WEST PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- For a group that had to replace five key starters off of a historic 36-win group from the 2024 season and has had to integrate a large 10-player freshman class into the fold, the Shawnee State softball program, from top to bottom, has proven to acquit themselves well throughout much of the 2025 campaign.
Shawnee State punctuated that point throughout the day Sunday afternoon, as the Bears got two complete game pitching performances inside the circle from Genavie Espinoza and Emma Wargel, hit .321 as a team offensively during the doubleheader and committed just one error in 34 defensive chances to control matters for much of Sunday's regular season capping doubleheader to pick up a sweep over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods by 6-1 and 6-4 margins in a River States Conference doubleheader that was held at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth.
Game Summaries
By winning both contests of the doubleheader set, the Shawnee State softball program officially finished the 2025 regular season 10 games above .500 in both regular season and conference play, going 26-16 overall and 21-11 in the River States Conference.
The Bears finished the regular season with a .331 batting average as a team, nabbed a three-game winning streak to conclude its regular season schedule, and clinched its third season of 25 wins or more over the last four years -- the first time that has occurred since the 2012 to 2014 seasons when Shawnee State had three consecutive seasons of 25 wins or more.
Game 1
While Shawnee State trailed early in Sunday's opening contest after giving up a run on an RBI groundout in the top of the third inning, the lead that Saint Mary-of-the-Woods established lasted in brief form, as eight batters came up to the plate in a third inning that ultimately proved to give the Bears control.
Following an error, a sacrifice bunt that moved freshman Emily Cheatham into scoring position and a hit batter that moved runners to first and second base with one out in the frame, Genavie Espinoza helped her own cause with a RBI single to left center field to score Cheatham and tie the score at one run apiece. Two wild pitches and an Emily Moore single that dropped perfectly into left field later, and the Bears had a 3-1 advantage through three innings of work.
The contest remained at a 3-1 stalemate until the fifth frame -- where the Bears again put together three important tallies to add insurance.
Despite a flyout and a lineout to start the frame, each of the next five batters reached base as Moore's single to left center was followed by a walk by Bianca Belo-Diaz, putting runners on first and second base. Cameryn Davidson's RBI single to right field then followed, scoring Moore and moving Belo-Diaz to third, and after Davidson stole second base, back-to-back RBI singles by Sydney Skiver and Cheatham rounded out a three-run, four-hit inning, giving Shawnee State a 6-1 advantage after five innings of work.
From there, the contest proved to be all Espinoza -- as the senior ultimately didn't allow more than one Saint Mary-of-the-Woods baserunner to reach in any inning en route to her complete game four-hitter in the five-run victory.
For the contest, Moore (3-for-4, RBI, run scored) and Cheatham (2-for-3, RBI, run scored) led the hit parade for Shawnee State, while Espinoza (1-for-3, walk, RBI, run scored), Davidson (1-for-3, RBI, run scored), Skiver (1-for-3, RBI), Belo-Diaz (1-for-3, walk, run scored) and Sierra Dunnagan (1-for-2) rounded out the hitting efforts for the Bears.
Game 2
While Saint Mary-of-the-Woods again took an early 2-0 lead on a passed ball and a two-out RBI single to claim a two-run cushion after the opening frame of work, the Bears were again quick to respond as Shawnee State sent 10 batters to the plate in the second frame of work.
Following Emily Moore's leadoff double to left, Moore advanced to third base on a wild pitch, and after a fielder's choice and a walk by Sydney Skiver, a bases-loaded free pass to Emily Cheatham brought Shawnee State to within 2-1 of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
With the lineup turned back over to the top of the order, Sierra Dunnagan followed by lining a double to left center field, scoring both Skiver and Gracey McCullough while Cheatham advanced to third -- giving Shawnee State a 3-2 lead. Jenna Christopher then brought Cheatham in on an RBI groundout while Genavie Espinoza came up large with a two-out single to left field, helping the Bears grab a 5-2 advantage over the Pomeroys following the completion of the second inning of work.
Despite a third-inning home run by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods' Lanna Martinez that cut the Shawnee State lead down to a 5-4 count, Shawnee State starting pitcher Emma Wargel settled in from then on, facing just one batter above the minimum the rest of the way en route to a complete game six-hitter with six strikeouts to boot.
This allowed Shawnee State to finish off the doubleheader sweep with an important insurance run -- as Mackenzie Hale's single to center field allowed courtesy runner Haley Hawes to score on an error, giving Shawnee State a 6-4 triumph.
For the contest, Espinoza (2-for-3, RBI) and Hale (2-for-3) led the Bears with multi-hit performances while Dunnagan (1-for-4, double, two RBI, run scored), Moore (1-for-3, run scored) and McCullough (1-for-3, run scored) rounded out the winning cause.
Additional
Shawnee State earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming River States Conference Tournament, and will begin its River States Conference journey at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, W. Va. when the Bears take on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods -- the No. 5 seed in the tournament -- again at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
A further preview on the upcoming conference tournament journeys for baseball and softball will be released Monday.
