PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University baseball team will play host to Rogers State University Friday (Apr. 24) for the start of a three-game series that will help decide the MIAA regular season title.
 
The Gorillas and Hillcats will meet at 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday at Al Ortolani Field. Saturday's 2 p.m. match-up will feature Senior Day activities in pregame, while the squads will wrap up the series with a 1 p.m. game Sunday (Apr. 26).
 
Pittsburg State enters the pivotal series at 34-8 overall, 21-8 in MIAA play and alone in third place in the MIAA standings. The Gorillas are ranked No. 9 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released Wednesday (Apr. 22); and Pitt State is ranked No. 7 nationally in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Top 30 poll released Tuesday (Apr. 21).
 
The Gorillas, winners of six straight games, are fresh off a 10-3 home victory over Missouri Southern State University Tuesday (Apr. 21).
 
Rogers State is 37-7 overall (25-5 MIAA) and alone atop the conference standings. The Hillcats, ranked No. 7 nationally by the baseball writer's and No. 6 by the coaches, have won six of their last seven games, most recently posting an 8-3 MIAA midweek win over the University of Arkansas Fort Smith Wednesday (Apr. 22).
 
The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average (.356), scoring (11.7 rpg), runs (492), hits (521), RBI (459), slugging percentage (.581) and on-base percentage (.476). Pitt State leads NCAA Division II in on-base percentage, ranks second nationally in scoring, third in runs, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in batting average and 11th in D2 in hits.
 
The Hillcats lead the MIAA in pitching with a 4.27 team ERA. RSU ranks second in the league in batting (.338), scoring (9.7 rpg), runs (425), hits (500) and on-base percentage (.453).
 
Senior outfielder Dagen Brewer leads the MIAA in all three triple crown categories, batting .459 with 21 home runs and 87 RBI. He also leads the conference in doubles (18), slugging percentage (1.027) and bases on balls (46). He also ranks second in the league in hits (67) and runs (65).
 
Brewer has collected 66 hits, 18 doubles and 20 home runs, scored 62 runs and compiled a school record 86 RBI. He leads D2 in RBI (2.07 pg) and slugging, and he ranks second nationally in home runs.
 
The Topeka native has twice been named NCAA Division II National Hitter of the Week this season. Brewer tied MIAA records with four HRs and 10 RBI in the Gorillas' 21-7 win over FHSU on Apr. 3. He set an MIAA record for consecutive games hitting streak at 37 games earlier this season.
 
Junior outfielder Eric Bacon is hitting .409 with 65 runs scored, 12 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 60 RBI. He ranks second in the MIAA and sixth in D2 in runs scored. Bacon also ranks second in the MIAA in hits (74) and ranks third in the conference in batting average.
 
Junior infielder Jadyn McNealy (.326, 51 runs, 38 SB) ranks fourth in D2 in stolen bases despite missing seven games due to injury. Senior outfielder Isaac Webb is slashing .367/.443/.709 on the season. He has 14 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 66 RBI to date. Webb became just the second Pitt State player in program history to hit for the cycle on Apr. 3. Senior catcher Grant Nottlemann also is batting .375 with 41 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs and 41 RBI. Nottlemann ranks 14^th in the MIAA in batting average.
 
On the mound, graduate righthander Zach Voss is 8-2 on the season. Voss has a 3.51 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. Redshirt sophomore RHP Elijah Seitz is 4-1 with a 5.32 ERA in 13 appearances (six starts) on the season, while senior righthander Preston Giltner is 5-2 with a 5.53 ERA in 13 appearances.
 
Junior righthander Bradyn McClure has a 4-0 record with a 3.19 ERA and four saves in 42.1 innings over 11 appearances (two starts), while redshirt junior RHP Cason Long is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 26.2 innings of work. Senior RHP Cooper Crouch (0-2, 4.20) has four saves on the season, while junior RHP Ethan Froud is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA and one save in 11 appearances and redshirt junior Bradley Neill is 1-0 with a 585 ERA in 15 appearances. Redshirt junior LHP Ty Blecha is 3-1 with a 3.79 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 40.1 innings of work over 11 appearances, including seven starts. Blecha was named the D2 Central Region Pitcher of the Year on Mar. 25 after rolling a three-hit shutout in the Gorillas series clinching shutout win vs. UCO on Mar. 22.