Pittsburg State Softball survives and advances in national tournament with back-to-back wins over Winona State & Rogers State
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE! Pittsburg State Softball took care of business in a pair of do-or-die matchups with the Gorillas' season on the line. See our recap and highlights from both of today's games below.
PITTSBURG, KS. — Facing elimination, Pittsburg State Softball survived and advanced in the NCAA Division II National Softball Tournament with a pair of wins on Friday. The Gorillas took down the 5-seed Winona State 6-3 to force another elimination game later in the afternoon against 7-seed Rogers State, where they beat the Hillcats 1-0 in a thrilling affair.
The first game of the day against Winona State was rather back-and-forth. The Warriors handed Pittsburg State its first loss of the season back in February and opened the postseason matchup strong with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. However, Lexi Franklin settled in in the circle as the game went on, finishing her afternoon with a complete game performance with 4 strikeouts, 3 earned runs and 6 hits allowed.
The offense was sparked by Kadyn Trochim in Game 1 of the day with a solo home run in the bottom of the first. Lexi Davis and Trista Peterson added RBIs to the board as this one went on, seeing the game tied 3-3 entering the sixth inning. That’s where Davis solidified herself as the hero of Game 1, blasting a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to pull away.
“It felt good,” Head Coach Josh Barnes said. “It felt good not only for her but for the program to be able to do that, you know, we knew that she had it in her. And so I looked at her before her at-bat, and I just said, ‘Hey, this is your moment, man.