PITTSBURG - The 11th ranked Pittsburg State University softball team completed a weekend sweep against the Fort Hays State University Tigers (8-0, 4-1) on Saturday (Mar. 20) at the PSU Softball Complex.

In game one, an 8-0 six inning run rule victory for the Gorillas (36-2, 10-2 MIAA). Amaya Snyder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) started the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the fifth inning before a seven run sixth issued the run rule. Heather Arnett (Pittsburg, Kan.), Paxtyn Hayes (Greenwood, Ark.) and Gabby Schultz (Gardner, Kan.) tied for the team lead with two RBI each with Schultz and Arnett coming away with two hits. Ava Laurent picked up her 12th win of the season with a shutout six innings, striking out three with two hits given up and one walk issued.

Game two was a 4-1 win for Pitt State over Fort Hays State (16-16, 2-8 MIAA), highlighted by solo home runs for the Gorillas. Following a Tigers unearned run in the top half of the first inning, a Maddie Fernandez (San Antonio, Texas) RBI single through the right side scored Hannah Burnett (Independence, Kan.) to make it a 1-1 game after one. Fernandez, in her next at bat hit her ninth home run of the season giving Pitt State a 2-1 advantage in the third inning. Alleyna Rushing (Bentonville, Ark.) singled home Courtney Storey (Rogers, Ark.) in the fourth and Hayes hit her ninth home run of the season to provide the final scoreline of 4-1.

Fernandez, in game two went 3-of-3 with two RBI and one run scored to lead the team in hits and RBI. Kiana Pogroszewski picked up her 11th win of the season with six innings of work giving up one unearned run and struck out one. Chelsea Beville pitched the seventh for her second save of the season.

Next week for Pittsburg State, the Gorillas will host Missouri Southern State University in a conference doubleheader at the PSU Softball Complex on Saturday (Apr. 6) beginning approximately at 1:00 p.m. (CT).

Notes:
Heather Arnett's 54th runs scored this season moved her past Jerri Kious (1996) for fifth in single-season runs scored in program history. Arnett is now tied with Tera Swartslander's 2008 tally of 73 hits, the eighth best in single-season history at Pittsburg State. 

Paxtyn Hayes is tied with Jennifer Harris (1988) for 10th in program single-season history in RBI with 49. Hays moved past Tiffany Brown (2011-14) for second in career RBI with 175, and her 120 career runs scored ties her with Taylor Lambert (2021-23) for tenth in program history.