No. 9 Pitt State sweeps Newman in midweek action
PITTSBURG, Ks. — The number ninth-ranked Pitt State Gorillas softball squad returned home after a long road trip to host the Newman Jets in a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.
Pitt State earned the sweep over Newman with a 6-1 win in game one and a 3-1 win in game two. The Gorillas improved to 47-5 on the season and 21-3 in conference play.
Game One:
In game one, both defenses set the tone early as Pitt State pitcher freshman Ava Laurent had five strikeouts through the first three innings. The game remained scoreless.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Gorillas finally had a hit to bring home a run. The hit was from Sydney Sneed with a single to second base that led to Kadyn Trochim to score the first run of the game. The Gorillas scored a few more runs due to walks. Pitt State took a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Newman would cut into the deficit by scoring one run. That run was their only run. Onto the bottom of the sixth, with two on and two outs, Maddie Fernandez crushed a deep ball to field for a three-run homer. Her 11th on the season. The Gorillas pushed their lead to 6-1.
The Jets tried to add more runs but Pitt State stopped them dead in their tracks and opened the doubleheader with a win.
In the circle, both Ava Laurent and Lilli Weir combined for 11 strikeouts. Laurent earned the win to improve her record to 17-1. She pitched six innings, and had nine strikeouts with four hits and one earned run. While Weir had two strikeouts in one inning pitched.
The Gorillas scored six runs on nine hits. Maddie Fernandez led the way going 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, one scored run and a three-run home run. Sydney Sneed went 2-for-2, had one RBI and scored one run. Hannah Burnett went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one score run.
Game Two:
In game two, Pitt State didn’t waste any time punching first on the scoreboard as they tacked on three runs in the first inning. A Courtney Storey two-RBI single allowed Hannah Burnett and Paxtyn Hayes to score. Then, Storey scored on a wild pitch. The Gorillas went up early 3-0.
In the top second, Newman found a way to score to trail 3-1.
Neither defense didn’t let up as neither team scored any runs in the later innings. Pitt State held on to close out game two with a 3-1 win.
Kiana Pogroszewski picked yet another win to move to 16-2 on the year. She had eight strikeouts while pitching six innings allowed six hits and one earned run.
Hitting-wise, Hannah Burnett went 2-for-3 and scored one run. Courtney Storey brought home two runs going 1-for-3 at bat and one scored run.
The Gorillas will return home to host a key top-10 matchup against number fifth-ranked Central Oklahoma in a doubleheader for ‘Senior Day’ on Saturday, April 27th at 1 p.m.
