All hot streaks have to end eventually, and the Gorilla softball team is no different. Shattering the previous record of 10 wins to start a season, the Gorillas finally saw their winning streak end at 20 games, ending a historic run. Despite the loss, Pitt State still won three of four games this week and are still sitting high and mighty with a 20-1 record.
The Gorillas started their week with a 15-0 pounding of Truman State. The Gorillas scored in every inning, breaking the game open with nine runs in the fourth and ending it at just five innings.
Junior Ava Laurent went 4.0 innings for the win as redshirt sophomore Erica Schetz wrapped up the game with a shutout inning. Senior Sailor Hall led the team with three RBI and alongside Trista Peterson hit solo home runs in the game. Senior Kyleigh Lamont, graduate student Kadyn Trochim, junior Bailey Haselhorst and junior Trista Peterson finished with multiple runs driven in. Heather Arnett led the team with three runs scored as Hall and Peterson each finished with two runs scored.
Pitt State would pitch another shutout in the next game, though it was much closer against Concordia St. Paul at 3-0. The Gorillas would score two in the third, and got another batter home in the fourth, in order to take the win. Junior Emma Crabb struck out nine CSP hitters while only allowing two hits and one walk. Trochim got the Gorillas on the board in the third inning of a two-run double to right center, scoring Arnett and senior Alleyna Rushing. Fellow senior Lexi Davis provided a sacrifice fly to score Hall in the fourth to account for the 3-0 final scoreline.
The second day of the tournament saw the Gorillas begin their day with a 13-8 win over Rockhurst University. Pitt State trailed in the eighth inning 7-8, but a six-run inning bumped them up to 13-8 over Rockhurst.
Davis led the team with four RBI, while going 3-for-5 with a home run. Trochim and junior Rachael Schlotter also finished with multiple runs driven in. Senior Heather Arnett, Rushing, Hall and junior Haili Igou each recorded two runs scored with Arnett finishing a home run short of hitting for the cycle. Hall got the win in the circle to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The incredible 20 game winning streak would unfortunately meet it’s demise in the second game of the double header, as Pitt State fell 8-4 to Winona State. The Gorillas came back from behind to tie it at four apiece in the fifth inning, but the comeback attempt would fall short. The Gorillas were led by a 3-for-4 outing from Rushing with Hall coming away with a pair of doubles. Laurent struck out nine in 5.0 innings in the loss.