MSSU baseball team falls to Gorillas in seesaw battle
Mar. 16—PITTSBURG, Kan. — The border rivalry drew even between the Missouri Southern State University and Pittsburg State University baseball teams on Saturday as PSU claimed a 5-4 victory at Al Ortolani Field.
PSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, fell behind 4-3 and then came back to win 5-4.
The Gorillas tallied three quick runs in the first inning but allowed one in the third and three in the fifth. They immediately responded to tie the game with a run in the home half of the fifth and then took the lead back in the seventh and held on in the final two frames.
The scoring started with a two-run home run from Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo off of MSSU's Trent Harris. That was followed by a solo home run from Austin Warkins to make it 3-0 in the first inning.
Treghan Parker got Southern on the board in the third with a ground ball to first base with the bases loaded. The only play was for the first baseman to step on his bag as each runner moved up a base and Henry Kusiak scored.
The three fifth-inning runs for the Lions came on a two-out double that Nate Mieszkowski pulled down the right field line with the bases loaded. Mieszkowski's hit cleared the bases to give his team a 4-3 lead.
Pittsburg State tied the game on a triple from Blake Mozley to score Joe Hamilton from first base. And it took the lead two innings later on Nixon Brannan's single to drive in Mozley, who had reached on an error earlier in the inning. That was the only unearned run of the game.
Laif Hultine surrendered that unearned run and was handed the loss in the game. PSU's Cadyn Castellanos picked up the win after three innings of work from the sixth to the eighth. Castellanos allowed just one hit and struck out one batter. Cole Askew picked up the save — his third of the season.
Kyle Stoddard and Hultine ate up some innings for the Lions, going a combined seven frames with Stoddard getting the first 3 1/3 innings. He gave up four hits, one run and struck out two batters.
Hultine went 3 2/3 innings, allowed three hits and struck out three and gave up the one unearned run.
