PITTSBURG — Senior outfielder Jordan Maxson belted a pair of solo home runs – the go-ahead shot in the sixth inning and an all-important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth – as the Pittsburg State University baseball team held on for a 3-2 victory over the University of Central Oklahoma Saturday (Apr. 2).
 
The win allowed the Gorillas improve to 20-10 overall on the season and 15-4 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play. More importantly, the day marked a milestone achievement as Pitt State head coach Bob Fornelli earned his 1,000^th all-time coaching victory in front of family and the Gorillas faithful at Al Ortolani Field.
 
"He's one of those guys who gets everything out of you," Maxson said. "I love him to death, one of the best coaches I ever played for."
 
Jordan Mendenhall registered the final three outs to lock down his fourth save of the season behind starter Peyton Ingalls (4-1), but not without a few tense moments for Fornelli and the Gorillas.
 
With Pitt State holding a 3-1 lead, UCO's Garrett Takamatsu belted a one-out solo home run to right field to draw the Bronchos within a run, at 3-2. Mendenhall got Wyatt Gray to fly out to center field, but Kaleb Glass singled up the middle and stole second base before Mendenhall fanned Seth Gray to seal the win.
 
Ingalls (4-1) scattered seven hits over 6.2 innings of work for the Gorillas, allowing one run and three walks while registering five strikeouts. Zach Nagel worked 1.1 scoreless innings to set up Mendenhall in the ninth.
 
Maxson collected three of Pitt State's seven hits in the contest.
 
The Gorillas jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Kaden Fowler walked, sprinted to third base on Caleb Carr's bunt single and scored on third baseman's Austin Lambert's throwing error as Lambert attempted to throw out Carr at third with pitcher Tucker Elliott covering the bag.
 
Fornelli becomes just the sixth active NCAA Division II baseball coach to reach the 1,000-win milestone – the fastest among that group by reaching the feat in just his 26^th season and averaging 38.5 wins per year at Fort Hays State University (1997-2003), Emporia State University (2004-2018) and Pitt State (2019-present).
 
"It's not something I think about to be honest with you," Fornelli said of the personal accomplishment. "I want kids when they get done to love the program, to have played hard and to have met the best friends of their lives. I think we've done that for the most part.
 
"You're trying to get this team accomplished and do some good things. We're fortunate enough that we started out OK. We've lost some games that we shouldn't have, but we found a way to win some games. But, the most important game is going to be tomorrow."
 
The Gorillas and the Bronchos (18-13, 11-7 MIAA) will wrap up their three-game MIAA series with a Noon (CST) contest Sunday.
 
Bob Fornelli Milestone Wins
 100  FHSU vs. Northern Colorado      3-0     March 6, 1999
 200  FHSU vs. Okla. Panhandle State  13-4    March 28, 2001
 300  FHSU at Mesa State              10-7    May 3, 2003
 400  ESU vs. Bemidji State*          8-2     March 18, 2006
 500  ESU vs. Pittsburg State         8-5     April 1, 2008
 600  ESU vs. Sterling                24-4    April 13, 2010
 700  ESU at Truman                   6-4     April 7, 2013
 800  ESU vs. Newman                  3-1     March 1, 2016
 900  ESU at Lindenwood               14-7    May 6, 2018
1000  PSU vs. Central Oklahoma        3-2     April 2, 2022
 
*in Warrensburg, Mo.