Gorillas fall to Ichabods in MIAA baseball tournament opener

The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

May 15—PITTSBURG, Kan. — It's do or die time for the Pittsburg State baseball team.

PSU will be playing for its MIAA postseason tournament life — and potentially its season — after suffering a 5-3 loss to Washburn in the first game of its first-round series on Friday night at Al Ortolani Field.

The fourth-seeded Gorillas, looking to improve their season resume in order to land a spot in the NCAA Central Region Tournament in a couple of weeks, will have to win back-to-back games over the fifth-season Ichabods this weekend in order to advance in the conference tournament. The two teams will square off again for Game 2 at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Washburn led by as many as four runs in Friday's contest before PSU plated two runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 5-3 ballgame. The frame was highlighted by an RBI single to right field by Ryan Koval as well as an RBI single to left field by Aaron Gerdes.

However, the Gorillas were held scoreless the rest of the way with just two hits in the final three frames.

Washburn hurler Brock Gilliam tossed a complete game to pick up the win, allowing three earned runs on nine hits while striking out 10 batters in nine innings of work.

All five of the Ichabods' runs were scattered across the third, fourth and fifth innings.

An RBI single by Xavier De Leon gave Washburn a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the third before Pittsburg State tied the score in the bottom half on a solo home run to center field by Garrett McGowan.

Washburn reclaimed the lead in the fourth as it plated three runs on three hits. Peter Shearer and Kros Bay both had RBI at-bats before Shearer scored on a wild pitch to push the Ichabods' lead to 4-1.

The final score for Washburn came in the fifth when Zion Bowlin plated a runner from third base on a sacrifice grounder to give his team its largest lead at 5-1.

Washburn totaled 11 hits as a team and was led by De Leon and Shearer, who both finished with two hits and an RBI.

Gerdes finished 2 for 4 to pace the PSU offense.

David Henderson went 3 1/3 innings in his start, allowing four earned runs and six hits in the losing effort. Jordan Mendenhall surrendered one earned run in 3 2/3 innings of work, and Justin Root tossed two scoreless innings.

A win by PSU on Saturday would force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m.