PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will travel to Claremore, Okla., to play Rogers State University in a three-game MIAA series beginning Thursday (Apr. 6).

The Gorillas and Hillcats will face one another at 2 p.m. (CDT) Thursday, 2 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at the Diamond Sports Complex.

Pitt State will bring a 24-10 overall record and a 15-5 MIAA mark into the series. The Gorillas, who are in the midst of playing 11 of 12 games away from home, pulled out a 6-5 victory over Drury University Tuesday (Apr. 4) at Springfield, Mo.

RSU is 21-12 overall and 9-11 in MIAA play. The Hillcats took two of three games in an MIAAQ series against Emporia State University last weekend.

The Gorillas enter the weekend series batting .312 on the season and scoring 9.1 runs per game. Pitt State's pitching staff currently sports a 6.05 ERA and the squad has a .970 fielding percentage to date. The Gorillas opponents are hitting .265 and scoring 6.6 runs per game. The opposition has an 8.42 ERA and a .965 fielding percentage to date.

The Gorillas rank second in the MIAA in runs scored and fourth in the conference in batting average.

Junior catcher Nixon Brannon leads the squad with a .431 batting average. He has 14 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 RBI to his credit. Brannan, who was named the Division II National Hitter of the Week last week (Mar. 29) by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA), leads the MIAA in batting average and RBI and shares the league lead in home runs. He currently ranks second in D2 in RBI per game (1.83 pg).

Junior infielder Cade Clemons is hitting .345 with 30 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 33 RBI. Sophomore outfielder Karson Coffee also is batting .359 with an MIAA leading 15 doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI.

Graduate LHP Zac Shoemaker (7-0, 2.54 ERA), sophomore RHP Tanner Leslie (3-2, 4.38 ERA) and junior LHP Ben Des Rosiers (5-0, 4.60 ERA) are expected to make starts on the mound in the series.

Shoemaker is tied for second in Division II in victories and he's tied for eighth nationally in strikeouts (13.5 K/9 IP).