Prior to the start of the 2024 season, the Shawnee State softball program was picked to finish eighth in the River States Conference's Preseason Poll out of 11 teams -- and, with that positioning, was picked to finish above only Alice Lloyd among its RSC East counterparts.

If there were any doubters left following the historic run that the 2024 Shawnee State softball program has been on throughout the entire season, it's safe to say that Kristen Bradshaw's group put the doubters to rest on Saturday -- for good.

Building a 2-0 lead early in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Rio Grande Red Storm softball program, the Shawnee State softball program lost the lead as Rio Grande tied the game in the seventh and took the lead in the top of the eighth frame -- putting Shawnee State on the ropes in the opening contest of the two-game set.

However, the Bears never gave in.

Following back-to-back singles by Cassie Berry and Sierra Dunnagan and a wild pitch that tied the score again at three apiece after eight innings complete, the senior duo of Berry and Brittani Wolfenbarker -- perhaps with that preseason ranking in the back of their minds -- came through.

Wolfenbarker's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt that moved the senior utility player over into scoring position set up Berry, three batters later, to drive in the game-winning run with a two-out RBI base knock to left center field as Shawnee State sealed its first conference championship of any kind since 2010 with a dramatic 4-3 walkoff victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader against Rio Grande, sealing the River States Conference's East Division crown by splitting Saturday's affairs against the Red Storm.

Shawnee State dropped the second affair to Rio Grande by a 9-2 margin, but still split the doubleheader and the season series with the Red Storm, ultimately winning the RSC East Division.

Game 1

The opening contest of Saturday's doubleheader proved to be a classic pitching duel between two of the top guns in the River States Conference -- as Shawnee State senior pitching ace Cassie Berry and Rio Grande junior pitching stalwart Madison Ogden went at it in a heavyweight prize fight that ultimately took extra innings to decide.

Through the first three innings of play, both pitchers combined to face just three batters above the minimum as Berry and Ogden were both quick and effective in their work.

However, Shawnee State ultimately struck with the first salvo in the fourth frame.

With one gone in the bottom half of the fourth frame, Cassie Berry's single was followed by an RBI double by Sierra Dunnagan that dropped inside the right field line. The well-hit ball was then misplayed -- allowing Berry to sprint from first base all the way into score as Dunnagan moved to third base on the same play. Mackenzie Hale then followed by laying down a productive RBI bunt that Dunnagan reached on, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead after four innings of work.

Rio Grande, a great program in their own right, didn't go away.

In the sixth inning, Ogden, a tremendous two-way talent, launched a solo blast with one gone in the top half of the inning to cut SSU's lead in half. Then, a leadoff single by Lexi Carnahan and a two-out walk by Megan Bazler was followed by an RBI single by Caitlyn Brisker, which tied the score at two runs apiece.

With the game in extra innings, Rio Grande then got a second homer as Gabby Adams followed Ogden's solo homer with one of her own, giving the Red Storm a 3-2 lead and putting the Bears into a corner.

Like a skill prized fighter, however, Shawnee State bounced right back.

With two outs against the Bears and nobody on base in the eighth inning, Berry again got things rolling with a two-out single, which was followed by a single by Dunnagan that put runners at the corners. Then, on a 2-2 count to Mackenzie Hale, a wild pitch sailed to the backstop -- and Berry, taking full advantage, sprinted home to tie the thrilling affair once again at three apiece, keeping the extra-inning battle alive.

Then in the 10th, fate intervened.

Brittani Wolfenbarker led off the inning with a slap hit that she reached on, and advanced quickly to second on a clean sacrifice bunt by Jenna Christopher.

Two batters later, as if the moment was meant to be all along, Berry shot a line drive into left center as one four-year senior brought in the other to seal a thrilling win that clinched the RSC East Division.

Berry, who scored the first run of the game, the game's tying run in the eighth inning, and brought in the game-winning run in the 10th frame of action, finished with an amazing day, notching a complete game six-hitter while striking out five in a gutsy, never-say-die effort that saw the splendid talent throw 146 pitches in those 10 frames en route to outdueling Odgen, a four-time River States Conference Pitcher of the Week, in the process.

Game 2

In Game 2, Shawnee State, who dropped the second affair by the aforementioned 9-2 margin, got its pair of runs in the sixth inning as a leadoff single by Berry and back-to-back fielder's choices loaded the bases for Bianca Belo-Diaz, who drove in a pair of runs with her two-RBI single.

Additional

Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, the Shawnee State softball program honored its four graduates from SSU's Saturday morning commencement -- including Wolfenbarker, Cameryn Davidson, Emma Wargel and Lauren Spears. All four players are multi-year letterwinners, with Wolfenbarker hitting .398 for the 2024 season and Spears hitting .312 as regular starters and key strongholds in the lineup. Davidson has had clutch at-bats and has been a steady relief pitcher for the Bears while Wargel won River States Conference Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 26. All four graduates posted no worse than a 3.43 GPA with three of the four graduates finishing with GPAs above 3.6.

The official River States Conference Tournament bracket will be unveiled Sunday evening -- as Shawnee State will play in the three-day RSC Tournament at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, W. Va. A preview story will cover the tournament as a whole.

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