MOUNT VERNON, Ga. -- The baseball program at Shawnee State got multi-hit outings from Nolan Tressler and Wyatt Haupt while Hunter Warner and Zach Gaspar each put together solid performances at the plate, but the Bears fell to the Brewton-Parker (Ga.) Barons' baseball program, 8-4, in the series-opener of a three-game set Friday evening at BPC Baseball Field in Mount Vernon, Ga.
Shawnee State (3-2) posted seven hits en route to its four runs -- striking with the opening salvo as Tressler's leadoff single -- and back-to-back stolen bases by the outfielder -- allowed the dynamo to score on Jace Parnin's RBI groundout, giving Shawnee State a 1-0 lead after an inning of play.
Brewton-Parker answered with RBI singles in the second and third innings of work to take a 2-1 advantage, but the Bears came back on the Barons in the fourth inning as a leadoff double by Warner and a single by Gaspar set up an RBI sacrifice fly by Haupt, knotting the score at two apiece after four innings of work.
In the fifth inning, Brewton-Parker retook the lead once again on a solo home run, but Shawnee State rallied again to take its second lead of the contest in the sixth, as an error set the table for Haupt, who came through with an RBI double to tie the score at three runs apiece. Gaspar then came home on a balk -- giving the Bears a 4-3 lead over the Barons heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Brewton-Parker hit the equalizer in the bottom of the sixth and added two runs on a two-run homer to take a 6-4 nod in the contest, but Shawnee State appeared to have a chance to equalize the contest again in the top of the eighth inning as the Bears had runners on second and third after a hit by pitch and a walk with one gone in the inning. However, a strikeout and a flyout unfortunately ended the potential game-tying threat. Brewton-Parker then added two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cap the scoring.
For the contest, Tressler went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored while Haupt went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Gaspar and Warner combined to go 2-for-6 with a double and three runs scored to round out the leaders for the Shawnee State offense.
Additional
The baseball program at Shawnee State will return to action Saturday afternoon with two contests against Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in Mount Vernon. The doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.
