The baseball and softball programs at Shawnee State will conclude the regular season over the weekend with major affairs that will decide seeding for the upcoming River States Conference Tournament for both squads -- as the baseball program will not only look to defend the No. 3 seed in the upcoming River States Conference Tournament but take a series from its archrival in Rio Grande in Branch Rickey Park, while the softball program will look to clinch a top-four overall seed and potentially move up the conference ladder if it can claim victories over Indiana-Columbus and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Saturday and Sunday in a pair of River States Conference doubleheaders that will be held at Doc Singleton Park.

A full preview of the weekend's events are below:

Shawnee State baseball vs. Rio Grande (10 a.m. Friday, 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday)

The baseball program at Shawnee State will have an opportunity to lock in its spot as the No. 3 seed in the upcoming River States Conference Tournament in a big way Friday and Saturday -- as the Bears will take on conference foe Rio Grande as the pair square off in a River States Conference series beginning Friday at 10 a.m. at Branch Rickey Park in Portsmouth.

Winners of six straight games, Shawnee State (24-14, 11-9 River States Conference) is maintaining a solid .315 batting average as a unit and a .963 fielding percentage as a team. The Bears rank second in the RSC in fielding and third in hitting while also ranking in a tie for 38th in fielding percentage nationally.

Overall, Shawnee State has six players batting over .330, including:

• Senior outfielder/designated hitter Zach Gaspar (.381, five doubles, three triples, four home runs, 22 RBI, 1.119 OPS, 1.000 fielding percentage)
• Senior outfielder Tyler Lund (.357, six doubles, five triples, 29 RBI)
• Senior outfielder Nolan Tressler (.355, 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 38 RBI, 1.053 OPS, 1.000 fielding percentage)
• Sophomore outfielder Eli Jones (.339, 23 RBI, 25 walks to 14 strikeouts, 19 stolen bases, 1.000 fielding percentage)
• Junior infielder Mason Reid (.338, 12 doubles, triple, six home runs, 31 RBI, 1.024 OPS)

In addition to the above individuals, Hunter Warner and Jace Parnin are also hitting over .300 (.311 and .302 respectively) and have combined for 13 home runs and 71 RBI between them. Warner has more walks (24) than strikeouts (23) and also holds an OPS above 1.000, leading the team with his 1.072 OPS, while Parnin leads Shawnee State with six triples for the 2025 season.

Pitching-wise, Carson Wireman heads the charge -- as the sophomore currently holds a strong strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.27-to-1, having struck out 49 batters while giving up just 15 free passes on the year. Parnin has also been strong in his selective relief appearances, striking out 15 batters while surrendering just three walks in 10 innings. Jakobe Reese is also 4-0 for the season and has struck out 26 batters while walking only nine in 32-and-a-third innings of work.

Conference-tournament wise, Shawnee State will be no worse than a No. 5 seed for the River States Conference Tourney, but can clinch the No. 3 seed by simply winning the series against Rio Grande.

Senior Day will follow the conclusion of series action Saturday evening.

Shawnee State softball vs. Indiana-Columbus (2 p.m. Saturday), Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (11 a.m. Sunday)

With a top-four seed in the River States Conference sealed for the upcoming RSC Softball Championship Tournament next week, the Shawnee State softball program sits in ideal shape heading into the final week of the regular season with an opportunity to play its way up to the No. 2 seed in the River States Conference Tournament if the Bears can win all four contests Saturday and Sunday.

Conference-wide, Shawnee State leads the River States Conference in hitting (.330) and sits second in the RSC in fielding percentage with a .966 mark. The Bears are tied for 38th nationally in hitting and are tied for 30th nationally in fielding percentage.

Shawnee State (23-15, 18-10 River States Conference) is led by:

• Sophomore catcher Sierra Dunnagan (.441, 10 doubles, four triples, home run, 30 RBI, 10 walks to five strikeouts, 1.076 OPS, .971 fielding percentage at catcher)
• Grad student pitcher/designated player Cam Davidson (.403, six doubles, 23 RBI, .930 OPS)
• Senior infielder Mackenzie Hale (.373, 17 doubles, three home runs, 29 RBI, .989 OPS, .980 fielding percentage)
• Junior outfielder Jenna Christopher (.359, five doubles, two triples, 18 RBI, 21 stolen bases, .984 fielding percentage)
• Freshman infielder Emily Moore (.339, eight doubles, two triples, five home runs, 19 RBI, 14 walks, .989 OPS, .953 fielding percentage at shortstop)
• Senior pitcher/designated player Genavie Espinoza (.333, six doubles, 28 RBI, six walks to three strikeouts)

Pitching-wise, Espinoza and Emma Wargel have thrown 16 complete games and collected 116 strikeouts between them, while freshmen Gabby McConnell and Madison Franz have logged 31-and-two-thirds innings behind them with Davidson supplying another 23-and-two-thirds innings herself.

Senior Day festivities will be prior to the first game of the weekend against Indiana-Columbus.

Additional

Shawnee State baseball's contests can be seen at www.portal.stretchinternet.com/shawneest.

Shawnee State softball's contests can be seen at https://web.gc.com/teams/DD097Lpwqn5l/2025-spring-shawnee-state-university.