PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- To say that the Shawnee State baseball program's home opener was fruitful was an understatement.
13 runs. 13 hits. A mercy rule victory.
That's what Rob Ehlers' group did in a 13-3 seven-inning triumph over the Midway Eagles' baseball program -- as Shawnee State scored 11 runs between the fourth and fifth innings of action to blitz Midway, 13-3, in a River States Conference baseball contest that was held at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth Thursday afternoon.
Game Summary
Down by a 2-1 margin heading into the bottom of the fourth inning of play, the Bears broke out in a big way during the fourth and fifth frames as Shawnee State (15-7, 5-2 River States Conference) hung its 11 runs on nine hits to turn the one-run deficit into a commanding 12-3 lead by outscoring Midway (9-12, 4-3 River States Conference) 11-1 between the two innings. Shawnee State scored each of its first five runs with two outs against it to help flip the script of the contest.
In all, a total of six players for Shawnee State enjoyed multi-hit outings as the Bears scored their second-most runs in a River States Conference contest in 2025 and matched their third-most against an opponent this season. Ehlers' group has scored 10 or more runs in 11 out of the 22 games that Shawnee State has played in this season.
The victory gives Shawnee State no worse than a top-four position in the River States Conference standings as of today -- with the potential to move higher based upon results from the next two days of RSC baseball action between the series-ending doubleheader between the Bears and Eagles tomorrow afternoon as well as the remaining conference series around it.
Shawnee State rakes from top to bottom
After getting a leadoff walk from Mason Reid and a two-out RBI single from Zach Gaspar in the bottom of the second inning to cut Midway's early lead to a 2-1 count, Shawnee State rallied in the bottom half of the fourth inning as back-to-back singles by Hunter Warner and Jace Parnin and a walk by Gaspar loaded the bases.
Even though Midway starting pitcher Jesse Komoroski countered with a big strikeout to put two outs against Shawnee State in the fourth, nine-hole hitter Tyler Lund, who has come up big as essentially a secondary leadoff hitter for the Bears at the bottom of the order all year long, drew a walk in a big spot as Lund took a 3-2 pitch off the plate to drive in a run, showing excellent plate discipline in a critical spot as Shawnee State tied the score on Lund's free pass.
That walk then turned over the lineup to Nolan Tressler, who ripped a liner to right field to score Parnin and give Shawnee State a 3-2 lead -- and the following batter, Eli Jones, hit a groundball to the right side that was misplayed, allowing Gaspar and Lund to score and turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 Shawnee State advantage.
Midway countered with a run in the fifth inning to cut Shawnee State's lead slightly to a 5-3 count -- but it did little to change the inevitable outcome as the Bears never looked back following the four-run fourth frame.
In the fifth stanza, Shawnee State sent 10 batters to the plate in a massive inning for the Bears -- as back-to-back-to-back singles by Warner, Parnin and Gaspar led to a Shawnee State run right off the rip -- giving the Bears a 6-3 lead.
Then, after a hit batter, a wild pitch by Komoroski scored Parnin, an RBI single by Lund scored Gaspar, and after another hit batter, a two-RBI double by Eli Jones, an RBI groundout by Diego Mendoza and an RBI single by Mason Reid capped off a crooked seven-run fifth inning -- turning the once close game into a Shawnee State rout.
Following a scoreless sixth frame, Shawnee State, needing just one run for the mercy rule victory in the bottom of the seventh inning, made quick work out of the opportunity as a leadoff triple by Lund was followed by Tressler's RBI single to conclude matters in the 10-run SSU win.
For the contest, Jones (2-for-4, double, four RBI, run scored), Gaspar (2-for-3, walk, two RBI, two runs scored), Tressler (2-for-4, two RBI, run scored), Warner (2-for-3, two runs scored), Parnin (2-for-4, two runs scored) and Lund (2-for-3, triple, walk, two RBI, three runs scored) all joined the multi-hit column while Mason Reid (1-for-3, walk, RBI, run scored) also reached the board from a hit standpoint in the win.
On the mound, Ethan Ison, who has been the No. 1 starter all year for Shawnee State, picked up the win after throwing a seven-hitter through six innings while striking out six Midway batters. Ison gave up just one earned run in the contest.
Trent Tice, who came on in relief of Ison in the seventh, didn't allow a hit and walked one in his lone inning on the bump to secure matters for the Bears.
Additional
Shawnee State (15-7, 5-2 River States Conference) gets back to action with a doubleheader against Midway (Ky.) Friday afternoon at 12 p.m.
