WILMORE, Ky. – Softball ran its winning streak to five straight games with a sweep of Asbury on Tuesday. In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, the Bears (7-5) pounded out 15 runs on 18 hits to sweep the host Eagles (2-10). The Bears won the opening game 6-2 and closed the day with a 9-0 run-rule victory in five innings.
SSU was held hitless in the first two innings of the opening game, but Tara Prater got the offense jump started with her second home run of the season on the first pitch she saw during the third inning.
Shawnee State would then get some help from a pair of Asbury defensive errors to start the fourth inning. After watching one of those runners cut down at the plate, Hannah Dittoe delivered the Bears' second home run of the day, a three-run blast, to make the score 4-0.
The Eagles would score their only two runs of the game with a single tally in the fifth and sixth innings. Asbury used an RBI groundout in the fifth inning to open its scoring. The Eagles then got an unearned run in the sixth inning after the leadoff runner reached on an error.
However, the Bears would get one of those runs back in the sixth inning as Barrett reached on an error and came around to score on an RBI double from Dittoe. Tara Duncan added the Bears' final run of the game with a double in the seventh. She came around to score after a pair of infield hits from both Kelsey Jenkins and Kirsti Yates.
Allie Chapman picked up the win in the circle with a complete game effort as she allowed seven hits, but struck out seven hitters and did not allow a walk. Six of SSU's nine batters recorded a hit in the game. Dittoe and Prater each finished with a pair of hits. Dittoe drove in four runs, while Barrett scored four runs in the game.
The Bears jumped on the Eagles early in game two as Barrett and Dittoe each came up with RBI hits in the first inning. In the second inning, a pair of Asbury errors and a walk set the stage for a big inning. Kirsti Yates singled home the first two runs of that inning. Barrett followed that at-bat with a two-run double, while Dittoe capped the scoring with an RBI triple to make it 7-0 after two innings.
Hannah Foster drove in the Bears' final two runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning. After another Asbury error, Dittoe reached on a base hit. Foster then doubled into left-centerfield to make it 9-0 in favor of the Bears.
Offensively, Dittoe and Barrett each drove in three runs during the second game. Dittoe also had three hits as she finished the doubleheader with five hits and seven RBI on the day.
That proved to be plenty of offense for SSU starter Miranda Pauley. Pauley notched her third complete game in four starts in the five inning contest. She conceded just one hit on the entire afternoon as she threw her first collegiate shutout. She struck out four batters, while walking two on the evening. The lone hit she surrendered on the day came to the first batter she faced in the second inning.
Softball will be back on the road this Saturday as it resumes Mid-South Conference play with a trip to Rio Grande. That doubleheader will get underway at noon. It will also kick off a stretch in which the Bears play doubleheaders on four consecutive days. They will be home for the final three dates as Davenport, Campbellsville and St. Catharine all come to Portsmouth in successive order.
