PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will travel to Topeka to close out the regular season schedule with a three-game MIAA series against Washburn University Friday (Apr. 29). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. (CST) at Falley Field.
 
The Gorillas and Ichabods also will play a 2 p.m. game Saturday (Apr. 30) and a 1 p.m. game Sunday (May 1).
           
The Gorillas will bring a 27-17 overall record and a 20-10 mark in MIAA play into the weekend series. The Gorillas are tied for second place in the MIAA standings with Northeastern State University after sweeping a three-game series against Newman University last week.
 
The Ichabods are 28-16 overall and 18-12 in MIAA play. Washburn is currently tied for fourth place in the conference standings with the University of Central Oklahoma (27-18, 18-12 MIAA). The Ichabods dropped two of three games in a series against Rogers State University last week to slide into fourth place.
 
For the season, the Gorillas are batting .320 as a team and scoring 9.1 runs per game. Pitt State ranks third in the MIAA in runs scored and batting average.
 
Pitt State's pitching staff carries an 6.33 ERA (8^th in the MIAA), while registering 318 strikeouts in 371.0 innings of work. The Gorillas fielders sport a .970 fielding percentage, the third-best defensive percentage in the MIAA to date.
 
The opposition is hitting .277 against the Gorillas thus far and scoring 7.0 runs per game. Opponent pitchers have an 8.67 ERA.
 
WU is hitting .303 as a team and scoring 8.1 runs per game. The Ichabods rank fifth in the MIAA in batting and sixth in the league in runs scored. WU pitchers carry a 5.10 ERA, third-best in the conference.
 
Senior infielder Garrett McGowan is hitting a team-leading .409 with 53 runs scored, 17 doubles, 16 home runs and 70 RBI. He leads the MIAA and NCAA Division II in RBI, ranks third in the conference in batting average and home runs and sixth in the league in runs scored.
 
Senior outfielder Jordan Maxson is batting .346 with 41 runs scored, 10 doubles, 14 home runs and 46 RBI. He ranks seventh in the MIAA in home runs.
 
Senior infielder Mason Hartman is hitting .373 with 44 runs scored, five triples and 19 RBI. He's also stolen a team-leading 121bases on the season. Hartman is tied for fourth place in the MIAA in stolen bases.
 
Senior righthander Peyton Ingalls (6-1, 5.51 ERA), freshman righthander Paul Panduor (1-4, 6.68 ERA) and senior lefthander Tanner Lane (3-5, 5.49 ERA) all started for the Gorillas in the Newman series last week.
 
Panduro was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week after tossing a complete-game no-hitter against the Jets. Panduro allowed just three walks and set a Pitt State single game record with 16 strikeouts in the contest.
 
Ingalls has a 17-4 (.810) record in 26 career starts for the Gorillas over the past three seasons (2020-22). His 17 career wins rank in a tie for second place in Pitt State history with Jason Clemensen (2002-03) and Cooper Gardner (2015-18), while Ingalls' winning percentage (.810) is currently third all-time.
 
Following the weekend series, the Gorillas will compete in the 2022 MIAA Championships. The top four seeds in the eight-team tournament will host first-round best two-of-three series May 6-8 with the four semifinalists advancing to Edmond, Okla., for a double-elimination bracket May 12-15.