Historically, one will find that the majority of series between Shawnee State and Rio Grande have been competitive, regardless of sport.

Saturday's softball doubleheader between the Bears and RedStorm was, indeed, no different than the norm.

Behind a complete game four-hitter from Cassie Berry and timely hitting at the top of the Shawnee State lineup, the Bears were able to claim a 5-1 victory in Game 1, sealing a split against a strong Rio Grande program who has been a regular NAIA National Tournament Qualifier in recent years.

SSU, who posted 11 runs on 14 hits between the two contests, stands 17-3 overall and 9-3 in the River States Conference, while Rio Grande holds a 16-8 overall mark and an 8-4 tally in the River States Conference. The duo will meet again April 27 at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth in what will be the final regular season contests of the year for both squads.

Game 1 -- Shawnee State 5, Rio Grande 1

Both units played to a 0-0 grudge match until the fourth inning of play, when the Bears struck first.

Following an error, a hit batter and a wild pitch, Bianca Belo-Diaz was able to produce the first run of Game 1 with her RBI infield groundout in the top of the fourth inning.

The RedStorm were able to answer in the bottom half of the fourth frame as Gabby Adams' double to right field was followed by an RBI double by Boo Sturgell to left center field that knotted the score at a run apiece, but in the fifth frame, Shawnee State answered back -- as Amariah Hoerner's walk and a sacrifice bunt that moved Hoerner into scoring position was followed by an RBI double to left field by Jenna Christopher, which scored Hoerner to give the Bears the lead back. Two batters later, Christopher scored on an error -- and Shawnee State, in a flash, had the lead back at a 3-1 count after five innings of play.

With Cassie Berry throwing effectively to contact and getting out of third and fifth inning rallies by Rio Grande without allowing a run, and the Shawnee State defense continuing to play strong by not committing a defensive error in 17 defensive chances in Saturday's opener, the Bears were able to add to their 3-1 advantage with one important insurance run each in the sixth and seventh frames of play.

In the sixth, Mackenzie Hale's single, Belo-Diaz's walk, and a sacrifice bunt by Allison Tom allowed Hale to score on a passed ball, and in the seventh, Christopher's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt by Berry allowed Lauren Spears to come through with a one-out RBI base knock to finalize the game's result.

Game 2 -- Rio Grande 12, Shawnee State 6

Shawnee State again started out fast offensively as the Bears scored twice in the opening half-inning of Game 1, with Cassie Berry's infield single and Lauren Spears' double to center field allowing Mackenzie Hale to bring in both Berry and Spears with a two-RBI base knock that put Shawnee State ahead by a 2-0 margin early in the contest.

When Rio Grande responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the opening frame to knot the score at two runs apiece after the opening inning of play, the Bears rallied right back with three runs in the second inning of work, as Brittani Wolfenbarker's double down the left field line and a walk by Jenna Christopher allowed Berry to drive in Wolfenbarker with her RBI double to left center. The next batter, Spears, then launched a two-RBI base knock that scored both Berry and Christopher, giving Shawnee State a 5-2 advantage.

Rio Grande answered with five runs of its own in the bottom half of the second inning to take a 7-5 edge, but in the third inning, Wolfenbarker's key two-out single drove in Bianca Belo-Diaz, bringing the Bears back within a 7-6 margin after three innings of work. SSU and Rio battled to that margin until the bottom half of the fifth frame, when Rio Grande added four runs in the fifth, as well as a run in the sixth, to pull away for the Game 2 win.

Additional

Jenna Christopher (3-for-7, double, RBI, three runs scored), Mackenzie Hale (3-for-7, double, two RBI, run scored), and Lauren Spears (3-for-8, double, three RBI, two runs scored) led Shawnee State offensively in both contests, while Brittani Wolfenbarker posted a 2-for-3 outing with a double, RBI, and a run scored in Game 2. Cassie Berry went 2-for-4 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored in Game 2 in addition to her strong pitching performance in Game 1, rounding out the Bears' main contributors in both contests.

Shawnee State (17-3) is scheduled to play Tuesday, March 26 against Miami-Hamilton in a pair of home contests that will be held at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth. The first game of the doubleheader will commence at 3 p.m.

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