SSU SB's season ends in RSC Tournament; finishes with 36 wins

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W. Va. — When one looks back on the final three seasons of what the Shawnee State softball program has accomplished at the NAIA level, one will be pretty impressed.

The Shawnee State softball program scored a 9-4 victory over Brescia (Ky.) but fell by marks of 5-3 to Rio Grande and 7-2 to Indiana-Columbus on Friday to see its season come to a close. It capped off a three-year stretch in the River States Conference where the Bears won 99 games and went 72-28 in RSC action during regular season play.

Shawnee State softball (36-15)

Playing as the No. 2 seed in the River States Conference Softball Tournament, the Shawnee State softball program was able to score a 9-4 win over Brescia to remain alive in consolation play after an earlier setback to Rio Grande previously in the tournament.

Shawnee State jumped out on Brescia early as a RBI bunt single by Jenna Christopher, a steal of second base by Christopher and a wild pitch was followed by a walk and a steal by Sierra Dunnagan.

With runners on second and third base, Shawnee State senior first baseman Gabby Adams drove in two runs with a single to left field, putting the Bears ahead by a 2-0 margin to end the top half of the first frame of play.

The score remained at a 2-0 margin heading into the fourth inning, where both Kennedy Davis and Christopher — Huntington natives and Spring Valley High School graduates — drew walks with two out in the bottom half of the frame. Two-hole hitter and Wheelersburg graduate Haley Myers then lofted a two-out, two-RBI single to right field, bringing in both Davis and Christopher to push the margin to a 4-0 lead.

Adams, who led off the fifth inning, then pushed Shawnee State's lead to a 5-0 margin, lofting a 1-0 pitch to the left center field gap, moving to third on an RBI groundout and scoring on Keegan Uhl's sacrifice fly to center field to push the lead out to that number.

Brescia answered with a four-run frame in the top half of the sixth as a three-run triple by Emma Kate Elrod was the catalyst in bringing the Bearcats within 5-4, but Shawnee State answered with a four-run sixth in the bottom half as Lexie Lockwood's leadoff single to left, a sacrifice bunt by Davis that moved Lockwood to second and a walk by Christopher was followed by a one-out RBI single by Haley Myers that scored Lockwood.

Then, with two gone and following a wild pitch that allowed Myers to move to second and Christopher to third, a one-out single to left by Adams brought in Christopher while Wheelersburg's Sydney Skiver followed with a two-out double to left to score both Myers and Adams, giving Shawnee State the 9-4 lead and the win.

Shawnee State sophomore Gabby McConnell picked up the win in that game as the Circleville native spun a seven-hitter in the contest.

Adams and Myers led the Bears in the win by going 6-for-8 with a double, six RBI and three runs scored between them.