PITTSBURG - Paxtyn Hayes singled home Heather Arnett to walk-off the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders, 4-3 in the Central Region opener at the PSU Softball Complex on Thursday (May 9).

The Gorillas (52-6) scored three runs in the third inning, taking an early lead before the Muleriders tied it up in the sixth from an error. Pitt State began the seventh with an Arnett single chopped to the pitcher before a Hannah Burnett bunt single moved her to second. Hayes would finish off the inning with her hard hit single up the middle to score Arnett and progress the Gorillas to the Central Region semifinals against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) regular season and tournament champions, Augustana (S.D.).

Leading the charge on offense were the 1-2-3 hitters for Pitt State: Arnett, Burnett and Hayes as each collected two hits. Ava Laurent started in the circle and finished with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings, Hannah Martin picked up her seventh win of the season in relief after 2.1 innings of work.

Tomorrow, the Gorillas will play Augustana (S.D.) at 11:00 a.m. (CDT) with the winner advancing to the championship game on Saturday (11:00 A.M.).

Notes:
Heather Arnett broke the MIAA season hits record previously held by Abi Corbett (MSSU, 2017) with 98 hits after tonight.