Beaufort, SC— Opening a season on the road against an opponent ranked in the top 25 can be tough for any team. It took extra innings but baseball (1-1) took the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, 5-4 in nine innings. That game was originally scheduled to be just seven. The Bears then settled for a spilt with No. 21 University of South Carolina Beaufort Sand Sharks (1-1) - a team that played in the NAIA World Series last season - after a 4-2 loss in game two.
Most of the time people walk away from a baseball game remembering a big play or a big hit, but in the season opener for both Shawnee State and USCB a simple walk was the difference maker. The Bears' opening game victory was keyed by an Aaron Suydam bases loaded walk. Trailing 4-3 heading into the seventh inning, the Bears rallied to stay alive and forced extra innings. Calvin Sluberski got the inning started as he hit a fly ball in right field which got lost in the sky by the Sand Sharks, allowing Sluberski to reach third base. After Cody Spires reached on a fielder's choice, Colin Keim played hero. Keim, who finished the game going 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, ripped a ball down the left field line and scored Sluberski to tie the game at 4-4.
After the two teams went scoreless in the eighth inning, it was Suydam's walk that put the finishing touches of a hard-fought first game as Keim scored the game-winning run. Pitcher Jordan Williams, who set a single-season record in 2012 for most appearances (31), came into the game in the seventh inning and pitched three scoreless innings. He finished with four strikeouts and no walks to get the win. The two teams scored a combined seven runs in the first two innings, including a three-run home run by the Sand Sharks' Blake Cilwick, which gave USCB a 4-3 lead after two.
Zak Esposito got the ball in the season opener and threw five innings. He allowed four earned runs and struck out four. After allowing four runs in the first two innings, Esposito settled down and tossed three scoreless innings allowing only one hit to keep Shawnee within 4-3. Sluberski finished 1-for-5 with two runs scored, including the game-tying run. Todd Queener also chipped in going 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Bears started the second game the same as the first, scoring two runs in the first frame. Sluberski doubled and Spires tripled to center field scoring Sluberski, handing the Bears their first run. The next batter, Keim, added a sacrifice fly to score Spires which gave SSU a quick 2-0 lead.
However, the Bears were held to four hits for the remainder of the game and committed two costly errors ending in a 4-2 loss to the Sand Sharks. In game two, the bears went with freshman Cody Strayer, who tossed five strong innings and gave up just two earned runs on six hits
Trailing 2-0, USCB struck back in the bottom half of the fourth inning. The Sand Sharks loaded the bases and Erik Armstrong had a two-RBI single with two outs to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan Doeppel followed with a sharp ground ball to shortstop which was mishandled by Brady Hightchew as the Sand Sharks took a 3-2 lead and never looked back.
Sluberski and Spires each went 2-for-4 at the plate and each scored one run. Spires and Keim each had an RBI for the Bears.
Shawnee State is set to play USCB in another double-header on Sunday to finish the four-game series. Opening pitch is set for noon. The Bears will then travel to Montgomery, Ala. to take on No. 9 Faulker University in a double-header on Feb. 9. Shawnee State is in the middle of their opening season road trip, which includes 10 road games, seven in which are against teams' ranked in the preseason top 25.
