GAME 16-19: SBU BEARCATS (2-13, 1-7 MIAA)
at PITTSBURG STATE GORILLAS (5-6, 4-6 MIAA)
SUNDAY and MONDAY, MARCH 14-15 • 1 PM/2 PM
AL ORTOLANI FIELD • PITTSBURG, KS
(Schedule adjusted due to rain)
SBU NOTES
PITTSBURG, Kan. – Four games are on the slate this week for the SBU Bearcats, as they head out on the first road trip in MIAA play to Pittsburg State. The Bearcats are looking to snap a four-game slide after their series against Missouri Western.
The SBU offense is hitting its stride in the early season, with four starters hitting above .300. Catcher Steven Davis leads the way, hitting .378 with a pair of doubles and four RBI.
Centerfielder Niko Saladis is hitting at a .310 clip, and is the team leader with 18 hits. Saladis went 2-for-4 in the last two games of the Missouri Western series, scoring a run in game three against the Griffons.
Leftfielder Paden Grubbs has warmed up over the last week, tying Davis and Saladis for the longest hitting streak of the season, reaching base safely in six straight games. Grubbs has raised his average to .306, and had possibly the best stat line of the year for the Bearcats against Missouri S&T; Grubbs went 2-for-3, with four RBI, three runs, and a walk, double, and home run.
Senior Kyle Wise also had a strong game against the Miners; the SBU designated hitter went 2-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBI.
THE COACHES AND SERIES HISTORY
Bearcat head coach Sam Berg is in his 11th season with SBU. Berg earned his 150th victory at SBU last week against Missouri S&T. During his time in Bolivar, Berg has seen his program produce 24 All-MIAA awards, and two NCAA All-Region winners.
Steve Bever is starting his twentieth season as coach of the Gorillas. Bever took over the program when it was re-started in 1991. Pitt State peaked as a program from 1997-2002, when they made four NCAA Regionals appearances. Bever has led the Gorillas to a 510-442 mark during his tenure.
Since Berg was named head coach, Pittsburg State holds a 26-18 advantage in the series between the two schools. SBU, however, has taken five of the last six, including taking three out of last season’s four-game series. The Bearcats haven’t lost a series to the Gorillas since 2005.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State have already gotten pretty far into the conference schedule, splitting series against both Washburn and Missouri Southern after dropping three of four against Nebraska-Omaha. A pair of Gorillas, Taylor Sibala and Jason Graves, are hitting .422 and .400, respectively. Sibala leads the team with 19 hits and four stolen bases, while Graves as knocked in a team-high 10 RBI. Sibala also has reached base safely in each of Pittsburg’s games so far, and is working on an 11-game hitting streak, almost three times longer than anyone else in a Gorilla uniform.
NEXT UP FOR THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats return home for a four-game set against nationally ranked Emporia State. The Bearcats and Hornets matched up earlier this year, in a non-conference game that Emporia won, 10-1. Last year’s national runner-ups have started off strong, winning seven of their first eight conference games. The pitching duo of Ben Graham and Colby Killian have started six games so far, Graham going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA, while Killian has recorded a 2-1 mark and an ERA of 2.00.