The baseball program at Shawnee State posted an impressive effort against one of the NAIA's most well-respected programs Sunday evening, as Shawnee State overcame a 10-0 deficit in the first game of a three-game series against No. 24 Concordia to close the Game 1 margin to a respectable 11-6 count -- then flipped the script in Game 2 by posting six of its eight extra base hits in the second contest of Sunday's doubleheader to claim a 6-2 victory over the Cardinals in a Sunday split at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.

Game 2 highlights -- Shawnee State 6, No. 24 Concordia (Mich.) 2

Clutch at-bats fuel three-run second

Following a scoreless opening frame in the second contest between the two units Sunday, Shawnee State got an infusion of life from its offensive lineup in the bottom half of the second frame.

After a leadoff double by Hunter Warner and a walk by Brock Kitchen, a fielder's choice and a one-out wild pitch ultimately allowed Warner to score the first run of the contest while Shawnee State infielder Ryan Scott moved to second base on the exchange.

Concordia followed by forcing a Tyler Lund flyout to right field, but with two out, Shawnee State's top end of the lineup produced in a big way as leadoff hitter Nolan Tressler shot a rope over to right center field that rolled to the warning track and resulted in an RBI double, while No. 2 hole hitter Diego Mendoza followed with an RBI double of his own to left center. The two hits scored Scott and Tressler, respectively -- and allowed Shawnee State to take control of the second affair.

Oakes' bat no joke, Tressler teams with Oakes to finish Cardinals off

Concordia second baseman Jake Kuhlman answered Shawnee State's three-run second with a two-run bomb to left field that pulled the Cardinals within a 3-2 margin after two-and-a-half innings of work.

However, Shawnee State veteran Eric Oakes followed up Kuhlman's homer with one of his own.

The talented senior had one hit in his three plate appearances in Game 2, but that one hit was a big blow to Concordia's hopes in Game 2 as Oakes shot a missile over the right field wall for a solo home run that put the Bears ahead by a 4-2 lead after three innings of play.

Following Oakes' homer, Tressler helped seal the Game 2 result in favor of SSU by notching two key insurance runs to add breathing room. With two out in the sixth inning of action, Tressler's line drive back up the center of the diamond scored Shawnee State pinch runner Trent Tice -- and with one out in the eighth inning of work, the talented outfielder from Woodstock, Ga. notched a sacrifice fly RBI to score Luis Meija, giving Shawnee State two important insurance runs.

Oakes then came on in relief of SSU Game 2 starter Jakobe Reese and SSU freshman reliever Carson Wireman and kept the success of the trio going, as the talented hurlers combined to hold a deep and talented Concordia lineup to just five hits combined while striking out 12 Cardinals in Sunday's Game 2 matters. Oakes notched two scoreless innings of relief and posted four strikeouts on his own accord to help seal the final result.

Game 1 -- No. 24 Concordia (Mich.) 11, Shawnee State 6

Down 10-0 after three-and-a-half-innings of play, Shawnee State showed gumption in rallying back from the early hole. Tressler, who launched an RBI double into the right center field gap to plate Shawnee State's first run of the day in the fourth inning of work, helped plate two runs on an RBI single as part of a five-run fifth that saw Zach Gaspar add in an RBI double of his own to right field. A fielding error and a wild pitch allowed the Bears to close the Concordia advantage to 10-6 before ultimately dropping the series opener by five runs.

Additional

For the day, Noah Sniadach's consistent hitting in the No. 3 hole was huge for Shawnee State. The senior from Hebron continues to pace everyday players on the Shawnee State roster with a terrific .441 batting average for the year to date (15-for-34) that includes five extra base hits, four RBI and seven runs scored.

Tressler finished Sunday's two-game set 3-for-8 at the plate with a double and six RBI while Warner (2-for-6, two doubles, two run scored) and Gaspar (2-for-7, two doubles, RBI run scored) also enjoyed multi-hit days, while Oakes (1-for-4, two walks, home run, RBI, two runs scored) and Mendoza (1-for-4, double, walk, RBI in Game 2) were all major contributors offensively in Sunday's split.

The Bears will be back in action against No. 24 Concordia (Mich.) Monday afternoon at 12 p.m. at Branch Rickey Park in an attempt to win the nonconference series.

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