PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will host MIAA rival Emporia State University Tuesday (Mar. 29). First pitch is set for 5 p.m. (CST) at Al Ortolani Field.
 
Pitt State will bring an 18-9 overall record and a 13-3 mark in MIAA play into Tuesday's action. The Gorillas are currently alone in second place in the conference standings.
 
Emporia State is 11-18 overall and 5-11 in MIAA play. The Hornets, who dropped two of three games in a weekend series against Missouri Southern State University, are currently ninth in the MIAA standings.
 
The Gorillas are batting .337 as a team and scoring 9.9 runs per game. Pitt State leads the MIAA in runs scored and ranks second in batting average.
 
Pitt State's pitching staff carries an 6.91 ERA (9^th in the MIAA), while registering 208 strikeouts in 226.7 innings of work. The Gorillas fielders sport a .971 fielding percentage, the second-best percentage in the MIAA to date.
 
The opposition is hitting .283 against the Gorillas thus far and scoring 7.7 runs per game. Opponent pitchers have a 9.68 ERA.
 
ESU is hitting .257 as a team to date and scoring 4.9 runs per game. The Hornets rank ninth in the MIAA in hitting and runs scored. ESU pitchers carry a 5.86 ERA to date (5^th in the MIAA).
 
Senior infielder Garrett McGowan enters Tuesday's action with a season-best nine-game hitting streak. McGowan is batting .443 with 38 runs scored, 13 home runs and 49 RBIs, all team highs. He leads the MIAA in home runs and RBI and ranks second in the league in batting average.
 
Following Tuesday's action, the Gorillas will host the University of Central Oklahoma in a three-game MIAA series starting Friday, Apr. 1.