PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Pittsburg State softball team has not played at home. since April 27th, 2019.

They were able to start their season with road games last season, before the pandemic cut the spring season short.

“There’s no place I would rather be. My home field is my favorite place to be,” says senior second baseman Kaity Kukowski, “We’re stoked. We’re even more excited than we were for opening day, I think.”

The Gorillas will host Minnesota Duluth on Saturday – ending a 679-day wait since they last played in Pittsburg.

“Playing in front of your home crowd, especially at a place like Pitt State, there’s really nothing like it,” says head coach Ashley Balazs, “We want to show everyone around here what we’re capable of.”

Pitt State is 3-5 through their first 8 games, but they feel close to finding their groove.

“Once we get our offense going, people are going to go wow, this team can really hit,” Balazs says.

“We’re focusing on moving runners over and just getting the small jobs done so we can get that run across,” Kukowski adds, “Not everybody has to hit a home run to get the job done.”

“The long ball has kind of been what we’re known for in my first couple years,” Balazs finishes, “This year I think we can do a better job hitting ground balls through the infield and hitting doubles. I think we just need to play hard and play with a lot of passion, and I think we’re on our way to doing so.”

Pitt State hosts Minnesota Duluth at 12:30 PM Saturday, before facing Rockhurst at 3 PM.