Gorillas sweep Bearcats

Tyler Smith | Collegio Reporter PSU continued its dominance over MIAA rival Northwest Missouri with a four-game sweep April 21-22. The Gorillas won by scores of 11-5, 10-1, 5-4 and 7-5 respectively. “This sweep over the Bearcats was huge for us,” said sophomore Evan Thomas. “Taking four games from them was just what we need to have a chance to get into the tournament.” Pitt State improves its record to 18-23 overall and 14-18 in the MIAA. Jack Stevenson allowed two earned runs in five-plus innings and Cody Wren got the final four outs of the fourth game. More than 11 Gorillas had a hit in the fourth game, too, with Evan Thomas, Chase Barnes,…

Volkert, women’s relay, lead Gorillas at Relays

Tyler Smith | Sports Writer The Pitt State track and field team competed in the Kansas Relays track meet in Lawrence on April 19-21. Many PSU athletes performed well in the competition, especially the women’s 4×1600 relay and Adam Volkert. “It was extremely exciting that we won,” Casey Epps said. “It was pretty awesome to run against some DI schools and because it was at KU, it really made the win special for Pitt.” On Thursday Melissa Peden earned second in the women’s 10,000-meter race. Peden finished with a time of 37 minutes, 26.33 seconds. Alex Moase placed sixth in the 3,000-meter race, finishing with a time of 10:45.04. In the 800-meter race, PSU competitors…

Despite surging offense, Gorillas fall

Amelia Mallatt | Sports Wrier The PSU softball team played in two double headers over the weekend. The women split with Washburn on Friday, April 20, and then lost both games the following day against Fort Hays State. The women fell 9-8 in game one against Washburn. Each team had a total of 11 hits that game. To start things off Pitt gained a three-run lead with the help of Mannie DeCastro smacking her 15th homer of the season in the first inning. In the third inning, back-to-back hits by Tiffany Brown and Kreslee Ketcham brought home Cheslyn Mitchell for Pitt’s 3-0 lead. Washburn pulled it together big in the sixth inning where it scored…

Valdivia’s MIAA awards cap PSU golf season

Garett McCullough | Sports Editor Pittsburg State senior golfer Garrett Fowler said he had high hopes coming into the MIAA Championships on April 16-17. Though the Gorillas were unable to take the title, they did get their share of highlights in the final tournament of the season. The Gorilla golfers added to what could be considered the best season in history with a fifth place finish at the MIAA Championships, and a tie for fourth place in the regular season conference standings. “This season is definitely at very top,” Fowler said. “We finished in a tie for fourth in the MIAA, which is the best finish Pitt has ever had.” The fifth place finish, out…

Breakin’ records on the home front

Zach Wagner | Collegio Reporter A remarkable performance was put on by both sides of the Gorilla men’s track team, posting top qualifying marks and they consistently placed at the top of the events during the Gorilla Classic meet at Carnie Smith Stadium on Saturday, April 14. Senior Mike Beeler defended the home track for the javelin event, posting a track record, and second-best throw in DII this season, with a throw of 235 feet, 8 inches, which will propel him to the top of the national ranks in javelin. Throwing coach Brian Mantooth says that he expects similar performances from the senior thrower in the future. “We’re trying to keep him healthy and consistent,”…

Streaky Gorillas

Amelia Mallatt | Sports Writer After tying the school record for consecutive wins, the Gorillas proceeded to lose five straight games before righting the ship with two wins over Newman University. The Gorillas winning streak began with a dominating performance against Arkansas Tech. They swept both games on March 13, and it ended with a split against Missouri Southern on April 4. The streak tied the record set by the 1993 team at 15 consecutive wins. The 15-game winning streak included three shortened games due to Gorilla blow-outs. The first was against Wisconsin-Parkside, which ended 14-3 in the fifth inning. The second came against Northwest Missouri, which ended 15-7 after six innings. The final came…

Out-jumping the rest

Tyler Smith | Sports Writer The Pittsburg State University track and field team competed in the Fort Hays State Quad this weekend in Fort Hays. Senior Kiara Jones was named MIAA Athlete of the Week on Monday, April 9, after he had the best triple jump in NCAA Division II this year. Jones says he didn’t fall behind too much, despite not having an indoor-season. However, he says after the time off it will take some getting back into the swing of things. “Not having an indoor season kind of set me behind my competition,” Jones said. “So I’m trying to get back to my normal self as fast as possible.” The senior says he…

Final push: Golf team ready to finish strong

Tyler Smith | Sports Writer The PSU men’s golf team earned fourth place at the Washburn Invitational. They competed against 11 other teams. The Gorillas were led by freshman standout Justice Valdivia, who placed third. Valdivia had scores of 70 and 75 for a 145 overall. PSU had rounds of 309 and 301 to finish out in fourth, tied with Fort Hays State at 610. Central Missouri had a team score of 599 to take the top spot while Lindenwood took second and Washburn took third with scores of 600 and 604, respectively. Cole Murrin had scores of 80 and 72 to finish 17th with a 152 total. Senior Garret Fowler had two rounds of…

Road trip spells trouble for PSU baseball

Garett McCullough | Sports Editor The Pittsburg State Gorillas snapped a five-game losing streak in the second game of a doubleheader against Missouri Southern on Tuesday, April 10. The Gorillas started March strong, winning six of their first nine games, but they dropped the final series of their home stand to Rogers State before departing on a 14-game road trip. The Gorillas’ first away game was a 23-10 victory over Emporia State, but that early win was one of the few bright spots during the road games as the Gorillas managed only two more wins on the trip. Returning home meant familiar surroundings and the home-field advantage, but PSU was smacked around in the first…

Burning up the track

Tyler Smith | Sports Writer PSU’s track and field teams were busy Saturday, March 31, competing in the Wendy’s/Pitt State Invitational at Carnie Smith Stadium. On the men’s side, sophomore Keenan Soles earned top honors for the Gorillas. Soles had the best long jump in Division II this season, and helped the 4×100 relay team to the third-fastest time in the country this season. Soles posted a mark of 25- 7 1/4 to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships. The Pittsburg native also ran in the 4×100 relay, running the third leg for the Gorillas. Soles helped the team earn a time of 40.78 seconds which is a national qualifying mark. Freshmen Jason…