Photo courtesy of Derek Livingston
Curtis Meyer reporter
Pitt State baseball has been unable to find consistency again since their seven-game win streak ended two weeks ago. Dropping two and winning two, Pitt State sits at 20-9 and 11-5 in conference play. Sitting a little over halfway through the season, the Gorillas are in an advantageous position to finish strong and make a run for the postseason.
“I think we wanted to do a lot better, but the way it ended was good, on Sunday. I think we are starting to figure things out and hopefully keep going up,” said graduate student infielder Dylan Kurahashi-Choy-Foo.
The week started off on a Tuesday, as the Gorillas traveled to play Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison raced out to a 7-2 lead, thanks to a four run second inning, before Pitt State managed to bring it within reach at the top of the eighth, behind 8-9. The Bison scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning, putting the final nail in the coffin for Pitt State with a final score of 12-9.
Senior Cade Clemons homered for Pitt State with three RBI to lead the Gorillas, while Foo and junior A. J. Craft each chipped in two RBI in the loss. Freshman pitcher Ryker Curry took the loss.
The Gorillas bounced back the following weekend, riding a six-run fourth inning to a 6-5 win over the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. The Bronchos mounted a comeback, scoring two runs in the final inning, before ultimately losing.
Junior Pitcher Tanner Leslie picked up his fifth win of the season, limiting the Bronchos to four hits and five strikeouts, along with three runs in 6.2 innings of work. Junior Cole Askew came in for the final inning, pitching two outs in the ninth for his fourth save of the season. F00, Clemons, and senior Daegen Brady each went 1 for 3 at the plate, with a run scored and an RBI.
Saturday’s game did not go in the Gorillas favor, as the offense struggled to find it is groove in a 6-1 loss. The Bronchos ripped off three straight two run innings to even the series against Pitt State. Junior Blake Mozley hit a sacrifice fly for the Gorillas in the only point of the game, getting Brady to home.
Pitt State’s offense got back on track quickly on Sunday, exploding for an 18-4 run rule victory over the Bronchos. Scoring 6 runs in the fourth inning and 10 runs in the sixth inning, the Gorillas took the series over Central Oklahoma and picked up their twentieth win of the season.
Senior Nixon Brannan hammered a pair of two-run homers in the game, while Foo was good for four hits, two of which were doubles. Craft helped power the 10 run sixth inning with a grand slam homer, while junior Austin Warkins was good for a solo home run in the fourth inning.
Junior Brady Pacha allowed three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work, issuing five walks but balanced out by six strikeouts. Junior Boston Dowd pitched the rest of the game, registering five outs to seal the victory for Pitt State.
“It felt good, I think that Saturday game we didn’t really show up to play. Winning the series felt really good, I just feel like we just got to fix some things and be better in some places, but we definitely showed up on Sunday,” said Foo.
Pitt State will play again this week, hosting Emporia State Tuesday, before traveling to face Northeastern Oklahoma for the weekend.