Gorillas Return Home For Key Series With Bronchos

PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team will return to the friendly confines of Al Ortolani Field for a three-game series against the University of Central Oklahoma beginning Friday (Mar. 22). First pitch is set for 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday with additional weekend games scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday (Mar. 23) and Noon Sunday (Mar. 24). Pitt State is 18-8 overall and 9-4 in MIAA play heading into the weekend series. The Gorillas currently sit in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings with UCO (22-5, 9-4 MIAA) and Washburn University (15-10, 9-4 MIAA). The Gorillas dropped a 12-9 non-conference road decision to Oklahoma Baptist University Tuesday (Mar. 19) at Shawnee, Okla. The Bronchos enter the weekend series riding a seven-game winning streak. As a team, Pitt State is hitting .314 and scoring 8.5 runs per game. The Gorillas have smacked 67 doubles and 45 home runs and stolen 37 bases to date. Pitt State pitchers have a 4.47 ERA registering 186 strikeouts in 215.1 innings pitched. Defensively, the Gorillas have a .980 fielding percentage with just 18 errors in 890 total chances. Pitt State ranks second in the MIAA in ERA and fielding percentage; and the Gorillas rank third in the conference in batting average and fifth in the league in runs scored. Graduate infielder Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo has a team-leading .369 batting average with 31 hits in 84 at-bats on the season. Choy Foo, who ranks 14th in the MIAA in batting average, has 12 doubles, five home runs home runs and 25 RBI to his credit. Senior catcher Nixon Brannan is hitting .348 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 23 RBI on the season, while senior infielder Cade Clemons is batting .309 with 21 runs scored, eight home runs and 26 RBI. Junior outfielder Karson Coffee is batting .293 with 21 runs scored, seven home runs and 29 RBI. Clemons is tied for fifth place in the MIAA in home runs, while Brannan and Coffee are tied for seventh place in the category. Coffee also ranks 13th in the league in RBI. Junior right-hander Tanner Leslie (4-1, 5.23 ERA), graduate RHP Alex Kafka (2-1, 4.13 ERA) and junior RHP Brady Pacha (1-3, 4.62 ERA) are slated to start on the mound for the Gorillas in the series. Junior RHP Cole Askew (0-0, 4.38 ERA, 3 Saves) has made a team-leading 12 relief appearances for the Gorillas, while junior RHP Cadyn Castellanos (4-1, 3.54 ERA) has appeared in nine games. Junior RHP Boston Dowd (3-0, 1.10) also had made seven relief appearances with 15 strikeouts and a 0.61 WHIP in 16.1 innings of work (four hits, one walk).

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