PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team is set to host Missouri Southern State University in a three-game MIAA series beginning Friday (Mar. 15).

The Gorillas and Lions will meet at 3 p.m. (CDT) Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday (Mar. 16) and Noon Sunday (Mar. 17) at Al Ortolani Field.

Pitt State is 17-5 overall and 8-2 in MIAA play heading into the weekend series. The Gorillas have won seven straight games, including a 12-10 road win over Emporia State University Tuesday (Mar. 12). MSSU is 21-4 overall, 9-1 in MIAA play and ranked No. 9 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Lions also are riding a seven-game winning streak heading into Friday's action.

As a team, Pitt State is hitting .329 and scoring 9.3 runs per game. The Gorillas have smacked 57 doubles and 41 home runs and stolen 37 bases to date. Pitt State pitchers have a 4.34 ERA registering 160 strikeouts in 180.1 innings pitched. Defensively, the Gorillas have a .979 fielding percentage with just 16 errors in 756 total chances.
 
Graduate infielder Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo has a team-leading .386 batting average with 27 hits in 70 at-bats on the young season. Choy Foo, who ranks 10th in the MIAA in batting average, has nine doubles, four home runs home runs and 21 RBI to his credit.

Senior catcher Nixon Brannan is hitting .384 with eight home runs, seven home runs and 22 RBI on the season, while senior infielder Cade Clemons is batting .329 with 21 runs scored, seven home runs and 23 RBI. Junior outfielder Karson Coffee is batting .296 with 21 runs scored, seven home runs and 29 RBI. Brannan, Clemons and Coffee are tied for fifth place in the MIAA in home runs, while Coffee also ranks seventh in the league in RBI.

Junior right-hander Tanner Leslie (4-0, 4.66 ERA), graduate RHP Alex Kafka (2-1, 3.58 ERA) and junior RHP Brady Pacha (1-2, 4.70 ERA) are slated to start on the mound for the Gorillas in the series.

Junior RHP Cole Askew (0-0, 2.61 ERA, 2 Saves) has made a team-leading 10 relief appearances for the Gorillas, while junior RHP Cadyn Castellanos (3-1, 4.15 ERA) has appeared in eight games. Junior RHP Boston Dowd (3-0, 0.00) also had made six relief appearances with 13 strikeouts and a 0.36 WHIP in 14.0 innings of work (four hits, one walk).