Already on a roll to begin the 2024 season under Shawnee State softball head coach Kristen Bradshaw, the Shawnee State softball program made it four shutouts over its first four contests to begin the 2024 season with convincing victories over Vermont State University-Lyndon, 8-0, and Vermont State University-Johnson, 13-0 Thursday at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In both victories, Shawnee State amassed a total of 21 hits en route to accumulating its 21 runs. Vermont State University-Lyndon and Vermont State University-Johnson combined for just six hits between them as the pitching duo of Cassie Berry and Cameryn Davidson combined to strike out six batters and notch a complete game three-hitter in Game 1 against Lyndon while Genavie Espinoza, who got the start in Game 2, went the distance in her own complete game three-hitter, striking out nine.

Game 1 -- Shawnee State 8, Vermont State University-Lyndon 0

Shawnee State wasted no time striking first against VSU-Lyndon as in the top half of the first frame, back-to-back singles by Jenna Christopher and Lauren Spears created RBI opportunities for Cassie Berry and Sierra Dunnagan, with Berry's productive 6-3 groundout RBI and an RBI single to left by Dunnagan putting the Bears ahead by a 2-0 margin after an inning of work.

The Bears added on three runs in the second frame to extend the lead, as a one-out walk by Allison Tom and infield singles by Brittani Wolfenbarker and Christopher allowed Spears to unload the bases with a bases-clearing hit to left field - pushing the Shawnee State lead to a 5-0 count after two innings complete.

With Davidson rolling comfortably through the Lyndon lineup through her five innings of work, and Berry slamming the door on any hopes of a Lyndon rally, the Bears easily cruised home -- but not before adding three additional tallies.

Amariah Hoerner's triple to left center field was followed by a Mackenzie Hale RBI base knock that dropped in front of a diving Lyndon defender in sixth. Spears' one-out double then allowed Dunnagan to produce her second RBI base knock of the contest in the top of the seventh, and a groundball by Hale produced a run with another SSU baserunner coming in to score on an error on the same play to round out the scoring.

Christopher and Spears went a combined 6-for-8 with a double, three RBI and four runs scored at the top of the Shawnee State order, while Dunnagan and Hoerner combined to go 4-for-8 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored in the middle of it to lead a complete SSU batting lineup.

Game 2 -- Shawnee State 13, Vermont State University-Johnson 0 (F/5)

Shawnee State faced even less resistance in its second matchup of the day, as the Bears rolled to a convincing 13-0 victory over Vermont State University-Johnson, posting a massive nine-run second frame followed by another crooked inning in the fourth with a four-run tally.

In the second inning alone, the Bears sent 14 batters to the plate in the nine-run frame, with the no-doubt highlight of the frame, and the entire contest, for that matter, being a lined shot into the right field corner by Jenna Christopher that the speedy 5-2 leadoff hitter from Huntington, W. Va. turned into an two-RBI inside-the-park home run.

Lauren Spears added in a triple to left field in the following at-bat and Mackenzie Hale came up two batters later to do the same, adding in an RBI triple to left to boot. Both players later scored on two separate wild pitches as part of the nine-run outing. Brittani Wolfenbarker, who had made a nifty 9-4-3 frame-ending double-play in the top half of the first frame, then came up to add a two-RBI base knock to help finish off the inning.

In the fourth frame, the Bears batted around -- as Bianca Belo-Diaz's double and a walk by Haley Hawes allowed Lexie Lockwood and Wolfenbarker to produce an RBI double and an RBI single, respectively as the main highlights in the four-run fourth.

Wolfenbarker, who went 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored, led the way as did Christopher's inside-the-park homer mentioned earlier.

Additional

Christopher and Spears ultimately combined to go 8-for-13 at the plate with a double, a triple, a home run, five RBI and six runs scored between them as the No. 1 and No. 2 hole hitters in the SSU offensive attack to head up the monstrous output by the Bears.

With the victories, Shawnee State moved to 4-0 in 2024. The Bears have outscored its opposition by a 37-0 margin with two mercy-rule triumphs in its four wins.

Shawnee State gets back to action with a pair of contests against State University of New York at Purchase (2 p.m.) and a second matchup against Vermont State University-Lyndon (4 p.m.) Friday afternoon. Both contests will be on Field 2 at the North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Sports Complex, which can be found at https://nmbpark.com/396/Live-Camera-Baseball-Field-2.

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