PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University baseball team will travel to Tahlequah, Okla., to face Northeastern State University in a three-game MIAA series beginning Thursday (Apr. 9). The Gorillas and RiverHawks will meet at 6 p.m. (CDT) Thursday at Rousey Field with a 3 p.m. contest Friday and an 1 p.m. game Saturday to follow.

Pittsburg State is 28-8 overall and 17-8 in MIAA play. The Gorillas are ranked No. 9 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released today; and Pitt State is ranked No. 7 nationally in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Top 30 poll released Tuesday (Apr. 7).
 
The Gorillas dropped a 14-12 midweek decision to Missouri Southern State University Tuesday (Apr. 7) at Joplin, Mo. Pitt State also took two of three games against MIAA rival Fort Hays State University last weekend. The Gorillas posted 12-2 and 21-7 wins before the Tigers took the final game, 11-7, Saturday (Apr. 4).
 
Northeastern State is 13-24 on the season and 8-14 in MIAA play. The RiverHawks have won their last two games, including a 3-0 road decision over the University of Central Oklahoma Tuesday.
 
The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average (.360), scoring (11.8 rpg), runs (425), hits (451), RBI (396), slugging percentage (.578) and on-base percentage (.480). Pitt State leads NCAA Division II in on-base percentage, ranks second nationally in scoring, third in runs, fourth in the country in batting average, sixth in D2 in slugging percentage and ninth overall in hits.
 
Senior outfielder Dagen Brewer leads the MIAA with a .453 batting average. He has collected 58 hits, 16 doubles and 19 home runs, scored 57 runs and compiled 74 RBI. Brewer leads D2 in home runs, RBI (2.06 pg) and slugging (1.039), fifth in runs, seventh in batting average and ninth in doubles.
 
The Topeka native was named MIAA Hitter of the Week Monday and NCAA-II Central Region Hitter of the Week today, after hitting .700 (7-10) with a double, five home runs and 13 RBI in three games last week. Brewer tied MIAA records with four HRs and 10 RBI in the Gorillas' 21-7 win over FHSU Friday (Apr. 3). Additionally, he was named the Division II Hitter of the Week on Mar. 5 after hitting .857 (12-14) with three doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI in four games. Brewer set an MIAA record for consecutive games hitting streak at 37 games earlier this season.
 
Junior outfielder Eric Bacon is hitting .414 with 58 runs scored, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 53 RBI. He leads the MIAA and ranks third in D2 in runs scored. Bacon also leads the MIAA in hits (63) and ranks fifth in the conference in batting average.
 
Junior infielder Jadyn McNealy (.336, 51 runs, 37 SB) leads D2 in stolen bases. Senior outfielder Isaac Webb is slashing .374/.455/.679 on the season. He has 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 49 RBI to date. Webb became just the second Pitt State player in program history to hit for the cycle last Friday (Apr. 3). Senior catcher Grant Nottlemann also is batting .381 with 35 runs scored, six doubles, five home runs and 37 RBI. Nottlemann ranks 16^th in the MIAA in batting average.
 
On the mound, graduate righthander Zach Voss is 7-2 on the season. Voss has a 3.80 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched. Redshirt sophomore RHP Elijah Seitz is 4-1 with a 4.71 ERA in 10 appearances (five starts) on the season, while senior righthander Preston Giltner is 4-2 with a 6.44 ERA through his first 10 starts.
 
Junior righthander Bradyn McClure has a 3-0 record with a 3.93 ERA and four saves in 34.1 innings of relief work over nine appearances, while redshirt junior RHP Cason Long is 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work. Senior RHP Cooper Crouch (0-2, 4.85) has four saves on the season, while junior RHP Ethan Froud is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and one save in 10 appearances and redshirt junior Bradley Neill is 1-0 with a 4.67 ERA in 13 appearances. Redshirt junior LHP Ty Blecha is 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 36.1 innings of work over 10 appearances, including six 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.