SOUTH CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- For much of the 2025 season, the Shawnee State softball program has proceeded to knock the cover off of the ball at the plate.

In a Tuesday afternoon River States Conference doubleheader against West Virginia Tech, Shawnee State accomplished the same feat again, as the Bears drove in 22 runs on 24 hits to claim two key River States Conference victories (10-5 and 14-8) over the Golden Bears at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, W. Va.

Game Summaries

Shawnee State (17-11, 12-6 River States Conference) started off hot and stayed hot during both RSC contests Tuesday -- as Shawnee State scored five runs in the opening inning of play in Game 1 and three additional tallies during the opening inning of Game 2.

In both affairs, Shawnee State had leads of 5-0 and 9-3 cut to 5-3 (Game 1) and 9-7 (Game 2), respectively, but answered the call both times -- plating five consecutive runs to help put both contests to bed. The Bears raised their team batting average to .339 for the season after going 27-of-67 (.403) with seven doubles, two triples and a home run over the course of the day.

Game 1

Having enjoyed the friendly confines plenty over their first go-around at Little Creek Park with two walkoff victories as part of its journey to the River States Conference Championship Series last year, Shawnee State picked right back up where it left off in 2024 -- as the Bears batted around in the opening frame of play.

Sierra Dunnagan and Jenna Christopher each led off the opening inning with back-to-back walks, and after a sacrifice bunt by Bianca Belo-Diaz, Mackenzie Hale drilled a two-run double to left field to score Dunnagan and Christopher, immediately putting SSU in front by a 2-0 margin with just one gone in the opening half-inning of play.

While West Virginia Tech was able to obtain a strikeout immediately following the opening scoring salvos, Shawnee State followed that with three consecutive hits as the Bears got an infield single from Genavie Espinoza, an RBI single from Sydney Skiver and a two-RBI double to center by Cameryn Davidson -- increasing Shawnee State's lead to a 5-0 margin after the opening inning of play.

WV Tech answered with two runs in the bottom half of the opening frame and nabbed a middle-inning home run to cut the Shawnee State lead to a 5-3 count after five innings of play -- but got no closer as the SSU lineup picked it up again in the late innings.

In the sixth frame, a leadoff single by Skiver, a sacrifice bunt by Davidson and a walk by Emily Cheatham helped put Christopher in a position to do her job successfully -- driving in a key insurance run with a 6-4 RBI groundout that pushed Shawnee State's lead to a 6-3 margin after six innings of work.

Then, SSU finished the affair as it started -- exploding for a four-run seventh that began with a bang.

Hale, a graduate of Winfield High School just a mere half-hour from Little Creek Park, showcased her West Virginia power with a solo home run to center field to begin the inning, while a single by Emily Moore and a double by Skiver set up a 6-4 RBI groundout by Davidson and a two-RBI single by Dunnagan to end it as the Bears took a 10-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh -- a lead that West Virginia Tech was only able to cut into slightly as Shawnee State picked up the victory.

For the contest, Hale (3-for-4, home run, double, three RBI, two runs scored), Skiver (3-for-3, walk, double, RBI, two runs scored), Moore (2-for-4), Davidson (1-for-3, double, sacrifice, three RBI, run scored), Dunnagan (1-for-4, double, walk, two RBI, run scored), Christopher (1-for-4, walk, triple, RBI, run scored), Espinoza (1-for-4, two runs scored) and Bianca Belo-Diaz (1-for-3, sacrifice) all contributed to the hit column in the victory.

Game 2

As with the opener on Tuesday, Shawnee State started matters out in fine fashion -- scoring nine runs over the first three innings alone to take a rather commanding lead.

In the opening frame of action, it only took the opening trio of batters to plate the game's first pair of runs -- as a leadoff triple by Sierra Dunnagan was followed by an RBI double to center field by Jenna Christopher to get SSU on the board to start with. Then following a steal of third base by Christopher, Davidson followed with her own RBI double to center -- giving Shawnee State a 2-0 lead before an out was recorded in the opening half-inning. Bianca Belo-Diaz's RBI groundout later in the frame helped SSU lay stake to a 3-0 lead after the opening half-inning.

West Virginia Tech rallied to tie the score by amassing three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning to tie the score at three runs apiece, but Shawnee State proceeded to put up each of the game's next six runs to answer -- and take a lengthy advantage in the process.

Following a leadoff walk and a passed ball that allowed Dunnagan to reach scoring position in the top of the second inning, Mackenzie Hale was able to drive in a run later on in the going as the senior's single to center field gave Shawnee State the lead back, while Emily Moore added to it with a sacrifice fly RBI to left field -- giving SSU a 5-3 advantage after two innings of work.

The Bears then ramped up matters in the third frame, as a leadoff single by Sydney Skiver, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Kiera Williams, another single by Emily Cheatham and a steal of second base by the latter, put Shawnee State in another advantageous position with runners on second and third base and a position to strike once again.

True to form, SSU did just that as the lineup turned back over to the top of the order -- as Dunnagan's two-RBI double to right field, an RBI groundout by Christopher and an RBI single back up the center of the diamond by Mackenzie Hale resulted in four more runs for Kristen Bradshaw's group -- giving Shawnee State a 9-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the third frame.

A youthful and talented group in its own right, West Virginia Tech showcased flashes of that potential in the bottom of the third and the bottom of the fourth innings -- as two RBI doubles, an RBI groundout and a passed ball pulled WV Tech to within two runs, 9-7, of the Shawnee State lead after four innings of work.

For the second contest in a row, however, Shawnee State thwarted the comeback attempt -- as the Bears, after getting singles from Dunnagan and Christopher and a walk by Cameryn Davidson to lead the bases, posted three runs in the fifth on a RBI groundout by Hale and an error that allowed two runs to score, while Davidson's one-out single to center field was followed by an RBI double by Hale to right field and an error that allowed Shawnee State to take a 14-7 cushion heading into the final half-inning of work -- which proved to be more than enough to seal the deal.

In the contest, Hale (3-for-4, double, four RBI, run scored), Dunnagan (3-for-4, triple, double, walk, two RBI, two runs scored), Christopher (3-for-5, double, two RBI, four runs scored) and Davidson (2-for-4, double, walk, RBI, four runs scored) led the SSU lineup -- as the top four hitters went 11-for-17 with four doubles, a triple, nine RBI and 11 runs scored in the contest.

Behind them, Cheatham (2-for-4, run scored) and Skiver (1-for-3, two walks, run scored) rounded out the performance from Shawnee State.

The wins give Shawnee State firm control of fourth place in the River States Conference -- as the Bears sit six games above .500 both in the RSC and from an overall standpoint.

Additional

Shawnee State will face Rio Grande (25-7, 13-3 River States Conference) as the Bears take on their archrival, the River States Conference Regular Season leader, Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Doc Singleton Park in West Portsmouth.