PITTSBURG -- Karson Coffee smacked a grandslam home run as part of a six-run fifth inning to help spark the Pittsburg State University baseball team to a 6-5 win in its MIAA series opener against the University of Central Missouri Friday (Apr. 14) at Al Ortolani Field.

Zac Shoemaker (8-0) overcame a pair of wind blown solo homers in the first two frames to pitch 6.0 effective innings, limiting the potent Mules offense to three hits while registering 10 strikeouts among his 18 outs.

The Gorillas (28-11, 19-6 MIAA), who pulled into a three-way tie atop the MIAA standings with UCM (28-11, 19-6 MIAA) and Missouri Southern, rallied from the early 2-0 deficit by breaking through with six runs in the fifth thanks to a pair of walks, two hit batters and two hits, including Coffee's round tripper, against UCM starter Conner Wolf (7-3).

Relievers Maverick Hanna, Dawson Pomeroy and Parker Weddle combined to record the final nine outs to preserve the win. UCM scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but Weddle got the final four outs to log his fourth save of the season.

The Gorillas and Mules will resume the series with a 3 p.m. game Saturday.