PORTSMOUTH – A game on its home field turned the recent fortunes of softball around as the Bears picked up a pair of victories against Pikeville Friday afternoon. After being swept on the road against Pikeville earlier this season, Shawnee State (21-16, 13-13 MSC) won 4-2 in the opening game before an 8-5 victory in game two capped the daily sweep.
The day started off with each team scoring in their first at-bats of game one. Pikeville got on the board with an unearned run in the top of the first after a throwing error extended the inning. SSU answered back with a two-out triple from Abbey Barrett (SR/Franklin Furnace, Ohio) in the bottom half. She would score on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to tie the game at 1-1.
Pikeville got another unearned run to take the lead in the fourth inning of game one. Pikeville made a one-out SSU error prove costly as that runner came around to score on a two-out double, putting the visitors up 2-1.
Through the first four innings, the only hit the Bears had off of Pikeville starter Sydney Morris was the two-out triple in the first inning from Barrett. However, Shawnee State took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth.
SSU's big inning started with a double from Tara Duncan (FR/Lancaster, Ohio). She moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single from Tara Prater (SR/Hilliard, Ohio). With two down and Prater standing at third, the Bears would get three straight two-out singles from Kelsey Jenkins (JR/Wheelersburg, Ohio), Kirsti Yates (SR/Chillicothe, Ohio) and Holly Brabson (SR/Piketon, Ohio) to put SSU up 4-2. From there, the only Pikeville runners to reach would do so via errors in the final two innings but were unable to make a difference on the scoreboard.
Allie Chapman (JR/Chesapeake, Ohio) picked up her 12th win of the season with the complete game effort. She allowed just three hits and two unearned runs during her complete game in the circle. She also struck out five and walked just one.
In game two, it was Shawnee State that would lead from the start thanks to a six-run second inning. Hannah Dittoe (SO/Pickerington, Ohio) started that inning with a walk. Hannah Foster (SO/Portsmouth, Ohio) then made the first dent on the scoreboard as she hit her second career home run over the left field fence on the first pitch she saw. That would start a string of six straight hitters that reached base without recording an out for the Bears.
Prater and Heidi Hall (FR/Greenwich, Ohio) each singled to restart the rally. Jenkins was then hit by pitch, loading the bases for Yates. From there, Yates would single home two runs. Singles from Brabson and Barrett also drove in a run each and the Bears would leave the inning with six runs on six hits.
Pikeville got a leadoff home run from Emily Castle to start the fourth inning, but Shawnee State answered back with a runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Yates reached on an error and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. She found her way to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly from Barrett then made the score 7-1 heading to the fifth.
With a runner in scoring position in the fifth, the Bears were unable to score two more runs and put the run-rule in effect. Pikeville came back the next inning and used three hits and two more Shawnee State errors to score two more times in the sixth. Yates would score in the bottom half of the sixth to make the score 8-3.
In its last at-bats, three straight singles started a rally for Pikeville. Prater tempered the expectations by getting the next two batters to pop up on the infield. The visitors would get a two-out two-RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-5. However, Prater got the potential game-tying run to fly out to right, ending the Pikeville threat. Prater picked up her first win of the season as she went the full seven innings. She struck out two batters on the day.
Softball will be back at home tomorrow at noon for a doubleheader against Bluefield. Tomorrow's game will also be Senior Day as the Bears honor the four members of the team that are playing their final home weekend at Boone Coleman Field.
