Of its six home contests this season, the Shawnee State softball program has found itself trailing at one point or another in least four of those affairs.

Through clutch hitting, pitching, and defense, Kristen Bradshaw's group has found a way to win all four of those contests.

Trailing 3-0 after the opening half-inning against the Brescia Bearcats' softball program, Shawnee State scored seven unanswered runs to claim a runaway victory in Game 1, then rallied in Game 2 as the Bears, who saw a 2-0 lead turn into a three-run deficit, scored seven unanswered runs again -- including six in the sixth inning of Game 2 -- to claim a River States Conference doubleheader sweep of Brescia (7-3, 9-3) Thursday afternoon at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth.

For the day, Shawnee State posted its 16 runs on 21 hits offensively, and defensively, the Bears were stout as Shawnee State didn't commit a single defensive error in 27 chances -- while Brescia, as a team, committed seven errors between the two conference affairs.

Game 1

Four singles, including RBI producing hits by Maddie Norton and Kaylyn Sowders, allowed Brescia to take a 3-0 advantage after the opening half-inning of play -- but that glimmer of light proved to be the only true bright spot for the Bearcats in Game 1 after that.

In the bottom half of the second inning, Shawnee State charged to within a run as Mackenzie Hale's leadoff double was followed by an RBI single by Bianca Belo-Diaz. Allison Tom then followed with a base hit to left field, and despite a one-out grounder that prevented Belo-Diaz from scoring, Tom was brought in on an RBI single to center field by Brittani Wolfenbarker -- bringing the Bears to within a 3-2 margin.

Shawnee State then rallied again in the third inning to tie the score -- as despite two quick outs, Sierra Dunnagan and Hale followed with back-to-back singles, opening the door for Belo-Diaz, again, to drive Dunnagan in with an RBI single to left, knotting the game up at three apiece.

The Bears punctuated the outing offensively by adding four runs in the fourth frame -- as a leadoff double by Tom and a one-out single by Wolfenbarker was followed by a sacrifice fly RBI by Jenna Christopher that scored Tom, an RBI double to right center by Cassie Berry that scored Wolfenbarker, and a two-RBI single by Dunnagan that scored both Berry and Lauren Spears to finalize the offensive output.

Pitching-wise, Berry moved to 7-1 overall inside the circle -- and after giving up three runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in the first inning, pitched in a splendid manner from the second inning onward, not allowing a hit while obtaining five strikeouts and walking just two batters in all. Included in Shawnee State's strong defensive performance was a highlight gem of a defensive dive by Dunnagan to end Game 1 -- who robbed an almost sure base hit by Brescia's Lindsey Peyton by diving to her left at third base to snag a rocketed line drive that looked destined for outfield grass.

Game 2

Shawnee State immediately hit the scoreboard early for a pair of runs as walks by Jenna Christopher and Lauren Spears, along with a single by Sierra Dunnagan, allowed the Bears to take a 2-0 lead after an inning of work on a sacrifice fly RBI by Mackenzie Hale as well as a passed ball.

Behind Genavie Espinoza's one-hitter over the first four innings of action, Shawnee State maintained that 2-0 advantage before Brescia rallied with a three-run fifth as the Bearcats' Kaylyn Sowders singled to right field to lead off the fifth and Courtney Peyton, along with Berlyn Uken, shot RBI singles to the outfield, giving Brescia a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom half of the fifth frame.

However, the Bears answered right back. Back-to-back singles by Brittani Wolfenbarker and Christopher, along with a sacrifice bunt by Spears, allowed Dunnagan to bring in Wolfenbarker with an RBI single to tie the score at three runs apiece.

Shawnee State then followed Dunnagan's game-tying single with yet another sixth-inning explosion as the Bears broke the tie with a crooked frame. In all, 10 batters came to the plate, with RBI base knocks by Lexie Lockwood and Allison Tom, a two-RBI single to left by Dunnagan, and a two-RBI triple to right by Mackenzie Hale, heading up the output as part of a six-run sixth frame that capped the scoring.

Amariah Hoerner ultimately picked up the winning decision in the circle, throwing two innings of two-hit softball while striking out two batters.

Additional

Sierra Dunnagan (6-for-8, five RBI, three runs scored), Allison Tom (4-for-6, double, RBI, three runs scored), Mackenzie Hale (3-for-6, double, triple, three RBI, run scored) and Brittani Wolfenbarker (3-for-6, RBI, two runs scored) headed up the output for Shawnee State, who improved to 19-3 and 11-3 in the River States Conference.

The Bears will be back in action Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. when Shawnee State takes on Oakland City (Ind.) in a River States Conference doubleheader at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth. Live streaming can be found at https://web.gc.com/teams/39oxmHRxEF3M/2024-spring-shawnee-state-softball.

For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages at https://twitter.com/ SSUBears, https://www. facebook.com/SSUBears, https:/ /www.instagram.com/ssubears/? hl=en, and https://www. youtube.com/@ ssubearsathletics/videos. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/ bear-club and https:// givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.