PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Teams that peak at the right time are always dangerous ballclubs that few, if any, want to face in the postseason.
The baseball program at Shawnee State solidified that point in a major way Saturday -- as the Bears overcame a 2-0 deficit after the opening inning of work to score 12 unanswered runs on 13 hits in a 12-2 run-rule shellacking of Rio Grande that featured three home runs and a pair of gems defensively, then overcame a 5-4 deficit after four innings of work to post a walkoff win in the seventh inning on Tyler Lund's bases-loaded RBI single in Game 2, completing a weekend full of highs for Rob Ehlers' program while sending each of its 10 seniors -- Ryan Scott, Tyler Lund, Jakobe Reese, Ethan Ison, Austin Fox, Hunter Warner, Michael De Jesus, Nolan Tressler, James Bodrock and Dylan Bernard -- out with a sweep of the archrival RedStorm at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.
Game Summaries/Results of Rio sweep
Shawnee State, who finished the regular season 27-14 overall and 14-9 in River States Conference action, posted 18 runs on 25 hits Saturday and received effective pitching throughout both contests of the doubleheader. Six different players recorded a hit in Game 1 while seven players reached the hit column in Game 2, with Diego Mendoza going 4-for-4 in Game 1 and Jace Parnin going an unblemished 7-for-7 between both affairs.
En route to its ninth win in a row, Shawnee State sealed up the No. 3 slot in the River States Conference Tournament. It's the second season in the row where the Bears have gone on a torrid winning streak to end the regular season -- as the Bears won 12 consecutive games from April 6 to May 2 in 2024, which currently stands as the program's longest winning streak in its history.
Game 2 -- Shawnee State 12, Rio Grande 2 (F/7)
Trailing by a 2-0 margin after a RBI groundout by Likeiry Jimenez and a two-out RBI single by Waskar Martinez that gave Rio Grande a 2-0 lead after a inning of work, Shawnee State remained behind by that deficit.
That was, until the third inning.
After getting a 6-4-3 double play to end the second frame to negate a Rio Grande threat, Shawnee State faced another threat in the third as Beiker Fuentes' leadoff walk and a single by Brett Haskins put runners on first and second with nobody out for the RedStorm.
However, one play proved to not only change the outcome of the frame -- but arguably, the rest of the contest, as well.
The next batter up, Josiah Devapalan, hit a ball right back to Shawnee State pitching talent Ricardo Medrano, who fired quickly to third baseman Mason Reid to gun down Fuentes with Reid's return throw beating out Devapalan at first base.
While those two runners were already out, Haskins attempted to advance to third base on Reid's throw back to first -- but his attempt to advance to third on the same play proved to be unsuccessful as Hunter Warner's throw back to Reid led to a tag out of Haskins at third, resulting in a remarkable triple play that halted the Rio Grande scoring threat in the third inning in one fell swoop.
The game was never the same from that point on.
In the bottom of the third inning, Eli Jones' one-out single was followed by a Diego Mendoza two-run homer to center field, and Hunter Warner's two-out double to left center was followed by a Jace Parnin jack to left center field -- as the Bears catapulted themselves to the point in one-half inning, taking a 4-2 lead following the third frame of play.
From there, the rout was on.
Following a scoreless fourth, a one-out single by Mendoza and back-to-back walks by Warner and Parnin loaded the bases for Zach Gaspar, who uncorked a grand slam to right center field to officially open up matters as Shawnee State took an 8-2 lead with a four-run fifth frame.
A leadoff walk and steal of second base by Nolan Tressler was followed by an RBI single by Diego Mendoza in the sixth, and the Bears officially concluded the mercy rule in the seventh inning as one-out singles by Parnin and Gaspar, a passed ball and a walk by Wyatt Haupt loaded the bases for Tyler Lund, who produced a two-RBI single to right field to score Gaspar and Parnin. Then, after stealing second base to put Shawnee State in a position to obtain the mercy rule with one base hit, Jones finished off the mercy with his RBI single to right, concluding matters for good in Game 1.
Mendoza (4-for-4, double, home run, three RBI, run scored), Parnin (3-for-3, home run, two RBI, walk, three runs scored) and Gaspar (2-for-3, home run, four RBI, two runs scored) each enjoyed strong Game 1s at the plate, while Jones (2-for-5, RBI, run scored) joined the trio in the multi-hit column. Warner (1-for-3, double, walk, two runs scored) and Lund (1-for-4, two RBI) rounded out those who finished in the hit column for Shawnee State in the opener.
Pitching-wise, Medrano and relief pitcher Carson Wireman proved to be in full control on Saturday, combining to throw a complete game five-hitter while striking out four batters and walking just two. The duo needed only 90 pitches, combined, to go the distance and faced just one above the minimum from the second inning on forward.
Game 3 -- Shawnee State 6, Rio Grande 5
The third and final game of the series was contrary to the second, as the affair proved to be full of blows and counterpunches.
Shawnee State was able to jump out to a 4-1 lead early on in the game as Jace Parnin's leadoff double in the second inning was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Zach Gaspar and a two-out RBI single by senior Michael De Jesus, allowing the Bears to take a 1-0 lead after two innings of work.
SSU then broke a 1-1 tie following the top half of the third frame by scoring three in the bottom half of the same frame, as Eli Jones' leadoff single, a hit batter and a deep flyout to right field allowed Jones and courtesy runner Nathan Mentzel to advance into scoring position, and a wild pitch, an RBI single by Parnin and a two-out RBI double by senior Austin Fox gave Shawnee State a three-run lead through three innings of work.
While Rio Grande rallied with four consecutive runs in the top half of the fourth inning to take a 5-4 advantage, Shawnee State -- behind Parnin, in particular, wouldn't be denied.
First, the senior cranked his second home run of the day -- a leadoff home run to right center field -- to tie the score at five runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth inning. Then, Parnin came on to throw two relief innings of work, striking out four batters in two frames to give Shawnee State a chance to walk things off in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The junior then got Shawnee State's half of the seventh off to a great start, leading things off with a single -- and was followed by a one-out single by Mason Reid and a walk by De Jesus to load the bases. This set the table for Tyler Lund, who, with one swing of the bat, ended the game with a deep fly ball to center field that dropped for, officially, an RBI single to score Parnin and walk things off in grand style.
In the final game of the series, Parnin (4-for-4, home run, two RBI, four runs scored) and Lund (3-for-4, RBI) combined for seven of Shawnee State's 12 hits in Game 3, while Fox (1-for-2, RBI), De Jesus (1-for-3, walk, RBI), Jones (1-for-4, RBI), Mason Reid (1-for-2) and Diego Mendoza (1-for-1, two walks) rounded out Shawnee State's showings in Game 3.
Additional
Over the past two seasons, the 10-man senior class mentioned above -- Ryan Scott, Tyler Lund, Jakobe Reese, Ethan Ison, Austin Fox, Hunter Warner, Michael De Jesus, Nolan Tressler, James Bodrock and Dylan Bernard -- have helped Shawnee State enjoy back-to-back electric finishes in Rob Ehlers' first two seasons as head coach. Overall, Shawnee State has gone 20-3 in the month of April over the past two years.
The Bears will await the conclusion of the weekend to find out whether Shawnee State will play Brescia (Ky.) or Midway (Ky.) in the opening round of the River States Conference Baseball Championship Tournament, with the bracket to be announced late Sunday evening.
