The stakes are high when No. 4 Pittsburg State and No. 11 Missouri Southern clash at 1 p.m. Saturday at the PSU Softball Field.
The Gorillas (45-6, 17-5 MIAA) have been at the top of the MIAA standings virtually the entire season, but they relinquished the lead when they lost two games Tuesday night at Missouri Western.
That dropped PSU into second place, one game behind Missouri Southern (43-7, 18-4), which has won its last seven games and 17 of the last 19.
So, the Lions need one victory on Saturday to win the league title while the Gorillas must sweep the two games to win their second title in the last three seasons. They shared the 2024 crown with Rogers State.
In addition, the twinbill will go a long way in determining seeds for the Central Region. The Gorillas and Lions are 1-2 in this week’s ranking, which was released before PSU’s setbacks at Missouri Western.
“Missouri Southern is tough all around,” Gorillas coach Josh Barnes said. “They have really good pitching, good hitting, good experience. They play a good disciplined style and are not afraid of being in big games.
“There are a lot of similarities (between the Lions and Gorillas). They have a really good program. They have a lineup built similar to us with the syle of hitters and how they play. I think they are healthier than us right now.”
The Gorillas’ health – and lineup – will be determined by game-time decisions.
All-American shortstop Heather Arnett hit her head on the ground after stumbling over first base in the second game against Missouri Western and sat the final five innings.
“She’s doing all right, taking it day-by-day,” Barnes said. “We’ll see Saturday if she’s ready to go. She hit her head when she fell.”
In addition, center fielder Alleyna Rushing, who is hitting .438, and pitcher Ava Laurent, who is 9-1 in 14 appearances, also will be game-time decisions. Rushing has been slowed by a knee injury the past two weeks, and Laurent has had arm and shoulder issues, although she made one start recently.
“We’ve had eight season-ending injuries … we’re sore right now,” Barnes said. “Some of them are people we brought in for experience and thought were going to be a big part of what we’re doing.”
Arnett, who is hitting .533 this season, had two hits in Tuesday’s first game, giving her 105 this season to break her own MIAA record. Arnett possesses the top-3 single-season hit totals in league history – 105 now, 103 in 2024 and 100 in 2025 – and her 365 career hits shatter the former league record of 308.
PSU’s Kadyn Trochim is hitting .464 with six homers and 72 runs batted in. Lexi Davis is batting .405 with 12 homers and 73 RBI – both team highs. Sailor Hall is hitting .374 with 11 homers and 42 RBI.
Emma Crabb (15-2, 2.13 earned run average) and Lexi Franklin (13-2, 3.24) have been the Gorillas’ starting pitchers in recent weeks.
Bailey Dillon leads Missouri Southern with a .426 average and has stolen 42 bases in 44 attempts.
More high averages belong to Taylor Nuckolls (.384), Katie Grauy (.377) and Carsen Tinkler (.374). Gray leads the Lions with 15 homers and 47 RBI.
In the circle, Kiki Pickens is 18-3 with a 1.83 ERA, and Emily Davis is 17-4 with a 1.77 ERA.
Both teams have posted the third-highest victory total this season in program history. The Gorillas went 53-8 two seasons ago and 48-15 in 1994, while the Lions went 50-7 and won the Division II national championship in 1992 and 46-13 in 1986.
