By MATT PIKE
The No. 5 and top-seeded Pittsburg State Gorillas took down No. 29 and No. 4 seeded Northwest Missouri State University, winning 21-11 in seven innings, in the semifinals of the 2026 MIAA Baseball Tournament in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Northwest fought hard, managing 11 runs on 10 hits, including home runs from Michael Good, Frank Gall and Jordi Ventura. However, nine Bearcat pitchers issued 11 walks and the Gorillas responded with 21 runs on 13 hits. The Gorillas's Caleb Wesslund hit two home runs and drove in nine runs to power Pittsburg State to the championship game.
The Gorillas jumped out to an early lead in the first inning as Northwest starting pitcher Logan Brasel was lifted with an injury three batters into the game. Eric Bacon scored on Isaac Webb's sacrifice fly, and Wesslund's first home run of the game, a three-run shot to center field scoring Grant Nottlemann and Dagen Brewer extended the lead to 4-0 after the first inning.
Pittsburg State doubled the lead in the second inning adding four more runs. Landon Bruce doubled and scored when Brewer was hit by a pitch, Webb reached on a fielders choice, driving in Jadyn McNealy, and Bacon scored another run pushing the Gorillas ahead more on a groundout by Nottlemann. Webb scored on a wild pitch for the final run of the inning, putting Pittsburg State up 8-0 at the end of two.
The Bearcats finally responded in the third inning with six runs. Parker Griffith doubled, and Chester Brooks followed with an RBI ground-rule double. Gall hit a two-run homer to center field, to score Brooks cutting the lead to five, before later in the inning Good hit a three-run home run, which followed a throwing error, scoring John Conners and Ventura, cut the deficit to just two trailing 8-6.
But, in the bottom half of the inning, Pittsburg State countered with five runs, with a bases loaded walk to Webb that scored Seth Dandridge, a wild pitch bringing home McNealy, and a bases-clearing double from Wesslund which drove in Nottlemann, Webb, and Bacon extending the Gorillas lead to 13-6 through three innings.
Pittsburg State widened its margin in the fourth inning, pouring on seven more runs, starting with Dandridge scoring as Bacon reached on a fielders choice, which was immediately followed by no doubt three run home run from Brewer, scoring Bacon and Bruce. Three batters later, Wesslund hit his second home run of the day, another three run shot in the inning driving in Nottlemann and Webb, pushing the lead to 20-6 after four innings.
The Bearcats weren't done though. In the fifth inning Northwest plated three runs. Good's RBI single drove in Conners with two outs in the inning, before Leonardo May singled into right field to drive in both Conners and Wilmer Jimenez, moving the score to 20-9 after five innings. Northwest held the Gorillas scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, and in the sixth inning continued to chip away, Ventura's two run home run bringing home Jeremiah Cabuyaban and cutting the lead to 20-11.
After a scoreless top half though in the seventh inning, the Gorillas capped the scoring with an RBI double by Bacon, driving in Bruce, for the walk off run rule win, setting the final score at 21-11 in favor of Pittsburg State.
Brasel took the loss, falling to 3-4 on the season, pitching 0.1 innings before leaving with the injury and giving up two runs on two hits . At the plate, Gall was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Good was also 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI's.
The Bearcats entered the MIAA Tournament as the No. 4 ranked team in the NCAA Central Region. The 2026 NCAA Tournament selection show is set for Sunday at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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