PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- When a team has an opportunity to oust a conference foe from championship contention, it's important to take advantage of the moment -- in more ways than one.
From the opening pitch of its series-opening contest against the Rio Grande RedStorm baseball program, Rob Ehlers' Shawnee State baseball program was dialed in on the task at hand.
Not even a half-hour rain delay from mid-morning showers could cool the Shawnee State bats Friday -- as the Bears only heated up at the plate as Friday's opener rolled on, plating 16 runs on 12 hits, including eight runs on six hits in the fifth inning alone to officially eliminate Rio Grande from River States Conference Championship contention and claim the opening RSC contest that was held at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth to start a three-game set against its conference rival off right.
Game Summary
Shawnee State, who jumped on Rio Grande in the bottom half of the first, erased an early 1-0 deficit by plating three runs in the bottom of the first frame, with Diego Mendoza and Jace Parnin plating RBI doubles to give SSU a 3-1 lead after the opening inning.
Rio Grande rallied to tie the score at three-all heading into the bottom of the third inning, but Shawnee State pounced on Rio Grande as the early morning rain began to pick up, scoring four runs in the third on a hit batter, a Nolan Tressler two-RBI single and a wild pitch.
Ahead by an 8-4 count heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Bears officially broke the game wide open with its eight-run fifth frame to officially oust the RedStorm from championship tournament contention for next week.
As a result of Friday's win, Shawnee State moved to 25-14 overall and 12-9 in River States Conference competition and claimed its seventh straight win in the process.
Shawnee State 16, Rio Grande 5 (F/7)
Despite trailing by a 1-0 margin after the opening half inning of work on a Josiah Devapalan RBI double, the Bears showed no sign of concern in the bottom half of the same frame, as a hit batter and a single by Eli Jones set the table for Diego Mendoza, who lofted a two-RBI double into the right center field gap to easily score both Jones and Nolan Tressler to give the Bears the point.
With two gone later in the inning, Jace Parnin stepped up to the plate and drilled his own RBI double to right -- scoring courtesy runner Nathan Mentzel to give Shawnee State a 3-1 lead after the opening inning of work.
Beiker Fuentes' RBI single and a RBI sacrifice fly by Wasker Martinez allowed Rio Grande to tie the score at three runs apiece heading into the bottom of the third frame, but Shawnee State came together in a big way heading into the bottom half of the third.
Even though Shawnee State had two outs against it in the bottom half of the third inning, a walk by Parnin and a hit batter gave the Bears late life -- and Shawnee State's consistent batting order took full advantage as after a Wyatt Haupt walk to load the bases, another hit batter brought in a run while Tressler drilled a seeing-eye single through the right side of the infield to bring in two additional SSU baserunners. A wild pitch then finalized a four-run bottom half of the third frame -- giving Shawnee State a 7-3 lead through three innings of work as heavier rainfall forced a short rain delay.
Rio Grande scored a fourth-inning salvo on a bases-loaded walk by Fuentes to cut Shawnee State's lead to a 7-4 ballgame, but the Bears responded by working their way out of the bases loaded jam behind the effective relief pitching of Jakobe Reese.
That then led to the crooked salvo that Shawnee State put on the board in the bottom of the fifth.
While Rio Grande got a strikeout to begin the fifth, SSU followed with back-to-back-to-back singles as Tressler, Jones and Mendoza ripped off consecutive base hits to lead to a run, while a hit batter and a wild pitch scored another run, pushing the lead to a 9-4 count.
A walk by Hunter Warner loaded the bags up -- and with two runs already in for Shawnee State in the inning, the Bears proceeded to score four more tallies as Parnin shot a two-RBI double into the left center field gap while Zach Gaspar followed with a two-RBI single down the right field line -- increasing the SSU lead to a 13-4 mark.
The Bears then added to the inning with two final tallies to complete the crooked frame, as after a single by Haupt and a walk by Tyler Lund reloaded the bags, Tressler drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, while an error on a steal of second base by Lund resulted in another tally as Shawnee State took a 15-4 advantage through five innings complete.
Rio Grande answered with a run in the sixth frame but Shawnee State faced little trouble putting the game away after that, scoring its 16th and final run of the contest on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning to conclude matters in the 11-run triumph.
Additional
For the contest, Parnin (3-for-3, two doubles, three RBI, two runs scored), Tressler (2-for-3, walk, three RBI, two runs scored), Mendoza (2-for-4, walk, double, three RBI) and Jones (2-for-4, walk, two runs scored) reached the multi-hit column for Shawnee State, while Gaspar (1-for-3, two RBI, two runs scored), Haupt (1-for-2, two walks, two runs scored) and Mason Reid (1-for-4, run scored) all contributed in the hit column in the win.
Pitching-wise, Reese proved to be strong through his three-and-two-thirds innings on the bump, striking out seven batters in relief to help Shawnee State keep, and build on, its significant advantage throughout the back half of the contest.
With Friday's win, Shawnee State has an opportunity to go for a Saturday sweep of Rio Grande when action resumes Saturday afternoon with a River States Conference doubleheader at Branch Rickey Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
