In its season opening contests against Georgetown (Ky.), first-year head coach Rob Ehlers' baseball program showed promising progression -- as Eric Oakes, Nolan Tressler and Ryan Scott enjoyed multi-hit outings in Game 1 while Jakobe Reese and Carson Wireman combined to throw eight innings of four-hit baseball in Game 2.
The Bears, however, left 17 runners on base between the two contests -- which proved to be costly as Shawnee State fell by 10-5 and 1-0 margins to the Tigers Saturday at Thomas More Stadium in Florence, Ky.
Game 1
After falling behind by a 1-0 tally to Georgetown following the opening frame of action, Shawnee State equalized the score at one apiece in the top half of the third inning -- as Kyle Eslick launched a leadoff single to center and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Scott. The next batter, Tyler Lund, then roped a single of his own to center field to bring in Eslick and tie the score.
Georgetown took the lead back via a two-RBI single by Jarrett Chapman and an RBI single from Justin Starkey in the fifth and sixth innings of play, respectively to notch a 4-1 cushion, but Shawnee State stayed in the mix by getting a run back in the seventh frame.
A leadoff walk by Hunter Warner, a single toward the left side of the diamond by Oakes, and a walk by Tressler ultimately allowed Shawnee State to cut the lead to a 4-2 margin on a fielder's choice -- giving the potential to perhaps tie the score with a base knock.
However, a fly out and a strike out ended the rally -- and in the bottom of the seventh, two walks, two RBI doubles, a passed ball, a hit by pitch and a two-RBI single allowed Georgetown to plate six runs to break the game open. Warner, Oakes and Tressler, however, did add in RBI singles in the top of the eighth to close the Game 1 margin to its 10-5 final score.
Game 2
In the final contest of Saturday's twin-bill, the Bears got strong pitching performances from Reese and Wireman -- who not only allowed just four hits between them in eight innings but also struck out six batters in efficient performances.
Reese, who got the second game start, pitched the opening quartet of innings and went just three batters above the minimum while allowing singles in the first and third frames as well as a walk in the second stanza.
The 6-5 product from Mansfield then gave way to Wireman -- and the local 6-1 pitching product from nearby Greenup County High School put together a strong relief effort, pitching one-two-three innings in the fifth and eighth frames of action. In the seventh frame, Wireman gave up a double to Georgetown's Joshua Duarte, intentionally walked Jacob VonThaden with a free base open, and walked Jose Cazorla to load the bases -- but responded with three clutch strikeouts by punching out RJ Parks, Jordan Beard and Joey Lapolla in order to keep the second game scoreless.
However, Duarte got the ninth inning started again with a leadoff single, and after two free passes, Duarte ultimately came around to score on a fielder's choice to force SSU to settle for a 1-0 setback in nine innings.
Additional
Oakes (3-for-9, RBI), Tressler (2-for-7, walk, RBI), Lund (2-for-8, walk, RBI, run scored), Scott (2-for-6, sacrifice bunt), Eslick's Game 1 effort (1-for-4, two runs scored) and Diego Mendoza's 1-for-3, double performance in Game 2 were among the leaders offensively for SSU.
The Bears will be back in action to close out their opening weekend series against Georgetown Sunday afternoon. Game time begins at 3 p.m. at Thomas More Stadium in Florence, Ky.
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