RIO GRANDE, Ohio (Baseball) – Drew Haislop (SO/Oak Hill, Ohio) went 3-for-4, knocked in a pair of runs and scored twice, as the Shawnee State baseball team scored six runs in the first four innings – and scored in every inning but the fifth – as the Bears split a doubleheader in a mid-week non-conference bout with the University of Rio Grande on Tuesday at Bob Evans Field.
Following the 9-6 victory, SSU allowed seven runs in the fifth frame of game two and collected just two hits, leading to an 11-2 defeat which split the doubleheader. On the season, SSU held the advantage in the rivalry series, winning three-of-four games.
Clay Tefft (FR/Wauseon, Ohio) earned the victory in game one, allowing four earned runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of work. Tefft walked just one to go with four strikeouts. Brandon Bonar (JR/Chillicothe, Ohio) pitched the final 2.2 innings of relief, surrendering two earned runs on four hits.
The Bears got out of the gate early with a two-out rally which saw Dalton Tinsley (SR/Kokomo, Ind.) double home Mitchell Lendenski (JR/Loveland, Ohio), who reached on a leadoff walk. In the next frame, Travis Bingham (FR/Versailles, Ky.) launched a three-run shot to left-center, plating Haislop and Matt Dvorscak (FR/Whiting, Ind.).
In the third and fourth frames, SSU scored two more runs to push the advantage to 6-0. A sac fly from Alex Shears (SO/Lucasville, Ohio) scored Tinsley in the third, and Lendenski homered to right-center with one away in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rio Grande surged back into the game with four runs on four hits. Luis Jimenez, Grant Tamane and Kyle Findley each singled home runs, and Daryin Lewis knocked in another with a sac fly.
The Bears responded right away in the top of the sixth when Waters singled to right-center, scoring Dvorscak who led off the frame with a single of his own. After a scoreless bottom of the sixth, SSU put the contest away when Haislop hit the third Shawnee State home run of the game, a two-run shot to left center. Two runs from the RedStorm in the bottom of the seventh brought the game to its final score of 9-6.
Game two was much less productive offensively for the Bears, as the visiting squad was held scoreless for the first six innings. Following a no-out single in the first frame from Waters, the Bears were held hitless until the seventh.
Meanwhile, Rio Grande built up a 3-0 advantage with runs in each of the second, third and fourth frames. In the fifth, the home club erupted, scoring seven times on six hits and three free passes.
The Bears did grab a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, though by then the game was out of reach. Andrew Vanthournout (FR/Bowling Green, Ky.) brought home a run with a single to score Adam Turner (FR/Lansing, Mich.), and Mike Watson (FR/Niles, Ohio) scored on a passed ball in the frame.
Ethan Moffatt (JR/Somerville, Tenn.) was handed the loss, allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk in four innings of work. His counterpart, Luis Jiminez, earned the victory in 3.1 innings of relief, despite surrendering two runs (one earned) on just one hit.
SSU is back in action for a three-game Mid-South Conference set on the road at Georgetown College over the weekend. Game one on Friday is slated for 4 p.m. The squads will close with a twinbill Saturday, slated to begin at 1 p.m.
