Collegio Online

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Doug Graham/Collegio Infielder Luke Naccarato, senior, slides home during the Friday, April 18, game against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Naccarato was tagged out by Bearcats catcher Kyle Howell. Pitt State won both games of a double header on Friday, but lost both games the next day.

Pitt State baseball split with Southwest Baptist this weekend on the Gorillas' home field, 2-2. The team gained two wins in a double header on April 18, winning 8-3 and 10-9. The Gorillas dropped both games the following day, however, losing 3-6 and 8-13.

"We felt like we had a chance to win four games, and we didn't get it done, so it was disappointing," said head coach Steve Bever.
The team next faced Drury University for a non-conference game on April 22, where it dropped the win 5-7. The Gorillas held a 5-5 tie going into the final stretch of the game, but the Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break the tie and take the win.
"We had them down and it's like we were satisfied with what the score was, and we just let them come back and take it," said senior pitcher Darrel Dinger.

The Gorillas currently stand with an overall record of 17-24, and 12-16 MIAA.
Pitt State will face off against Northwest Missouri in a three-game series on April 25 through April 27 on Northwest's home field. Northwest currently holds a 12-16 MIAA record, with 23-20 overall.

"They are going to be a lot like us," said Bever. "We've lost so many close games, but we aren't going to stop playing hard and doing the right things."

The Gorillas will face Drury in another non-conference game on April 30 before taking on Fort Hays in the last games of the season. They will play a three-game series in Hays on May 2-4, with MIAA tournaments starting the following week.
"We're just doing what we've been doing," said Dinger. "We just have to execute in games. We can field 100 ground balls or hit 100 balls off the tee in practice, but it doesn't matter unless you can execute that in games."

The team is not only preparing to finish off its season strong, but to make a run for post-season action.

"It's always a goal of ours to make it into the post-season tournament, which is tough since only four of the ten teams make it in," said Bever.
The top four schools in the conference will advance to post-season play, and Pitt State is now seventh in conference standings.

"It's kind of a long shot at this point," said Bever. "We haven't given up hope on the post season, and we intend to play well the rest of the season and see what happens."

"I just want the guys to play hard and do as well as they can," he said.

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