Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State baseball snapped an 11-game losing streak on Friday afternoon, defeating Kentucky Christian 8-3 at Branch Rickey Park.
The Bears would strike first in the bottom of the second inning. Chase Thurber (JR/Andover, Ohio) would hit a one-out double off the wall in right field, and would get to third on a wild pitch from KCU starting pitcher David Gifford. Casey Claflin (SR/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) would then walk and be replaced by courtesy runner Anthony Nichols (JR/Fargo, North Dakota). Nichols would then initiate a double steal, reaching second safely while Thurber scored on the throw to second, giving Shawnee State a 1-0 lead. The inning would end on an unusual ruling, as Zach Straley (FR/Uniontown, Ohio) would come to the plate out of order and strike out swinging, with that strikeout being charged to Blake Marshall (JR/Lexington, Kentucky) due to the ruling. Straley's actual spot in the lineup would then be skipped in SSU's next time to the plate.
The skip in the order would not matter, as Shawnee State would tack on three runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Seth Clement (FR/Kissimmee, Florida) would be hit by a pitch. JT Boggs (SR/South Shore, Kentucky) would then hit a grounder to second, but Brock Damron's attempt to get Clement at second would fail when Dane Wilson failed to touch second base after receiving the throw, putting two on with one out after the fielder's choice. Levi Jones (JR/Millersburg, Ohio) then hit a bloop up the right field line, that would end up as a fielder's choice when Boggs, who had to hold, was thrown out at second base by Damron. Thurber would then hit his second double of the game, this one to left-center, scoring Clement and moving Jones to third. After Claflin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Sam Gerhold (SR/Shelton, Washington) would single softly to left field, driving in both Thurber and Jones. Gerhold was thrown out stretching to second on the throw, giving Shawnee State a 4-0 lead heading to the fourth inning.
Kentucky Christian would get an unearned run in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Dakota Bowen would hit a line drive to center field that deflected off of Christian Helton (JR/Lexington, Kentucky)'s glove, allowing Bowen to get to second base. Logan Wade then hit a sharp grounder through the hole at second base, moving courtesy runner Sean O'Neill to third. Trey Cline then singled to left, scoring O'Neill and cutting the Shawnee State lead to 4-1.
The Knights then added another in the top of the fifth. Blake Conley would hit a slow roller toward third, forcing Straley to eat the throw for an infield single. Conley reached second on Trey Mills' sacrifice bunt. Dane Wilson then hit a double off the wall in center field, and Helton's bobble on the play allowed Conley, who got a late break from second base, to score, cutting the SSU lead in half at 4-2.
The Bears would respond in the bottom of the fifth. Clement would lead off the inning with a bloop single to center, followed by Boggs hitting a grounder through the right side for a single to get Clement to third. Jones would then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Clement and putting Shawnee State back up three at 5-2.
The Bears would blow the game open in the bottom of the seventh. Boggs would greet relief pitcher Damron with a double to right-center. Jones would trade places with Boggs with a double of his own to right-center, driving in Boggs to make the score 6-2. Thurber then added another hit to his tally, singling to left-center to drive in Jones, with Thurber advancing to second on the throw home. Alex Medina (JR/Miami, Florida), who replaced Claflin, then singled to shallow center, moving Thurber to third base. Gerhold would drive in Thurber with a double play to second, putting Shawnee State up 8-2.
Kentucky Christian would add another run in the top of the eighth. SSU reliever Tyler Arthur (SR/Morehead, Kentucky) would struggle to find the strike zone to start his outing, allowing back-to-back walks to Damron and Bowen. Logan Wade would then strike out swinging, and Trey Cline would pop out into foul territory to get two outs. With two outs, Damron would steal third, and Medina's wild throw into left field would allow Damron to score and Bowen to take second. However, Arthur would escape the inning, and get Kentucky Christian in the bottom of the ninth to secure an 8-3 Shawnee State win.
Kyle Wisniewski (FR/Strongsville, Ohio) would get the win for Shawnee State, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings, striking out nine. David Gifford took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in six innings, striking out six.
The win improves Shawnee State to 13-24 on the season. Kentucky Christian falls to 0-28.
Shawnee State baseball and Kentucky Christian will play games two and three of their three-game series on Saturday, April 21. First pitch of game one of tomorrow's doubleheader is set for 12:00pm.
