Sunday sweep: SSU Baseball finishes up series against Union Commonwealth with 14-5, 4-0 wins

WINCHESTER, Ky. -- The baseball program at Shawnee State controlled matters throughout much of play on Sunday, finishing off a series where standout 1-2 hole hitters Nolan Tressler and Jace Parnin each hit over .500 over a four-game stretch in fine fashion with convincing 14-5 and 4-0 triumphs Sunday afternoon in Winchester, Ky. to take its season opening series over Union Commonwealth (Ky.) and move to 3-1 to begin the 2025 season in the process.

Shawnee State, who ultimately posted 18 runs on 25 hits between Sunday's victories, collected 16 hits in Game 1 Sunday afternoon, alone, in a contest where eight different players recorded at least one hit with five of those eight hands nabbing multi-hit outings.

In Game 2, Tressler, Parnin and Mason Reid delivered for the Bears as the one, two, and four hitters in Shawnee State's batting order -- who produced all weekend long with 17 RBI and 16 runs scored between the trio -- combined to go 7-for-11 with four doubles, a home run and three runs scored to will the Bears to the series-clinching victory. Parnin hit above .560 for the weekend while Tressler exceeded the .530 clip and Reid hit over .430 in SSU's convincing wins.

Diego Mendoza also produced in a heavy manner on the weekend, hitting .400 over the four-game set, including a perfect 4-for-4 outing in Game 1 on Sunday where Mendoza posted a double, a two-run homer, three RBI and three runs scored.

Game 1 -- Shawnee State 14, Union Commonwealth (Ky.) 5

Shawnee State wasted little time putting up dents on the scoreboard in Game 1 -- as in the opening inning of work, Nolan Tressler's leadoff double set up Jace Parnin -- who drove Tressler in with an RBI single back up the middle of the diamond to quickly put the Bears ahead by a 1-0 margin. That margin then increased three batters later -- as Hunter Warner's two-out RBI single scored Parnin to put SSU ahead by a 2-0 margin after the opening half inning of competition.

Union Commonwealth came back with two equalizing runs in the bottom half of the opening half, but a one-out walk by Parnin in the third inning opened a crease for Diego Mendoza -- who swung the door wide open on Sunday's opening affair by blasting a two-run homer to right field to give Shawnee State a 4-2 lead after three innings of work.

From there, the Bears blew the game wide open.

Leadoff walks by Tyler Lund and Tressler to open the inning led to back-to-back RBI-producing base hits from Mendoza and Mason Reid, as Mendoza nabbed an RBI double to left center while Reid notched a two-RBI single in back-to-back at bats to open Shawnee State's lead up to a 7-2 margin.

Rob Ehlers' group, however, still wasn't down.

In the top of the seventh inning -- and the Bears leading 7-3 at this juncture -- Shawnee State effectively closed the game out by sending 12 batters to the plate and plating seven runs off of seven hits in an electric frame that saw Eli Jones lead off the crooked number with a bunt single and Ryan Scott follow with a single to right field.

With two on and nobody out, a sacrifice bunt by Lund was mishandled by Union Commonwealth -- allowing Jones to score and Scott and Lund to fly into scoring position. Tressler's sacrifice fly RBI and an RBI single to center by Parnin gave Shawnee State a 10-3 advantage with just one gone in the seventh inning.

Following Parnin's RBI single, Mendoza and Reid followed with singles of their own to load the bases, and a hit batter, along with a wild pitch, allowed SSU to take a 12-3 advantage. Jones then appropriately finished off what he started as the sophomore from Williamsburg, Ohio drove in Reid and Hunter Warner with his second hit of the inning, a two-RBI single back up the center of the diamond, to finalize the scoring for Shawnee State.

Offensively, Diego Mendoza led Shawnee State by going 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Mason Reid (3-for-5, 2 RBI, R), Jace Parnin (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 3 R), Eli Jones (2-for-2, 2 RBI, R), Ryan Scott (2-for-4, 2B, R), Hunter Warner (1-for-3, 2 RBI, R), Nolan Tressler (1-for-2, 2B, RBI, R) and Wyatt Haupt (1-for-3) all contributed heavily on the offensive front for Shawnee State.

Pitching-wise, Lyndon Sinclair was rock solid in his pitching debut, striking out three batters and allowing just two hits after the opening inning to recover nicely after a two-run first frame. Sinclair went four innings before handing the baton off as the Bears got additional arms looks.

Game 2 -- Shawnee State 4, Union Commonwealth (Ky.) 0

Both teams battled to a scoreless count through the opening three innings of work in Game 2, but Jace Parnin changed tha fact in a hurry -- as the junior's leadoff at-bat in the top of the fourth inning proved to be a banger. The Indiana native's solo home run to left not only broke the scoreless tie -- but put Shawnee State ahead for good in the contest.

With Shawnee State pitching hands Logan Paplham and Carson Wireman controlling matters on the bump, Parnin teamed with Nolan Tressler to add in two more runs in the fifth -- as a leadoff walk by Eli Jones led to Tressler driving in Jones with an RBI double. Parnin then followed Tressler with an RBI single to right to bring Tressler on around -- giving the Bears a 3-0 advantage.

However, both Tressler and Parnin weren't done. Just for good measure, the pair again teamed up for an additional run in the seventh and final frame -- as Tressler's leadoff single was followed by a double to right center by Parnin, who was able to drive Tressler around for Parnin's third RBI of the contest to finalize the score.

Offensively, Parnin (3-for-4, double, home run, three RBI, run scored), Tressler (2-for-4, double, RBI, two runs scored) and Reid (2-for-3, two doubles) were productive throughout while Wyatt Haupt (1-for-3) and Diego Mendoza (1-for-4) each produced in the lineup, as well.

From a pitching standpoint, Logan Paplham, much like Sinclair in his first start, was efficient, throwing a one-hitter through four innings of work while nabbing a trio of strikeouts in 61 pitches. Carson Wireman then came in for Paplham in the final three innings of action and continued building on Paplham's efforts, striking out six batters in three innings. Wireman needed less than 40 pitches over his time on the mound to close the deal.

Additional

Shawnee State (3-1) returns to action Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8 when the Bears travel to face Brewton-Parker, Ga. (2-1) in what will be a three-game series at Brewton-Parker College Baseball Field in Mount Vernon, Ga. Friday's lone contest begins at 6 p.m. while Saturday's doubleheader action commences at 1 p.m.