Campbellsville, Ky. – Shawnee State softball salvaged a split with (4) Campbellsville on Saturday afternoon, winning game one 7-6 but falling in game two 9-0 in five innings.
The Bears would take and early lead in the top of the first inning, scoring four runs. With one out, Ashtyn Saunders (SO/Lancaster, Ohio) and Marisa Brown (JR/Liberty Township, Ohio) would hit back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. Kayla Koch (SR/Lucasville, Ohio) then followed with a three-run home run to left field, putting Shawnee State up 3-0. Stacy Trenholm (FR/Lancaster, Ohio) would go back-to-back with Koch, hitting a solo home run to left to give the Bears a 4-0 lead.
Campbellsville would chip away at the lead with a run in the bottom of the third. Rebecca Miller would reach on a one-out bunt single, and would get to third on an error by Saunders, whose wild throw would allow batter Tori Humphrey to get to second. Miller would then come home on an RBI groundout by Alexis Smith, cutting the Shawnee State lead to 4-1.
The Bears would get the run back in the top of the fourth. With one out, Tatum Wise would single to center field. Katlyn Gleich (JR/Grove City, Ohio) then singled to right field, moving Wise to third and getting to second base on the throw to third. Haley Rawlins (SO/South Point, Ohio) would then single center, scoring Wise to give Shawnee State a 5-1 lead.
Campbellsville would push across another run in the bottom of the fourth. Brianna Scott would lead off the inning with a walk, and steal second with one out. Dana Adkins would single to center field, moving Scott to third and getting to second on the throw over. Ryleigh Oldham would walk to load the bases, and Jacqueline Roof would ground out to short to score Scott and cut the SSU lead to 5-2.
The Tigers would strike for two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Smith and Ryley Whitney would hit back-to-back singles to put two on. Scott would then be hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Whitney would then be replaced by pinch runner Kalin Bottoms. Mia Aldridge would then hit a grounder to Michal Cunningham (SO/Wheelersburg, Ohio) at third, but Cunningham's throw home to get Smith would sail wide, allowing Smith to score on an error. Jordan Ison would then pinch hit for Campbellsville and hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Bottoms and cutting the Shawnee State lead to 5-4.
Shawnee State would get a key insurance run in the top of the sixth. With two outs, Victoria Bevington (SO/London, Ohio) would double to center field. Cunningham would then single to center, driving in Bevington to give SSU a 6-4 lead.
Campbellsville would tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Roof would lead off the inning with a solo home run to center field to cut the lead to one. With one out, Humphrey would hit a solo home run of her own, tying the game at 6-6.
Shawnee State would take back the lead in the top of the seventh. Brown would lead off the inning with a single, and would be replaced by pinch runner Morgan Rearick (FR/Canal Fulton, Ohio). Koch would then hit a double to right field, moving Rearick to third. Trenholm would single back up the middle, scoring Rearick to give SSU a 7-6 lead; Koch would be cut down at the plate trying to score. The Bears would hold that lead through the bottom of the seventh to take game one.
Tatum Wise got the win, allowing six runs on eight hits in seven innings. Neely Quint took the loss, allowing seven runs on 14 hits in seven innings.
Campbellsville would take a commanding lead early in game two, scoring five in the bottom of the first. Jacqueline Roof and Rebecca Miller would draw back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. Tori Humphrey then singled to right field, scoring Roof and moving Miller to third. Ryley Whitney would follow with a double, scoring both Miller and Humphrey to make the Campbellsville lead 3-0. Brianna Scott would single to move Whitney to third; Whitney would be thrown out at the plate on fielder's choice off the bat of Mia Aldridge. With runners at second and third, Dana Adkins would single to center, scoring Scott and Aldridge to give Campbellsville a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers would end the game in the bottom of the fifth with four runs. Miller would lead off the inning with a single, and would steal second base. Humphrey would then single Miller in to make the score 6-0. Smith would ground into a fielder's choice, with Humphrey thrown out at second base. Smith then advanced to second on a passed ball, and scored on Whitley's double to left. Whitley would be replaced by Kalin Bottoms, but the pinch runner wouldn't matter as Scott would hit a two-run home run to end the game.
Morgan Gailor picked up the win for Campbellsville, allowing no runs on three hits in five innings, striking out three. McKenzie Whittaker (JR/McDermott, Ohio) took the loss, allowing nine runs on eight hits in four and one-thirds innings.
The split moves Shawnee State to 23-19 on the season, and to 10-14 in the Mid-South Conference. Campbellsville improved to 39-6, and 21-3 in the league.
Shawnee State softball returns to action on Wednesday, April 25 when they hit the road for a doubleheader at Rio Grande (Ohio). First pitch of game one is set for 3:00pm.
