COLUMBIA, Ky. (Baseball) – The Shawnee State baseball team committed six errors – leading to six unearned runs – in game one, and were unable to overcome a three run first inning in game two, as the Bears dropped a pair of Mid-South Conference contests to Lindsey Wilson on Saturday afternoon at Egnew Park.
With the victories, Lindsey Wilson (32-17, 12-6 Mid-South) completed the three-game series sweep of SSU (17-30, 5-13). The Bears will return to action on Tuesday with a non-conference single game on the road at Bluefield College. First pitch of the nine inning bout is set for 3 p.m.
Game One
In game one, the two squads went scoreless for three and a half frames before Lindsey Wilson struck first in the fourth. Back-to-back walks led off the frame and – following a sacrifice bunt – the Blue Raiders got a sac fly from Fabian Chirino and an RBI single from Dustin Woody to take a 2-0 advantage.
That would be all LWC starter Aaron Doughty would need. He would get much more.
Lindsey Wilson put up a four-spot in the fifth frame, using four SSU errors, not getting a single hit in the inning off SSU hurler Clay Tefft (SO/Wauseon, Ohio). Tefft would finish going seven innings, surrendering seven runs – though just three earned – on three hits, three walks and five strikeout.
The Blue Raiders added one more run in the third and put up three runs in the eighth to bring the game to a close an inning early. Doughty grabbed the win in six innings of work, while Tefft was saddled with the loss.
Game Two
Lindsey Wilson struck immediately in game two, as Edgar Lebron led off with a single. With two away, Austin Atwell singled up the middle to plate Lebron and Brandon Munoz ripped a double down the line to score another. Victor Nazario added an RBI single, and the Blue Raiders enjoyed a 3-0 lead after one.
Shawnee State cut into the deficit in the fifth, as Christian Helton (FR/Lexington, Ky.) singled to lead off the frame. Brady Knittel (SO/West Portsmouth, Ohio) – doubling as the SSU starting pitcher – helped his own cause with a double to score Helton. Following an Austin Hall (SR/Wheelersburg, Ohio) bunt single, Mitchell Lendenski (SR/Loveland, Ohio) found the gap in left-center to make it 3-2.
The Blue Raiders got one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame, as Munoz singled home Lebron to make it 4-2. LWC would need no more, as the Bears collected just one hit over the final two innings, never threatening the deficit.
Knittel took the loss for SSU, while Tyler Russell earned the victory. James Doubet recorded his seventh save for the Blue Raiders, closing the door in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning.
