Splittin’ hard

Gorillas come away with one in St. Louis Tyler Smith | reporter The Pitt State University baseball team finished its two-game stint on the road against the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons on Tuesday, April 9, in split fashion. In the first game, Missouri-St. Louis came out hot: They scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Tritons capitalized on a Tyler Bunge double to right-center field, which allowed Lucas Matecki to score. Bunge advanced to third, and Nolan Craig scored on a George Brandecker wild pitch during the next at-bat. In the bottom of the sixth, Missouri-St. Louis’s Paul Richmond singled up the middle for an RBI, allowing Paul Moritz…

Rain doesn’t hinder Gorillas

Michael Bauer | reporter The Pittsburg State track and field team had to compete against more than just the other schools at the Wendy’s PSU Invite on Saturday, March 30: They also had to face Mother Nature. Inclement weather heaved a three-hour delay on the athletes. That did not stop the Gorillas from competing hard as head coach Russ Jewett says he was pleased with the way the athletes performed, despite the conditions. “I think our kids handled that delay pretty well,” Jewett said. “Sometimes that can distract your athletes, especially the way it happened. We didn’t know it was going to be over a two-hour delay.” In trying to cope with the delay, Jewett…

Buried by Bearcats

Trent Johnson | reporter The Pittsburg State softball team is looking to bounce back after a rough 0-4 weekend. On the afternoon of Friday, March 29, the Gorillas hosted the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in a double header that produced just 11 runs in the two games between both teams. In game one, the Gorillas broke a tie, 0-0, in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two unearned runs after an error by Bearcats pitcher Jenna Creger. The score remained 2-0 until the Bearcats scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Northwest Missouri State third baseman Kristin Uthe hit a two-run homerun to tie the game, 2-2. Later in the inning,…

Limitless: What’s next for Pitt State ballers

Tim Spears | reporter Courtney Ingram may have never thought that one belief could potentially send him halfway around the world. But that is exactly what he along with three other senior Gorillas could be doing following graduation. Ingram, senior in physical education, has played for Pittsburg State men’s basketball team the since transferring from Drury University in 2010. Four years of collegiate basketball in the Midwest, and one conviction, could completely change his life after graduation. “I do believe that I can play professional basketball,” Ingram said about making the choice of whether to pursue a traditional career path after graduation or trying to generate a living off the game that’s defined much of…

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…