One could call Friday's victories over West Virginia Tech the same song as what was played Wednesday against Bluefield -- just a different verse.

Down 2-0 after three innings in its opener against the Golden Bears, Shawnee State made the deficit a distant memory in the fourth inning of work.

Mackenzie Hale came up large with a one-out RBI single to cut West Virginia Tech's advantage in half to 2-1, then Allison Tom roped what ended up being the game-winning double as Tom not only brought in Hale and Bianca Belo-Diaz, but scored herself on an error on the same play, giving Shawnee State a 4-2 lead that the Bears never relinquished and only built on to the end of the first contest in a 8-3 runaway triumph in Game 1.

The Bears then faced little trouble in Game 2, scoring three runs apiece in the second, third and fourth frames of action to post nine runs on nine hits in a quick 9-1, five-inning Game 2 mercy rule to take another series sweep and move its winning streak to six straight ahead of a critical River States Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon against Rio Grande.

Between the two contests, Shawnee State posted 17 runs on 21 hits in the contest, and, for the second doubleheader in a row, nine different Bears recorded a hit.

Game 1 -- Shawnee State 8, West Virginia Tech 3

In the third inning of work, West Virginia Tech, with one out, struck first as a single by Kyleigh Jackson was followed by an RBI double by Olivia Barnett and an error, allowing the Golden Bears to take a 2-0 cushion after three innings of work.

That, however, was the lone amount of momentum that West Virginia Tech would put together for essentially the entire doubleheader.

In the fourth inning, a wild pitch on a swinging strike, which allowed Sierra Dunnagan to reach base, gave Shawnee State a crease -- and the Bears emphatically opened the door with a bang after that.

Following a passed ball that allowed Dunnagan to advance to second base, Mackenzie Hale's RBI single to left field allowed Dunnagan to score to cut West Virginia Tech's advantage to a 2-1 margin -- and after a wild pitch and a walk to Bianca Belo-Diaz, Allison Tom blasted her two-RBI double to the left side to not only score Hale and Belo-Diaz, but score herself on the same play on an error.

In a half-inning, Shawnee State had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 advantage after the fourth inning of work -- but the Bears weren't done adding runs.

After a single by Dunnagan to lead off the fifth inning of play, a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch led to an RBI double by Hale that brought in Dunnagan. Then, after advancing to third base on a passed ball, Hale scored on Belo-Diaz's RBI single to center field, pushing the Shawnee State lead to a 6-2 count.

West Virginia Tech got a run back to cut the SSU lead slightly to a 6-3 margin, but a leadoff triple in the sixth inning by Jenna Christopher set up an RBI double by Lauren Spears in the same frame, and in the seventh stanza, Amariah Hoerner posted an RBI single to finalize the contest's scoring.

In their seven innings of work together, Cassie Berry and Cameryn Davidson pitched effective from a control standpoint, allowing just seven hits -- and only two of the extra base variety -- while striking out three.

Game 2 -- Shawnee State 9, West Virginia Tech 1 (F/5)

Shawnee State jumped all over West Virginia Tech in the second affair as the Bears scored three runs in the second inning, with Sierra Dunnagan's leadoff single and an RBI double to right field by Mackenzie Hale getting the Bears on the board first.

Then, with two gone in the same frame, Brittani Wolfenbarker launched a two-run triple to left, scoring both Hale and Bianca Belo-Diaz to give Shawnee State a 3-0 advantage after two innings complete.

In the third frame, the Bears again added three runs as Cassie Berry's leadoff double was followed by an RBI single back up the middle of the diamond by Dunnagan. Belo-Diaz's two-out single then set the stage for Allison Tom, who brought both Dunnagan and Belo-Diaz in with a two-RBI base knock to push Shawnee State's lead to a 6-0 count following the third inning of action.

West Virginia Tech cut Shawnee State's lead slightly to a 6-1 margin in the bottom half of the third frame, but in the top half of the fourth frame, Shawnee State countered with three more runs for the third consecutive half-inning. A walk, an error and two hit by pitches resulted in a run and Belo-Diaz cashed in with a two-RBI shot to right field to finalize the scoring in the convincing Game 2 win.

Amariah Hoerner continued her outstanding two-way campaign in Friday's Game 2 win, throwing a complete game four-hitter while striking out eight and walking just three in the win.

Additional

Bianca Belo-Diaz's 4-for-6 outing with a double, three RBI and four runs scored led Shawnee State offensively, while Mackenzie Hale went 3-for-6 with two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored herself and Amariah Hoerner went 3-for-7 with a double and an RBI between the two contests. Allison Tom's 2-for-6 outing with a double, four RBI and a run scored and Cassie Berry's 2-for-5 mark with a double and a run scored were among the additional offensive standouts between both affairs. 

Jenna Christopher (Game 1) and Brittani Wolfenbarker (Game 2) posted one triple each to help add to the top-to-bottom production in the hitting lineup.

Shawnee State (16-2, 8-2 River States Conference) will have two big matchups ahead of it when the Bears take on Rio Grande (15-7, 7-5 River States Conference) Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Rio Grande, Ohio.

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