The Shawnee State Bears took on the University of Tennessee Southern on Saturday, March 4th in a single game at Branch Ricky Park. The Bears will look to open the series with a win before facing off two more times tomorrow.
The game would be much of a pitching battle until the third inning when Eric Oakes would homer to left center starting the scoring fun. Noah Sniadach followed Oakes with a homer of his own, going back-to-back to take a 2-0 lead. Noah Rezner was next in line hitting a double in the third, scoring Mason Dick. UT Southern tallied twice in the fifth inning, making it a 3-2 game in favor of the Bears. In the sixth inning, Brock Kitchen singled to center scoring Dick and Oakes, while UTS plated one run the following inning inching closer. Tanner Lund crushed a ball to orbit in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring himself and Zach Gaspar, which also took the life out of the Firehawk's dugout. In the eighth Gaspar and Charles Douglas would provide two RBIs each putting UTS away.
The Bears would send Jacob Gleason to the mound to open the series. Gleason would go six complete innings allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out six. James Bodrock, Ricky Deeble, and Dylan Bernard all battled, holding off the Firehawk's bats just long enough to capture the win in game one.
- Eight of the nine starters would tally a hit in the matchup
- Lund, Oakes, and Sniadach each homer
- Diego Mendoza goes 3-5 with a double and two singles
The Bears will be back in action tomorrow March 5th, playing the final two games of the series against Tennesee Southern at Branch Ricky Park, looking to get their first series win of the season. The first pitch is slated for Noon.
For more information on the Bears regarding schedule information or live streaming, please visit ssubears.com. You can also follow the Baseball program on Instagram (ssu_baseball
