After winning the opener, Shawnee State (25-20, 10-8 MSC) had a big fifth inning in the nightcap to defeat Rio Grande (25-18, 5-9) and capture the three-game sweep over the Redstorm.
Shawnee State took a 3-0 lead in the opener and held on to take a two game 3-2.
The Bears took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two RBI single by freshman Cody Spires (Lancaster, OH).
Junior Colin Keim's (Clinton, OH) sacrifice fly in the third, gave the Bears the 3-0 lead.
The Redstorm fought back and pulled within one in the top of the fifth. Luke Taylor led off with a base hit and a walk on Kyle Perez put Taylor into scoring position. A Shawnee State error loaded the bases, bringing the designated hitter Brian Suerdick to the plate. Suerdick's sacrifice fly to left field scored Taylor. Shane Spies followed with a single through the middle pulling Rio within one, 3-2.
Rio Grande put runners in scoring position each of the remaining innings, however senior Alex Taku (Santa Cruz, CA) worked out of his jams and did not allow another Redstorm run to earn the victory.
Taku improves to 5-3 on the mound as he pitched a complete game allowing two runs (both unearned) on five hits, with three walks and four strikeouts.
Ryan Robertson took the loss for Rio, falling to 3-5 on the mound. Robertson pitched a complete game and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, three walks while striking out four.
Senior Danny Gesick (Pickerington, OH) went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, while senior Cody Morrison (Spring, TX) added a triple.
Game three of the series was a battle. Shawnee State worked from behind most of the game until a five run fourth inning gave the Bears a lead they would not give up en route to a 10-5 win and the series sweep over the Redstorm.
Rio Grande jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the night cap. In the first Perez scored on a sacrifice fly by Suerdick in the first to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Kyle Findley led off with double and Jacob Cooke laid down a bunt to put runners on the corners. Findley scored on an RBI by Tyler Donaldson. Perez then scored on a base hit by Grant Tamane.
Shawnee answered in the bottom of the inning. Keim and junior Adam Wamsley (Wheelersburg, OH) reached on a walk and hit by pitch. Freshman Matt Jones (Greenup, KY) singled through the middle to score courtesy runner junior Aaron Suydam (Painesville, OH). Shawnee State then knotted the game at 3-3 on RBI's by senior AJ Gomez (Spring, TX) and Spires.
Rio posted another run in the third as Tim Easterling scored on a double by Findley to recapture the lead.
The Bears answered again the fourth as Wamsley ripped the ball up the middle for a hit scoring Gesick to tie the game at 4-4.
After Rio scored another run in the top of the fifth, Shawnee State answered big in the bottom of the inning, this time capturing their first lead of the game. Senior Quentin Everman (Galloway, OH) drove in the tying run on a base knock up the middle. Everman gave Shawnee their first lead of the game scoring on a base hit to right field by Gesick. Wamsley drove in two more runs on a triple to right center and Wamsley capped off the Bears scoring in the inning as he crossed the plate on a Rio error to give Shawnee State the 9-5 advantage.
Senior Ryan Burnett (Bellevue, WA) scored another run for the Beas in the fifth as Everman found a gap in centerfield for a hit, extending Shawnee's lead to 10-5 and the eventual win.
Senior Carter Bledsoe (Tulsa, OK) relieved starter senior Jordan Williams (Uniontown, OH) to pick up the win. Bledsoe improves to 3-7 on the mound as he pitched the final 3.2 innings allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Williams pitched 3.1 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, with a walk and a strikeout.
David Steele was tagged for the loss for the Redstorm.
Wamsley finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate with a triple, two runs scored and three RBI's. Gesick, Jones and Everman each finished with two hits.
Shawnee State returns home on Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15to host West Virginia Tech in a four-game series. Friday's games are set to begin at 3:00 p.m.
