Bowling Green, Ky. – Shawnee State baseball dropped their first game of the Mid-South Conference Tournament to Campbellsville on Thursday afternoon, losing to the second-seeded Tigers 11-5.
After two scoreless innings, Campbellsville would break through in the bottom of the third, pushing across four runs. With one out, Matthew Valdez would single, and reach second on Tyson Solis' single up the middle to put two on with one out. Logan Roberts would then hit a high fly ball to center field that Christian Helton (JR/Lexington, Kentucky) would lose in the sun; the runners, being forced to hold due to the fly ball, would only get to second and third on the long single by Roberts. Ty Housden would follow with a bloop single up the left field line, scoring Valdez and Solis; Roberts and Housden would both advance to second and third when Chase Thurber (JR/Andover, Ohio) bobbled the ball in left field. Marco Murillo would follow with a sacrifice fly to left field to score Roberts, and an RBI single to center field by David Montoya would give Campbellsville an early 4-0 lead.
Shawnee State would respond with two runs in the top of the fourth. Seth Clement (FR/Kissimmee, Florida) would lead off the frame with an infield single on a chopper toward second base. With one out, Levi Jones (JR/Millersburg, Ohio) would double into right-center field, moving Clement to third. Chase Thurber would then line an RBI double down the left field line, scoring both runners to cut the Campbellsville lead to 4-2.
Campbellsville would get the two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Shane Stober would single to right-center field. Valdez would follow with a double to left-center, with pinch runner Jalen Horton scoring on the play to make the score 5-2. Solis would then follow with an RBI single to right field to extend the Tiger lead back to 6-2 after four innings.
The Bears would again rally for a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Boggs would line a single to center field to lead off the inning. With one out, Thurber would single to right field to put two men on. Dalton Phillips (JR/Hastings, Michigan) then lifted a bloop single to left field, loading the bases with one out. Sam Gerhold (SR/Shelton, Washington) would follow with a sacrifice fly to center, driving in Boggs and moving Thurber to third. Casey Claflin (SR/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) would then line a double to left-center, driving in Thurber to cut the Campbellsville lead to 6-4.
Campbellsville would extend their lead again in the bottom of the sixth with five runs off of Shawnee State reliever Tyler Arthur (SR/Morehead, Kentucky). Chris Taitague would lead off the inning with a single, and get to second on Stober's single through the hole at shortstop. Valdez would then hit into a fielder's choice, with pinch runner DePaul Blunt forced out at second to put runners at the corners with one out. Solis would follow with a single to drive in Taitague, making the score 7-4 and putting two on with one out. A balk called on Arthur would move the runners to second and third, and Logan Roberts would walk to load the bases. Jalen Horton would then ground into a fielder's choice to second, pushing across Valdez with two outs. Marco Murillo would follow with the big blow, hitting a three-run home run to left, chasing Arthur from the game and giving Campbellsville an 11-4 lead heading to the seventh inning.
Shawnee State would rally in the top of the ninth inning. With one out, Christian Helton would hit a single to right field. Seth Clement would follow with a single to left, with Helton reaching third on the hit; Clement would move up to second on the throw. JT Boggs (SR/South Shore, Kentucky) would then coax a walk to load the bases. Levi Jones would hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Helton, cutting the lead to 11-5. However, the rally would fall short as Campbellsville reliever Nick Johnson would strike out Chase Thurber to end the game.
Anthony Arias got the win for Campbellsville, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings pitched, striking out four. Kyle Wisniewski (FR/Strongsville, Ohio) took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in four innings pitched.
The loss drops Shawnee State to 14-29 on the season. Campbellsville improves to 33-15, and move into the winner's bracket in the Mid-South Conference Tournament.
Shawnee State baseball drops into the loser's bracket of the Mid-South Conference Tournament and will next play on Friday, May 4 against the loser of today's game between third-seeded Cumberland (Tenn.) and sixth-seeded Pikeville. First pitch on Friday is set for 9:00am.
