EAST BANK, W. Va. (Baseball) – Andrew Vanthournout (FR/Bowling Green, Ky.)'s sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning scored Matt Dvorscak (FR/Whiting, Ind.), as the Shawnee State baseball team escaped a comeback effort from West Virginia Tech en route to a doubleheader split – winning game one, 6-5, before a 7-0 loss in game two – on Thursday afternoon in non-conference action at Martin Field.
The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening game, before a five inning fifth from WVU Tech brought the score back to even, setting up the late-game heroics from Vanthournout. Conner Wilson (JR/San Diego, Calif.), Adam Turner (FR/Lansing, Mich.) and Vanthournout each knocked in runs in the contest.
Brandon Bonar (JR/Chillicothe, Ohio) earned the victory for the Bears in two innings of relief, allowing just one hit and no runs while fanning one. ClayTefft took a no decision as the starter in 3.1 innings of work, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits and no walks. Tyler Arthur (FR/Morehead, Ky.) also added an inning and a third of shutout relief work.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead, plating four runs in the third inning to take a quick advantage. After a passed ball plated Mitchell Lendenski (JR/Loveland, Ohio) and an error scored Jacob Waters (JR/DeWitt, Mich.), Turner sent a single to right field to score Conner Wilson. An error on the same play allowed Mauro Olivarria (JR/San Diego, Calif.) to scamper home on the same play, making it 4-0 after three.
SSU kept things going in the fourth when, following a leadoff single from Mike Watson (FR/Niles, Ohio) and an error, Wilson lifted a sac fly to left, making it 5-0 in favor of the visitors.
The wheels fell off a bit for Shawnee State in the bottom of the fourth, as WVU Tech sent 10 runners to the plate, scoring five runs to tie the score. The Golden Bears took advantage of an error, back-to-back RBI singles and an RBI hit from Carlos Diaz, which brought the game to a 5-5 lock.
Things settled over the fifth and sixth frames, as each squad went scoreless to send the game to the final inning with an even score.
In the seventh, Olivarria reached on a one-out single, moved to second on a single from Mason Wisner (SR/Bay Village, Ohio) and went to third on an infield single from Tinsley. Vanthournout lifted a one-out line drive to left field, bringing Dvorscak – who was inserted as a pinch runner for Olivarria – home to give the Bears the lead.
Bonar worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame – inducing a pair of fly balls before a pop-out in foul territory to Drew Haislop (SO/Oak Hill, Ohio) – to earn his third victory of the season.
The Bears were much less fortunate in game two, as the home club jumped out to an early lead, limiting SSU to just two hits in the contest for the 7-0 victory.
Starter Ethan Moffatt (JR/Somerville, Tenn.) took his first defeat of the season, lasting just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on one hit and a pair of walks. The Bears put five pitchers on the hill, as Austyn Goodwin (FR/Lexington, Ky.) allowed two runs, Waters and Olivarria each provided scoreless work and Wisner allowed an earned run in an inning of work.
WVU Tech jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI fielder's choice from Josh Hudson and an RBI double from Austin Lucas, and played add-on in the second with a pair of unearned runs, both scoring on Bears' errors.
In the fourth, the Golden Bears added two more runs on an RBI single from Dylan Harvey and scored one more on an RBI single from Jayson Sykora in the sixth to bring the score to its 7-0 final.
Lendenski and Turner provided the lone hits for SSU, who just twice put more than a single runner aboard in an inning. The Bears also saw two runners thrown out trying to extend hits into extra bases.
Shawnee State returns to action for a Mid-South Conference weekend set with No. 16 Campbellsville University over the weekend. Originally scheduled for Friday-Saturday, impending weather has pushed the opening game to Saturday at 3 p.m. Sunday's doubleheader is set to begin at noon.
