For the second consecutive day, Shawnee State freshman ace Cassie Schaefer posted a complete game performance inside the circle, with Mo Wolansky, Sunetrius Armstrong, Aleeya Adkins, Kylie Ray and Kalle Coleman all providing strong support in a 4-2 victory in the opening game of a Saturday doubleheader.
Between the two games, Shawnee State collected 12 hits offensively while only committing a single defensive error as a group in its 36 defensive chances as a team. This included an error-free first contest that was full of defensive web gems on the SSU side.
Game 1
Schaefer continues dependable play from circle
Throughout Saturday's victory, Cassie Schaefer proved to be as solid as a rock for Shawnee State once again.
Other than giving up solo home runs to Katelyn Byrd and Megan Claypoole in the third and seventh innings, respectively, Schaefer pitched a spotless affair, only giving two runs on four hits even with the solo home runs included. Schaefer induced eight flyouts and eight groundouts, and needed only 75 pitches to come up with her complete game performance -- an average of 10.7 pitches per inning.
In her third straight victory, Schaefer also posted an ERA of 2.00 or lower for the third consecutive game running as the West Portsmouth native continues to lead what is becoming a strong second half of 2021 for the softball Bears.
Wolansky, Armstrong, Ray drive in critical runs
Around Schaefer's strong work inside the circle, Mo Wolansky, Sunetrius Armstrong and Kylie Ray drove in crucial, difference-making runs to head up the Shawnee State contingent.
Following a second inning walk by Armstrong and a double by Brittani Wolfenbarker that put runners on second and third with nobody out, Wolansky came up two batters later and drilled a critical hit to left field that turned into a two-RBI base knock and gave SSU a lead it ultimately wouldn't relinquish.
The Bears, up 2-0 after two innings complete, then got a leadoff single and a stolen base from Ashton Rankin that led to a RBI base knock from Armstrong in the third inning and received a sacrifice fly RBI from Ray in the fourth frame to round out its scoring in Saturday's opener.
Adkins, Armstrong, Wolansky aid Schaefer with A-plus defensive effort
Aiding Schaefer all the way with a star-studded defensive effort was the play of the Shawnee State defense.
In 19 defensive chances, Shawnee State didn't commit a single error, led by the outstanding play of Adkins who made a leaping grab of one UPike hit in the middle innings and made several excellent infield stabs to go along with the leap throughout the first affair.
Armstrong then added a gritty grab in the seventh -- banging off of the left field wall on the track -- to haul a Zoe Ingram ball in, while Wolansky, in arguably the best defensive play of the game, took a ball that deflected off of Schaefer's foot, hauled it in with her bare hand, and fired to first base to make the difficult play look routine as the capper to arguably Shawnee State's best fielding effort of the year.
Game 2
In the second game, Kalle Coleman added in her second home run in as many days with a solo home run in the sixth inning that one-hopped to the railroad tracks in straighaway center field. Her seventh homer of the contest moved the junior infielder to a tie with Cumberland (Tenn.)'s Mariah Clark for fourth in the Mid-South Conference and 20th nationally in that category.
While Coleman attempted to keep Shawnee State in the contest with her solo blast in the sixth, freshman pitcher Madison Sifford successfully did the same with her work in relief of Game 2 starter Sydney Spence. Sifford threw five innings of five-hit ball, striking out four batters, walking just one, and forcing five flyouts along with two groundouts as a whole. Kylie Ray also aided Sifford's time on the bump with a diving catch in center field in the seventh inning of play, allowing SSU to have an opportunity to make the contest interesting.
Additional Notes
Shawnee State (6-16, 4-14 MSC) will play Georgetown, Ky. in a pair of Mid-South Conference doubleheaders next Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10. The start times for both doubleheaders are set for 3 p.m. (Friday) and 1 p.m. (Saturday), respectively.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
