Pitt State softball on verge of MIAA conference tournament

The Gorillas control their destiny on whether they make the postseason.

Key Takeaways:

• They are on the bubble for the MIAA conference tournament.
• The other two teams ahead and behind them will be playing difficult opponents.
• The Gorillas are confident in themselves.

Games against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos and the Newman Jets make this weekend the most important in the past few years for Pitt State softball. 

That’s because the outcome of those two games determine whether the Gorillas make the MIAA conference tournament for the first time since the 2019 season.

The Gorillas are currently sitting at a 26-18 record and a conference record of 11-10, which is good enough for the last seed of the MIAA conference tournament. The teams the Gorillas have to be worried about are the Fort Hays Tigers, who are the seventh seed, and the Missouri Western Griffins, who are below them by one game. 

All three of these teams will be playing the upper echelon of the MIAA during the weekend of April 28, with the Gorillas playing the Central Oklahoma Bronchos, who are ranked fifth in the nation; the Tigers playing no. 8 Rogers State Hillcats, and the Griffons playing the University of Central Missouri Jennies, who are the fourth seed in the MIAA tournament. 

The MIAA conference tournament takes only the top eight teams, and the winner of the tournament is guaranteed an automatic bid in the national tournament, where they will play in the Central Super Region. 

The Central Super Region has three conferences to draw from, with those being the MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference. 

The Gorillas are currently ranked 10th in the Central Region and are one of six MIAA teams in the latest rankings. 

Regardless of whether or not the Gorillas make the national tournament, making the MIAA conference tournament would be a benchmark of success for year two of Coach Jenny Fuller’s regime.

Despite the pressure of the bubble, assistant coach Brad Fuller expects the team to rise to the occasion on a tough road trip to decide their fate. 

“We control our own destiny,” Fuller said. “That’s been the goal all year is to find a way to get into the conference tournament, and here we are with the last weekend ahead of us. We basically control our own destiny, even though we have a tough slate of games, we are going to rise to the occasion and do what we can to sneak in.”

The players are just as confident as their coach going into this weekend’s series. Freshman left fielder Heather Arnett said the Gorillas are ready to go against UCO and Newman. 

“I feel like we are confident too,” Arnett said. “We just got to go in with the right mindset that we can win and we can do this and play to the best of our ability. I have a lot of confidence going into this weekend.” 

Even though the players know they are on the bubble and they are confident in their abilities, players said they were curious what the other bubble teams are doing to prepare. But senior third baseman Kori Stonestreet said she’s just focused on the games in front of her.

“If we are worried about other people, it will cloud our mindset from the games that are in front of us,” Stonestreet said. “It will obviously be in the back of our minds because we are on the bubble if we go to the conference tournament or not, but I think we are all confident.” 

The Gorilla’s season will be a success to many regardless of this weekend’s outcome, as the team has surpassed its preseason ranking of ninth and passed its win count from the 2022 season, going from a 25-26 record to a 26-18 season this year with a more difficult season. 

“We are happy,” Fuller said. “This is year two for us, and we just want to show improvement. I think that the season has been successful, but the feeling of how happy we are with this season will be a lot better if we do what we are supposed to do this weekend. We like the direction the program is heading, and I don’t think we are done yet.”