Gorillas burned by Golden Suns

Tyler Smith | sports reporter The Pittsburg State softball team competed Wednesday, March 27, against Arkansas Tech University. The two teams played in Russellville, Ark., in a double header with the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns, taking the first game, 3-8, and the second, 1-7. In the first game, the Golden Suns came out hot, scoring three runs in the first inning. Pitt State answered with Katelyn Birchfield scoring off a throwing error by third base, cutting the lead to two. In the top of the sixth, Pitt State scored off a Tiffany Brown double to help gain some momentum. Later, in the seventh inning, Jordan Bradshaw scored off a Cheslyn Mitchell hit. That’s all the…

Gorillas sweep Mules

Trent Johnson | sports reporter The Pittsburg State baseball team completed a two-game sweep against the University of Central Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon at Simmons Field in Edmond. The Gorillas took game one of the double-header, 11-7, although they trailed, 3-0, after two innings of play. The Gorillas scored two runs in the top of the third inning on a Tory Stoffregen double. The Bronchos answered with three runs in the bottom half of the third inning, extending their lead, 5-2. Pittsburg State scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and followed up with three more runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Gorillas’ first lead of the game was quickly…

Back in the swing

Garett McCullough | sports editor With winter weather still tormenting the Pittsburg area, Pittsburg State golfers found themselves heading south to open their season. First, the Gorillas were in Garden City for the Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OSPU) Invitational from Monday, March 11, to Tuesday, March 12, before playing in the Midwestern State University Invitational in Wichita Falls, Texas, from Monday, March 18, to Tuesday, March 19. The Gorillas started their season with a fourth-place finish, out of the seven teams at the OPSU Invitational. During the fall season, the Gorillas consistently improved their day-two play and kept that up in the OPSU Invitational. They hit a round of 305 on the second day after…

Throwers kick-start outdoor season

Michael Bauer | reporter The Pittsburg State track and field outdoor season got under way on March 14 at the Emporia State Spring Twilight Meet. The Gorillas brought only their throwers since the runners had just finished the indoor portion of the season a week earlier. “It was a partial team competition,” said head coach Russ Jewett. “We could’ve taken our whole team, but decided not to since the indoor season just ended and the entire indoor-outdoor com bined season can be hard for the people who run around the track.” Jewett said the opportunity gave the throwers a chance to open their season a bit early. Larissa Richards had a terrific start to her…

Weather not a factor for softball team

Gorillas reel off six straight wins Tyler Smith | reporter The Pittsburg State softball team pushed its winning streak to six games with a sweep of the Drury University Panthers on Wednesday, March 13, and with its two wins in the MSSU Border Battle the previous weekend. In the Border Battle, the Gorillas faced Upper Iowa, winning by a score of 8-1, while defeating the Missouri Western Griffons, 2-1. “[It was a] pretty good fight, we competed,” said head coach Elizabeth Economon. “What was really nice was, we competed for two whole games. So that was one of those things where we’re really working towards complete games.” Economon says that she believes her team is…

Another split for Gorillas’ baseball team

Gorillas split their third-straight series Garett McCullough | sports editor The Pittsburg State University baseball team split its third straight two-game series against the Drury University Panthers on Tuesday, March 12. Each game ended without much drama as the Panthers took game one 8-0, and the Gorillas took game two 13-3. Redshirt-junior right-hander Kevin Sweeney held the Gorillas scoreless through five innings in the first game, earning the win. The game wasn’t all about pitching for the Panthers, though, with their offense putting up runs in three separate innings, including the first. Junior shortstop Caleb Cole doubled in a pair of runs after a throwing error by the Gorillas’ left fielder Troy Stoffrengen allowed the…

‘Roller-coaster’ season for women’s team

Tyler Smith | reporter The women’s basketball team’s season was quite a roller-coaster ride. The year was fraught with extreme highs and lows: They went from being the team ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into the season to losing in the first round of the MIAA tournament. With such high expectations, players such as sophomore standout forward Lizzy Jeronimus say that they haven’t really accepted the fact that there will no longer be basketball after their first-round exit against Missouri Western. “I don’t think it’s hit us yet,” Jeronimus said. “I don’t think we realize that we’re not going to come to practice tomorrow.” Among the many stories from this year, one of…

Program continues to move forward

Michael Bauer | reporter The Pittsburg State Gorillas may have been unable to duplicate last year’s run to the MIAA Tournament championship, but they still managed to finish with an 18-10 record, fewer losses than the previous season, in the highly competitive MIAA. The Gorillas fell to the second seeded Central Missouri Mules, 69-63, in the quarterfinals to end their season. The Mules went on to win the championship. Head coach Kevin Muff says he was still pleased with the overall season, which included injuries to key players such as last year’s leading scorer, Javon McGee. “We had a good year,” Muff said. “If you look at the final record it was 18-10, which was…

All-Around Gorilla

Cody Holland’s double life Michael Bauer | reporter Every athlete believes that there are no limits to what he or she can handle, but only a few of them can actually do that, and still have a successful career. Cody Holland is one of those few. Holland, a senior from Neosho, Mo., competes on the football and track and field teams at Pittsburg State University. Holland has enjoyed success on both teams, qualifying as an individual for the national outdoor track and field meet in discus throwing in spring 2011. He then helped the football team win the Division II NCAA National Championship in 2011. Still, competing in two sports at the collegiate level doesn’t come easy. Holland says…

Kansas City bound

Bullard leads Gorillas past Bulldogs Tyler Smith | sports reporter The Gorillas scored seven points in the final 17 seconds of the Monday, March 4, play-in game to come away with the win against the Truman State Bulldogs. With the win, the Gorillas punched their ticket to the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Losing early on, the Bulldogs came back strong with a 23-9 run to gain the lead with just over eight minutes left to play. Senior forward Rico Pierrevilus drained a three-pointer with only 17 seconds left to play to put the Gorillas up by four. With only 11 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs pushed the ball down the court in an attempt…