PITTSBURG – The fourth ranked Pittsburg State University softball team is set to begin the 2024 MIAA Softball Championships in Edmond, Okla. on Thursday (May 2) from Gerry Pinkston Stadium against Fort Hays State University at 6:30 p.m. (CDT).
 
Pittsburg State enters the tournament with a 49-5 overall record and finished the MIAA slate with a 23-3 record against conference opponents to claim the second regular season Co-Championship in team history (1994). Ranked fourth in the most recent NFCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll the Gorillas are the second seed in the tournament for the first time since 2017.
 
Offensively, Pitt State is hitting .355 as a team and scoring 6.9 runs a game. In the circle, the Gorillas sport a 2.29 ERA as a staff while holding opponents to a .248 batting average and striking out 7.44 batters per 7 innings.
 
The MIAA Co-Player of the Year, Heather Arnett (Pittsburg, Kan.) is hitting .452 on the season with 65 runs scored, 90 hits, seven triples, two home runs, 29 RBI and 49 stolen bases. She leads NCAA Division II in stolen bases, ranks second nationally in hits, tied for fourth in run scored, eighth in triples and 23^rd in batting average.
 
1^st-team All-MIAA second basemen, Hannah Burnett (Independence, Kan.) is hitting .432 with 64 runs scored, 73 hits, five triples, five home runs, 43 RBI and 30 stolen bases in her first season with the Gorillas, after transferring from NCAA Division I Grand Canyon University. She ranks 11^th nationally in stolen base percentage (.968, 30-31), 17^th in runs per game (1.19) and 25^th in hits.
 
1^st-team All-MIAA first basemen Maddie Fernandez (San Antonio, Texas) is hitting .375 with 29 runs scored, 51 hits, seven doubles, 11 home runs and 50 RBI in her first season in the Pitt State program, after transferring from Angelo State University. She ranks fourth in the MIAA in home runs and fifth in the conference in RBI.
 
1^st-team All-MIAA Designated Player Paxtyn Hayes (Greenwood, Ark.) is hitting .361 with 27 runs scored, 61 hits, 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 62 RBI. She leads the MIAA and ranks 14^th in Division II in RBI. Hayes becomes a three-time first-team All-MIAA selection with this honor, joining Swartslander, DeCastro, Robertson and Holder as the only Gorillas to so in team history. She has a .354 career batting average with 40 home runs and a school record 189 RBI.
 
Alleyna Rushing (Bentonville, Ark.) (.345), Courtney Storey (.338), Kadyn Trochim (Waco, Texas) (.323) and All-MIAA Honorable Mention shortstop Gabby Schultz (.313) round out the qualified batters hitting above .300 this season.
 
In the circle the MIAA Freshman of the Year and 1^st-team All-MIAA Pitcher, Ava Laurent (Grand Island, Neb.) has posted an 18-1 record in the circle with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 149.1 innings pitched. She has posted seven shutouts, registered 192 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .197 batting average. Laurent ranks in the top 25 nationally in strikeouts per 7 Innings (17^th, 9.0), shutouts (18^th) and strikeouts (22^nd).
 
Kiana Pogroszewski (Ephraim, Utah) is 17-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.38 WHIP from 125.0 innings, striking out 90 and issuing out only 17 walks. Chelsea Beville (Seneca, Mo.) is 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA and 1.23 WHIP from 40.2 innings, recording five saves, 53 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .208 batting average. Hannah Martin (Moore, Okla.) is 6-0 with a 2.47 ERA and 1.34 WHIP from 28.1 innings, striking out 30 while opponents hit .298 against her.
 
Tenth Seeded Fort Hays State University is 27-24 overall, 10-16 MIAA heading into Thursday. The Tigers as a team are hitting .278 with 3.3 runs a game while owning a 2.91 ERA and striking out 5.96 batters per seven innings.
 
Loren Beggs and Peyton Shepard were named onto the All-MIAA Honorable Mention this season. At the conclusion of the regular season Shepard was hitting .375 with 29 runs scored, 63 hits and 19 stolen bases. Beggs was hitting .315 with 22 runs scored, 47 hits, eight doubles, three home runs and 26 RBI. Regan Curry, was hitting .168 with 13 runs scored, 20 hits, three doubles, 67 putouts and 91 assists for a .963 fielding percentage to be award the gold glove at shortstop. Savanah Egger entered the tournament, 14-11 with a 2.39 ERA and 1.17 WHIP from 155.1 innings striking out 134 and holding opponents to a .229 average.

The winner of this game against the Gorillas and Tigers will play next on Friday (May 3) at 2:30 p.m., in the semifinals against either No. 3 seed and hosts the University of Central Oklahoma or No. 6 seed Emporia State.