NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- Year-in and year-out, the Indiana-Southeast Grenadiers have been a difficult out for any team -- not only in the River States Conference, but on a national level, as well.

While the Shawnee State Bears' softball program experienced its own trials and tribulations in a 12-8 setback to Indiana-Southeast in Game 1, the Bears ended Friday afternoon's doubleheader against the Grenadiers on a high note -- as Jenna Christopher went 5-for-5 with three runs scored, Emma Wargel threw a complete game six-hitter and the trio of Cameryn Davidson, Mackenzie Hale and Sydney Skiver combined to go 6-for-12 at the plate in a 8-2 victory that allowed SSU to salvage a split over Indiana-Southeast in pair of River States Conference contests that were held at the Koetter Sports Softball Complex in New Albany, Ind.

Game Summaries

Between both contests, Shawnee State's offense continued to be a bright spot -- as the Bears brought home 20 runs on 26 hits in the two games that it contested against the Grenadiers Friday.

Wargel then added in a strong pitching performance to boot in Game 2 -- as the senior from El Dorado, Ill. struck out four batters and only walked one in addition to Wargel's six-hitter. Wargel faced the minimum in four out of the seven innings that she threw in Friday's 8-2 win in Game 2.

Game 1

Initially, Shawnee State wreaked havoc on the basepaths to begin matters -- particularly in the second inning of Game 1.

Back-to-back singles by Mackenzie Hale and Emily Moore, which immediately put the Bears in a position to strike, were followed by a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Skiver that was misplayed by Indiana-Southeast -- allowing Haley Hawes to score the game's opening run on Shawnee State's behalf to give SSU a 1-0 advantage. Emily Cheatham then added in a bunt of her own, producing an RBI on the play and legging out a single to score Moore.

Then, after a wild pitch advanced Skiver to third base and Cheatham to second, Sierra Dunnagan's sacrifice fly RBI to right field scored Skiver -- and a critical two-out single by Jenna Christopher on another well-timed and well-placed bunt scored Cheatham as Shawnee State built a 4-0 advantage after two innings of play.

While Indiana-Southeast answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the same frame, the Bears answered with a run each in the top halves of the third and fourth innings as a double by Moore and a walk by Skiver set the table for Cam Davidson to drive in Moore with an RBI base knock that gave SSU a 5-1 lead.

Then, in the fourth, Dunnagan's damage on the basepaths victimized Indiana-Southeast -- as Dunnagan singled, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, then, after stealing third, came across to score on the same play as an error allowed Shawnee State to plate another run and take a 6-1 cushion.

While Shawnee State built a five-run gap, the Bears weren't able to hold the point -- as Indiana-Southeast was able to strike with an eight-run fourth in the bottom half of the frame to take control and collect a 9-6 lead. The Bears added in singles from Christopher and Skiver in the sixth and seventh innings but the Grenadiers plated three tallies in the sixth to hold off the SSU rally.

In the contest, Christopher led the way by going 3-for-3 with two RBI while Moore went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored and Hale went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Dunnagan (1-for-3, RBI, run scored), Skiver (1-for-2, walk, run scored), Davidson (1-for-3, walk, RBI, run scored), and Cheatham (1-for-3, RBI, run scored) also reached the hit column in Game 1.

Game 2

Despite the Game 1 setback, however, Shawnee State, who was down by a 1-0 count to Indiana-Southeast after the second  came right back with a vengance -- and continued to produce offensively at a high level.

Dovetailing Wargel's complete game six-hitter with another strong hitting performance from top-to-bottom, a one-out single by Jenna Christopher was followed by a sacrifice bunt from Davidson that moved Christopher over to second base, which was followed by an RBI single by Mackenzie Hale to right center field that scored Christopher, tying the Game 2 score at one run apiece after three innings complete.

In the fourth inning, Shawnee State proceeded to break the tie by batting around in the frame. Singles by Sydney Skiver and Gracey McCullough got the fourth inning going on a positive note, setting up an Emily Cheatham sacrifice bunt that allowed courtesy runner Haley Hawes to score and give Shawnee State the lead.

From there, the Bears never looked back -- as Sierra Dunnagan added an RBI base knock back up the middle to score courtesy runner Kiera Williams -- while an error and an RBI single back up the middle by Hale allowed Shawnee State to build its lead to a 5-1 count heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

Indiana-Southeast got a run back in their half of the fourth, but in the sixth, Shawnee State put the game to bed for good as back-to-back singles by Christopher and Davidson were followed by a double steal by the duo that led to a Grenadier error, scoring Christopher. Emily Moore then stepped up to the plate following the error and proceeded to blast her first career homer to cap off the scoring with a two-run shot to center field.

For the contest, Christopher completed her perfect day at the plate by going 5-for-5 with three runs scored while Skiver (2-for-3, walk), Davidson (2-for-4, run scored) and Hale (2-for-5, two RBI) joined Christopher in the multi-hit column. Moore's first career homer in the sixth inning, which led to a 1-for-4, two-RBI, run scored effort, headlined the remaining offensive contributors with Dunnagan (1-for-5, RBI, run scored) and McCullough (1-for-1) joining the hit column as well.

Additional

Shawnee State (5-7, 3-3 River States Conference) will look to keep moving in a positive direction Tuesday afternoon when the Bears face Midway (Ky.) in a road doubleheader that begins Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Clark Memorial Softball Field in Midway.