Despite splitting with Bethel (Tenn.) Saturday afternoon, the Shawnee State baseball program continued its promising upward trajectory in all phases, with Kyle Wisniewski firing on all cylinders in a dominating, complete game effort on the hill in Shawnee State's 2-1 victory in Game 1 and the Bears notching 11 hits as a team in a scant 6-5 loss to the Wildcats in Game 2 to begin a three-game series against Bethel in a positive manner Saturday at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State, who now sits at 12-10 overall and 4-6 in the Mid-South Conference following the two decisions, took Bethel (12-7, 9-4 MSC) to the limit in both contests, with several strong results heading the charge.
Wisniewski posts dominant outing in complete game two-hitter
In a determined effort, Kyle Wisniewski made certain that he would not be denied a decision in Saturday's opener, firing the best performance of any pitcher on the Shawnee State staff this season with his complete-game two-hitter.
Other than a first inning error by the defense and a fifth inning walk, Wisniewski proved to pitch as clean as possible as the junior fired a true gem in facing just two batters above the minimum through six innings of work. The 6-5 lefty gave up a solo home run to Luke Patterson with two gone in the seventh inning of work, but despite that minor blemish, never got rattled in the tight affair as the Strongsville, Ohio product allowed just a single from that point on in the win.
In his two-hit, complete game triumph, Wisniewski recorded eight of his 11 strikeouts through the first six innings alone -- including six through the first four innings of work. His ERA dropped by over one full point as a result of his efforts during Saturday's first affair.
Wisniewski's 11 strikeouts in the game are the most he's had in an outing for the Bears, with his previous high being nine against Kentucky Christian during his freshman season. He was also able to register his first complete game of his collegiate career in the process.
Santiago comes up large in Game 1
While Shawnee State wasn't able to produce much in the way of runs in Saturday's opener, their two runs in the first, by way of Javier Santiago, proved to be all that they needed.
With Jacob Kline on base via a walk and Levi Jones doubling to left to set up the table for Santiago with runners at second and third base and two away, Santiago delivered in a major way by driving both runners home with a single to right field.
With those two runs batted in, Santiago moves to third on the team in the category with 14 and is now hitting .275 on the season.
Kline, Boggs continue productive hitting in tight windows
Of Shawnee State's 11 hits in Game 2, none proved to be bigger than Jacob Kline's three-run homer in the bottom half of the opening frame.
In a hitter's count with George Duran and Danny McGuire on base, Kline immediately made Bethel pay the price for allowing Duran and McGuire to get on base while pitching to the 6-3, 200-pounder with nobody out, as his three-run blast to left gave Shawnee State an early 3-1 lead with which to work with.
For the season, Kline continues to rake, as evidenced by his .369 batting average, seven home runs and 33 RBI which all lead the team. He's posted an incredible .702 slugging percentage to boot.
As for Boggs, his two-RBI single in the fifth inning allowed SSU to retake the point at 5-4 after Bethel rallied to take the point back in the top half of the same frame. Following a Howie Rodriguez double and a Jacob Kline single to center field, Boggs drove them both in with a single to center field himself to allow the Bears to retake the lead before a Bethel run in the sixth forced the game into extras, where the Wildcats eventually took home the win on an RBI triple.
In his last four games, Boggs has been outstanding, going 4-for-10 at the plate with a double, six RBI and five walks.
NEXT UP
Shawnee State finishes off its series against Bethel Sunday afternoon at Branch Rickey Park. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
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