PITTSBURG - The Pittsburg State University softball team will partake in the Top Gun Invite in Shawnee, Kan., at the Mid American Sports Complex this weekend.

The Gorillas will begin the tournament with Southwest Baptist on Friday (Feb. 28) at 1:30 p.m. (CST) from Mid American Sports Complex Field 3, and end the day at 6:30 p.m. against Rockhurst at Field 1. Saturday (Mar. 1) Pitt State will square off with Minnesota State – Mankato at 1:30 p.m. at Field 4 before wrapping up the weekend with Augustana (S.D.) at 4:00 p.m. on Field 1.
 
Pittsburg State enters the weekend at 9-3 overall after picking up wins over Minnesota State – Mankato, Maryville University and Concordia – St. Paul at the Washburn Invitational (Feb. 23-24). As a team the Gorillas are hitting .341 with 9.3 hits and 4.9 runs scored a game, in the circle the pitching staff has a 1.99 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .176 opposing batting average and delivers 7.4 strikeouts per seven innings.
 
Heather Arnett leads the offense with a .537 average, 14 runs scored, 22 hits, four doubles and nine stolen bases. Alleyna Rushing is hitting .480 with an inside the park home run, Courtney Storey averages .452 with 19 hits, three doubles and a team leading 11 RBI. Kendall Forbes is second on the team with five stolen bases and is hitting .350 on the season. Kadyn Trochim rounds out the qualified hitters batting above .300 at .306, Trochim is second on the team with 10 RBI.
 
Aydenne Brown (2.28 ERA, 4-1) and Ava Laurent (2.41 ERA, 5-2) front line the pitching staff, Brown leads the team with a .141 opposing batting average while Laurent has 41 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. Both threw a no-hitter at the Washburn Invitational, for Laurent it was the second of her career and for Brown in was her second consecutive no-hitter.
 
Southwest Baptist is 6-6 on the season with a four-game winning streak coming into the weekend. The Bearcats are led by Angie Micone with a .536 average, nine runs scored and 15 hits. Kate McConvile is the other qualified hitter for SBU to bat above .300 at .333. In the circle, Shalie Wooden (4.32 ERA, 3-2) leads the team with 22.2 innings and 17 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .340 against her. Emma Kreisel (4.71 ERA, 2-3) has 16.1 innings and 11 strikeouts this season to rank second on the team in both categories.
 
Rockhurst enters the weekend at 1-5 overall, all six games have been played against MIAA teams. Claire Tipton leads the Hawks with a .412 average, McKenna Lester (.353) has a team-high five RBI and alongside Jayla Pierce (.333) has hit the only home runs of the season. Madeline McCall (5.16 ERA, 1-2) and Avery Huffman (6.53 ERA, 0-2) are the two starters, McCall has pitched 20.1 innings with 15 strikeouts to lead the team.
 
Minnesota State – Mankato is 5-3 entering the tournament and will play the Gorillas again after beginning the Washburn Invitational against each other last weekend. The Mavericks are winners of their last three games which includes a victory over No. 13 Central Oklahoma. Gianna Lara leads the team with a .409 average as the only qualified hitter to bat over .300, Lara has a team-high two home runs and eight RBI to her name. In the circle, Sailor Hall (2.07 ERA, 1-0) and Maddie Oetzmann (2.21 ERA, 2-1) are the starters with Hall possessing a team-high 20.1 innings of work and 16 strikeouts.
 
Augustana (S.D.) has been idle since Feb. 4 when they swept Arkansas Tech, currently the Vikings are 5-3 heading into the weekend. Desi Cuevas leads the team with a .500 average, 11 runs scored, 13 hits, five home runs and nine RBI. Ashton Dorman is hitting .440 with 11 hits, three doubles and six RBI. Lexi Lander averages .368 and Briana Lee rounds out the qualified hitters batting above .300 at .313. Grace Glanzer (1.64 ERA, 2-2) and Lander (3.00 ERA, 3-1) are the starters so far for the Vikings in the circle. Glanzer has a team-high 25.2 innings with 24 strikeouts as opponents are hitting .183 against her.