CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Every program's ultimate goal, from a playing standpoint is to win conference championships and have the opportunity to compete for national championships.
However, it's also the goal of every program to improve from one season to another.
While the baseball program at Shawnee State fell one game short of getting the opportunity to compete for the River States Conference Championship in an 8-3 setback to the Midway Eagles' baseball program in a River States Conference Baseball Tournament Championship consolation game, it is safe to say that Rob Ehlers' group improved for the second season in a row.
The Shawnee State baseball program didn't get the chance to compete in the River States Conference Championship Series due to its five-run setback to Midway Monday afternoon at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, but the Bears did hit seven home runs, notched 17 total extra base hits in four games and defeated No. 18-ranked Indiana-Southeast to finalize a season where Shawnee State posted back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since Shawnee State posted five consecutive winning seasons from 2010 to 2014.
Over the last two seasons alone, the Bears have gone 55-37 under Rob Ehlers, who completed his second season by winning each of his first two games at the River States Conference Baseball Championship Tournament as one of only two teams in the tournament field, the other being eventual River States Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champion Oakland City, to begin the third day of the tournament without a loss in it.
Game Summary
After initially falling behind by a 5-0 tally in what was a five-run top half of the second inning for Midway, Shawnee State played the Eagles straight up the rest of the way.
In the bottom half of the second inning, Zach Gaspar shot a one-out ball to the right center field gap, and Gaspar motored his way around to third base as the ball went all the way to the VA Memorial Stadium wall. The designated hitter then scored on a balk -- trimming Midway's lead slightly to a 5-1 margin after two innings of work.
However, the Eagles were able to answer back with three important insurance runs. In the sixth, a two-base error was followed by back-to-back singles by Ayden Sciandra and Britten Robinson -- the former being of the RBI variety -- to score a run, while Sciandra came across on a wild pitch, giving Midway a 7-1 lead. The seventh inning ultimately saw Grant Hotchkiss post a leadoff double, with a flyout to center field and an RBI groundout by Peyton Henry giving the Eagles an 8-1 advantage.
Shawnee State rallied to get two runs back off of Midway starting pitcher Tommy Henninger in the eighth -- as Gaspar was hit by a pitch, and after a fielder's choice, Tyler Lund's RBI double brought in Wyatt Haupt. Two batters later, Eli Jones' single drove in Lund -- and the Bears had the lead cut to an 8-3 margin heading into the ninth. Unfortunately, after getting out of the ninth without allowing a run after the first two Midway batters -- Grant Stone and Hotchkiss -- reached via singles, Shawnee State went down in order as its season came to a close.
Additional
Despite the loss, Shawnee State's aforementioned success behind the 10 seniors inside the program -- Ryan Scott, Tyler Lund, Jakobe Reese, Ethan Ison, Austin Fox, Hunter Warner, Michael De Jesus, Nolan Tressler, James Bodrock and Dylan Bernard -- has the program trending in a positive direction heading into the 2025 season. At least six of the nine Shawnee State players who appeared in the batting order are scheduled to be back for 2026, while Carson Wireman, who finished the 2025 season with a team high four saves and posted the team's best ERA, is among a deep group of pitchers with returning eligibility.
