PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will travel to Edmond, Okla., to compete in the final round of the 2022 MIAA Baseball Championship presented by Mammoth Sports Construction, May 12-14.

The Gorillas, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, will meet second-seeded Northeastern State University at 4 p.m. (CDT) Thursday (May 12) at Wendell Simmons Field on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma. Top-seeded University of Central Missouri will face fifth-seeded Washburn University at Noon Thursday to open the day's action.

Single day tickets are $10 and may be purchased online exclusively on HomeTown Ticketing at themiaa.com/baseball. All-Tournament passes are $25.

All tournament games involving the Gorillas will be broadcast live in the Four States on the Gorilla Sports Netowrk on the radio dial at 100.7 FM, 107.9 FM and 1340 AM. Veteran broadcaster Eddie Lomshek will call the action. Fans can hear ESPN 100.7's live broadcasts anywhere in the world on the internet at: www.espn1007.com. The games also can be heard through the ESPN 100.7 app for phones or mobile devices.

With a victory against the RiverHawks Thursday, the Gorillas will advance in the winner's bracket for an 11 a.m. match-up Friday (May 13) against the winner of the UCM-WU match-up. With a loss, Pitt State will drop into the loser's bracket and face an elimination game against the loser of the Mules and Ichabods game at 3 p.m. Friday.

2022 MIAA Tournament Bracket

Thursday, May 12
Game 1 – No. 1 UCM (39-6) vs. No. 5 WU (31-18), Noon
Game 2 – No. 2 NSU (36-14) vs. No. 3 PSU (31-19), 4 p.m.

Friday, May 13
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 5 – Winner game 3 vs. Winner game 4, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 14
Game 6 – MIAA Championship, Noon
Game 7 – (If Necessary)

The Record
Pitt State enters the tournament action with a 31-19 overall record. The Gorillas advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Baseball Championship by taking two of three games from No. 6 seed Missouri Southern State University in a quarterfinal series played in Pittsburg, May 6-8. Pitt State dropped a 6-0 decision to the Lions on May 6, but the Gorillas bounced back with 8-4 and 17-13 wins the next two days to earn the series victory.

UCM (39-6), NSU (36-14) and WU (31-18) all swept quarterfinal series games to advance to Edmond for the semifinals. The Mules took a pair of games from No. 8 seed Emporia State University. The RiverHawks ousted No. 7 seed Rogers State University and the Ichabods upset No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma.

The Gorillas compiled a 3-6 record in regular season action against the three surviving squads. Pitt State posted a 1-2 record against NSU, a 2-1 mark against WU and an 0-3 record against UCM.

PSU in the MIAA Tournament
Pitt State is making its 13th all-time appearance in the MIAA Postseason Tournament. The Gorillas have compiled a 25-24 record in MIAA Tournament play, capturing the 1999 MIAA Baseball Championship with an unblemised 5-0 record.

Pitt State reached the 2021 MIAA Championship Game at Joplin, Mo., falling to UCM, 11-2, in the title game.

Scouting the Gorillas
For the season, the Gorillas are batting .326 as a team and scoring 9.2 runs per game. Pitt State ranks third in the MIAA in runs scored and batting average.

Pitt State's pitching staff carries an 6.36 ERA (8th in the MIAA), while registering 362 strikeouts in 422.0 innings of work. The Gorillas fielders sport a .972 fielding percentage, the third-best defensive percentage in the MIAA to date.

The opposition is hitting .279 against the Gorillas thus far and scoring 6.9 runs per game. Opponent pitchers have an 8.88 ERA.

Senior infielder Garrett McGowan is hitting a team-leading .408 with 60 runs scored, 20 doubles, 17 home runs and 77 RBI. He ranks fourth in NCAA Division II in RBI per game (1.54), while also ranking third in the conference in batting average, tied for fourth place in home runs and sixth in the league in runs scored.

The Blue Springs, Mo., native set the school single season RBI record last weekend in the Washburn series. He also needs one more home run own outright the school record of 17 HRs he currently shares with Justin Annin (2001). McGowan also ranks second all-time at Pitt State in career home runs (32) and fifth in career RBI (125).

He was voted a first-team All-MIAA selection at first base and named to the MIAA Gold Glove Team. McGowan has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 360 total chances.

Senior outfielder Jordan Maxson is batting .355 with 45 runs scored, 12 doubles, 17 home runs and 57 RBI. He ranks in a tie for fourth place in the MIAA in home runs (with McGowan), eighth in the league in RBI and 17th in the conference in batting average. The Wichita, Kan., native earned second-team All-MIAA honors. He set a Pitt State single game record with nine RBI in the Gorillas series clinching victory over Missouri Southern Sunday (May 8).

Senior infielder Mason Hartman is hitting .363 with 54 runs scored, five triples and 23 RBI. He's also stolen a team-leading 23 bases on the season. Hartman is tied for fourth place in the MIAA in stolen bases, ranks 12th in hitting and tied for 10th in runs scored. The Wichita, Kan., native earned second-team All-MIAA honors at second base.

Senior infielder Austin Bonnel enters the weekend action with a 10-game hitting streak. The Atchison, Kan., native is batting .329 on the year with seven doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI. The third baseman is hitting .472 (17-36) with 18 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI during his current 10-game streak.

Senior righthander Peyton Ingalls (7-2, 5.96 ERA), senior lefthander Tanner Lane (4-5, 5.91 ERA) and senior lefthander Conner Van Cleave (0-0, 7.99 ERA) all started for the Gorillas in the MSSU series last week.

Ingalls has an 18-5 (.783) record in 28 career starts for the Gorillas over the past three seasons (2020-22). His 18 career wins ranks second in Pitt State history, while Ingalls' winning percentage (.818) is currently tied with Derek Smith (9-2, .818, 2003-04) atop Pitt State's career chart. The Parker, Colo., native is currently tied for third place in the MIAA in winning percentage (.778) and victories (7). Ingalls earned third-team All-MIAA honors.

Lane (Webb City, Mo.) has an 11-10 career pitching record with 18 saves and a 4.20 ERA in 68 all-time appearances (15 starts). The Webb City, Mo., native earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors for the second time in his career this spring.

Senior righthander Jordan Mendenhall has made a team-leading 25 pitching appearances out of the PSU bullpen, posting a 4-1 record with five saves. The Clinton, Mo., native had registered 35 strikeouts in 31.1 innings of work.