PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The baseball program used a five-run scoring spree in the first inning and a four-run seventh inning spurt -- keyed by three-RBI triples by Jace Parnin in the first and Nolan Tressler in the seventh -- to come away with a 9-6 win over Indiana-Columbus Friday evening in a River States Conference contest that was held at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State, who improved to 20-14 overall with Friday's win to start the season, evened its River States Conference record at 9-9 as the Bears collected 11 hits and drew three walks. Two of those free passes came in the crucial seventh inning, where Shawnee State broke a five-all tie to take the lead for good.
The Bears jumped on Indiana-Columbus quickly Friday -- as Shawnee State hung five runs on the Crimson Pride to begin matters. Back-to-back singles by Tressler and Eli Jones to begin the game were followed by a hit batter to load the bases with one gone in the bottom half of the first inning.
Following the hit batter, Shawnee State senior infielder Hunter Warner drove in Tressler with an RBI single, bringing up Parnin -- who followed by depositing a pitch into the right center field cap to clear the bases with his three-RBI triple and give the Bears a 4-0 lead. Parnin then came across to score on Zach Gaspar's RBI groundout -- allowing SSU to take a 5-0 lead after the opening frame of work.
Indiana-Columbus whittled into the lead from the second through the sixth frames -- ultimately tying the score at five apiece on Cyrus Robinson's two-run homer to right field -- but Shawnee State came back with a poised effort in all phases from the seventh inning on.
Mason Reid beat out an infield grounder to record a hit to lead off the seventh inning, and after a hit batter, Wyatt Haupt was walked to load the bases. The following batter after Haupt -- Tyler Lund -- then worked the count full before drawing a bases loaded walk, giving the Bears the lead for good as Shawnee State took a 6-5 lead.
Tressler then came back up to the plate -- and proceeded to help the Bears by giving Shawnee State the necessary cushion to put the series opener away.
The standout center fielder, who went a team-high 3-for-5, launched a pitch by Indiana-Columbus' Jackson Gilcrest to the right field corner, scoring Haupt, Lund and Zach Gaspar to lift Shawnee State to a 9-5 advantage.
From there, the Bears never trailed again -- as after Indiana-Columbus added a run to begin the eighth to cut the lead to 9-6, Parnin proceeded to come in during a bases-loaded, no-out jam and shut down the Crimson Pride across his two relief innings in the eighth and ninth to conclude matters.
In addition to Tressler's 3-for-5 day that included a triple, three RBI and a run scored, Parnin (2-for-4, triple, double, three RBI, run scored), Reid (2-for-3, walk, two runs scored) and Jones (2-for-5, run scored) enjoyed multi-hit performances during the contest, while Warner (1-for-3, RBI, run scored) and Diego Mendoza (1-for-5) also reached the hit column in the contest.
Additional
Shawnee State gets back after matters Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against Indiana-Columbus that begins at 12 p.m. at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.
