank second in the MIAA in fielding, fourth in the conference in run scored, and fifth in the league in batting average and ERA.
 
Washburn is hitting .302 (4^th, MIAA) as a team, scoring 6.8 runs per game (6^th, MIAA), fielding .959 (8^th, MIAA) and carrying a 6.37 ERA (7^th, MIAA).
 
Sophomore outfielder Aaron Gerdes (Omaha, Neb.) is hitting a team-leading .358 on the season for the Gorillas. Freshman outfielder Ryan Koval (Olathe, Kan.) is batting .348 with a team-best 10 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 32 RBIs. Junior first baseman Garrett McGowan (Blue Springs, Mo.) has a team-high 39 runs scored, 11 home runs and 39 RBIs to his credit.
 
Junior righthander David Henderson (Lenexa, Kan.), junior rightander Peyton Ingalls (Parker, Colo.) and junior righthander Zach Curry (Ottawa, Kan.) all figure in the mix for starts on the mound.
 
Henderson is 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 12 starts on the season, while Ingalls is 6-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 14 appearances (10 starts). Curry has started nine games and compiled a 3-3 record and 7.02 ERA.
 
The series winner will advance to the MIAA Baseball Championship semifinal round at Joplin, Mo., May 20-22.
 
Other quarterfinal series match-ups has MIAA regular season champion Central Missouri (34-6, 30-3) hosting No. 8 seed Emporia State (17-23, 13-20), No. 2 seed Northeastern State (26-14, 20-13) hosting No. 7 seed Rogers State (18-20, 14-19) and No. 3 seed Missouri Southern (29-11, 22-11) hosting No. 6 seed Central Oklahoma (22-18, 16-14).