Productive hitting from the top of a lineup is always critical for any team's success as a unit.
The baseball program at Shawnee State certainly got that dose of medicine -- in a big way -- throughout Saturday's contests against Montreat, with Jacob Kline going 5-for-7 with a grand slam and eight RBI and George Duran, Javier Santiago and many others contributing in a positive manner between the two games in the Bears' sweep of the Cavaliers (11-7, 4-3) at Big League Camp in Lake James, N.C.
Shawnee State, who posted a dozen hits but scored just seven runs in a 13-7 setback to Ohio Christian Friday evening, left nothing to chance at the plate, scoring 11 runs off of 10 hits in the opening contest against Montreat and following that effort up with four runs off of seven additional sprays in Saturday's nightcapper.
Along with Kline, Duran and Santiago also homered while Kline, Santiago and Charles Douglas each added doubles to the table in two quality victories.
Game 1
From the outset, neither team had trouble plating runs. On the second pitch of the day, Duran clubbed a solo home run over the right center field fence to immediately put Shawnee State up by a 1-0 count, with the Bears adding onto their early cushion as Santiago's double was followed by an RBI single from Kline that put SSU up by a 2-0 margin after the opening half-inning of work.
Montreat was able to even the score on a fielder's choice and an infield error, but Shawnee State quickly stormed back with a crooked frame in the third. Fueled by a one-out walk by Levi Jones and a catching error coming off of a dropped third strike, a pair of walks and a second infield miscue following the previously mentioned sequence of events allowed the Bears to take a 4-2 advantage.
However, the real damage came with Kline, the eighth batter up in the frame. With the bags full and getting a green light on a 0-0 count, Kline jacked the first pitch of his at-bat over the left field fence to cap a six-run third-inning that put the Bears up by a commanding 8-2 count.
Not phased, Montreat added a run in the bottom of the third frame on an error and then added four additional tallies in the fourth as RBI singles by Rafael Padilla and Alexander Soto, along with a two-run triple by Caleb Abshier, allowed the Cavaliers to close the gap to a single run, 8-7, in the middle innings.
With the game hanging in the balance, however, it was Shawnee State who closed the deal with key base knocks. With the bags full once more and two out, Howie Rodriguez came up large by launching a two-RBI single to right field to score both Duran and Danny McGuire. McGuire then followed the clutch efforts of his fellow teammate, as the junior, following a two-out walk by Coleman and a passed ball that allowed Coleman to move into scoring position, launched a base knock of his own to score courtesy runner Kevin Schaaf and put the game out of reach.
In the Game 1 victory, Kline's 4-for-4 effort, which included his grand slam and a double to boot, led to a game-high five RBI out of the three-hole. Santiago, who went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, joined Kline in the multi-hit brigade while Duran (1-for-3, home run, two RBI, three runs scored), McGuire (1-for-2, RBI, two runs scored), Rodriguez (1-for-5, two RBI), and Coleman (1-for-3, run scored) proved to be huge in the outcome.
From a pitching standpoint, Jacob Gleason was able to withstand a tough Montreat lineup en route to his first win of the year, throwing four innings and allowing five earned runs while striking out five Cavaliers. Ricky Deeble, working in long relief, pitched strong in his first career Shawnee State appearance, allowing just one hit and striking out a pair of batters in three innings of work while throwing just 36 pitches in an efficient and effective relief outing.
Game 2
Following off of the conclusion of their strong Game 1 performance where Shawnee State came up with key plays and hits at critical times, the Bears did much the same in the nightcapper against Montreat.
Down 2-0 after two innings of work following an RBI single by Montreat's Noah Medina and a walk, Shawnee State rallied with four unanswered tallies to take back control.
Following a hit batsmen, a stolen base by Duran, and a walk by Douglas -- all with two out in the third inning -- it was Kline, surprise surprise, who put together the difference-making plays. His double to deep left center field in the third tied the score at two apiece, then in the fourth frame, his walk with two gone scored Noah Brock to give Shawnee State a 3-2 lead after four innings of work. Santiago then crushed a pitch over the left center field fence on a 1-0 count in the fifth to completely turn the tables on Montreat, as the Cavs, once up by a 2-0 count, found themselves trailing by a 4-2 margin after five innings of play.
After a 1-2-3 sixth inning, Montreat attempted to put together a rally as a leadoff single by Padilla in the seventh was compounded by an error, allowing Padilla to advance to third.
With one gone later in the seventh frame of work, Cole Cothren doubled down the right field line to score Padilla and put the tying run on second base with just one away, but Phil Butler and Casey Claflin struck with relief pitcher Drew Lowe -- who hadn't given up a hit prior to the seventh inning -- and Lowe delivered by striking out Norman Kelly and Chris Wright to end the game in style and seal the sweep.
In the victory, Kline and Santiago combined to go 2-for-6 with four RBI and a run score to lead the Bears, while Rodriguez (2-for-4) added in the Bears' lone multi-hit game. Kellen Ingram picked up the win on the mound for Shawnee State, striking out seven batters and allowing just three hits in four innings of work, while Lowe's effective three innings in relief, which included four strikeouts and just two hits and one walk given up, allowed the Sciotoville native to collect the save.
NEXT UP
Shawnee State will look to cap off the Big League Camp series on the right note by avenging its Friday evening setback to Ohio Christian Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in Lake James.
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