Dunnagan reaches 100 career hit mark as Shawnee State softball sweeps Saint Mary-of-the-Woods; moves up into tie for second in RSC Standings (W 14-12, W 6-1)

SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- Coming into Friday evening's doubleheader against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the Shawnee State softball program had been hitting .418 as a team over its last 12 games -- resulting in a 9-3 record during that stretch that had seen the Bears rise from eighth in the conference standings to third.

It's safe to say that Kristen Bradshaw's group stayed hot on Friday -- at both the plate and in the win column.

Between both games of a River States Conference doubleheader against the Pomeroys' softball program, the Shawnee State softball program hit .403 as a group -- a result of a nine-run outburst in the first and second innings of a 14-12 triumph over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Game 1 and a six-run shove in the fourth inning of what ended up being a 6-1 victory in Game 2 as the Bears clicked off their sixth and seventh straight wins with a road sweep at the SMWC Softball Field Friday evening in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. 

Game Summaries

In both affairs, Shawnee State went 25-of-62, ultimately scoring 20 runs off of its 25 hits between both contests. The Bears amassed 15 hits in Game 1 en route to outlasting a late Saint Mary-of-the-Woods comeback in Game 1, then controlled matters throughout the back half of Game 2 with a 10-hit performance -- six of those coming in the six-run fourth frame.

With seven straight wins now in its back pocket, the Bears moved all the way into a tie for second place in the River States Conference with Indiana-Southeast, as both programs sport 13-9 overall records and 9-5 marks in RSC action, having split with one another Friday, March 14.

Game 1

Shawnee State started Friday's opener hot from the get-go -- as the Bears immediately struck in the first inning with Sierra Dunnagan's leadoff single. Then, following a hit batter that put two SSU runners on base with one gone in the inning, Mackenzie Hale's RBI double drove in Dunnagan while Genavie Espinoza's RBI single brought Bianca Belo-Diaz on home to immediately put Shawnee State ahead by a 2-0 margin. Emily Moore added in an RBI groundout to drive Hale on in -- increasing Shawnee State's lead to a 3-0 margin after an inning of work.

The offensive display in the first inning, however, was simply a precursor of what was to come.

Emily Cheatham, who led off the second frame of play, made it back-to-back leadoff singles for Shawnee State -- then advanced up one base, two separate times, on two wild pitches -- putting Dunnagan in a position to drive in Cheatham with a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed by the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods defense. Dunnagan then swiped two bases and advanced home herself on an infield throwing error while stealing third as Shawnee State quickly increased its lead to a 5-0 count.

That, however, was just the beginning -- as back-to-back singles by Hale and Belo-Diaz were followed by an RBI single by Espinoza, a double from Moore, and a two-RBI single from Sydney Skiver, allowing Shawnee State to take an 8-0 lead. Cameryn Davidson singled and stole second base, and after a free pass to Cheatham, Skiver scored on a wild pitch -- pushing Shawnee State's lead to a 9-0 count.

Undeterred, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods rallied back to within 9-8 by the end of the third inning, but Shawnee State roared back with three critical runs as Cheatham got matters going again with a walk, while a hit batter and a wild pitch allowed Cheatham and Dunnagan to move into scoring position. The pair then both came across to score on a passed ball -- as the duo's alert baserunning put Shawnee State ahead 11-8. Later in the same frame, walks by Bianca Belo-Diaz and Mackenzie Hale then allowed Moore to drive in Belo-Diaz with an RBI single, giving the Bears a 12-8 advantage after four innings of play.

Again, SMWC fired right back with four unanswered runs to tie the score at 12-all after five complete -- but Shawnee State, once again, found a way behind three of its key senior pieces.

Following a flyout, Belo-Diaz shot a double over to left field, then headed home after advancing up one base each on two separate wild pitches. Hale then doubled to left herself, and after advancing to third base on a single by Espinoza, scored on a throwing error to give Shawnee State the two-run cushion that it needed to close the deal as Emma Wargel, who came on in relief, gave up a single in the sixth but was able to obtain an inning-ending double play, then concluded matters in the seventh by forcing Saint Mary-of-the-Woods into three consecutive groundouts after a leadoff double by SMWC's Jasmine Kinzer to close the book on SSU's Game 1 win.

For the contest, Espinoza (3-for-3, walk, two RBI, run scored), Hale (3-for-4, walk, two doubles, RBI, two runs scored), Belo-Diaz (2-for-3, two walks, double, four runs scored), Moore (2-for-3, walk, double, two RBI, run scored) and Dunnagan (2-for-3, walk, three runs scored) all reached the multi-hit column, while Cheatham (1-for-3, two walks, two runs scored), Davidson (1-for-3) and Skiver (1-for-5, two RBI, run scored) rounded out another complete effort from top-to-bottom in the hitting lineup for the Bears.

Game 2

After being locked in a scoreless tie through three innings of work as Wargel went toe-to-toe with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods starter Lanna Martinez, Wargel won out as the Shawnee State offense gave the pitching talent all the run support that the Illinois native would need in the fourth.

Back-to-back walks by Mackenzie Hale and Bianca Belo-Diaz got the fourth inning started, and after a bunt single by Emily Moore that everybody ended up safe on, a wild pitch scored Hale to plate the first run of Game 2.

From there, it was on.

The following batter, Sydney Skiver, drove in Belo-Diaz with an RBI single to right, and after Skiver stole second base, Genavie Espinoza cleared the bases with her two-RBI single to center -- giving the Bears a 4-0 lead with which to work with while still batting in the frame.

Then, Sierra Dunnagan -- who posted the 100th hit of her Shawnee State career with a single in the third frame of action -- came up in the fourth and completed a day to remember by posting a two-RBI single to center to plate the final two runs on Shawnee State's side, adding to a season where Dunnagan is hitting .507 with five doubles, a triple, a home run and 18 RBI.

Pitching-wise, Wargel carried over her strong relief performance in Game 1 with another stout outing in Game 2, tossing a complete game two-hitter while striking out seven in the five-run victory. Wargel faced the minimum in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings of play.

From a hitting standpoint, Dunnagan (3-for-4, two RBI) led the multi-hit performers while Espinoza (1-for-1, two RBI), Skiver (1-for-3, RBI, run scored), Belo-Diaz (1-for-2, walk, run scored), Moore (1-for-3, walk, run scored), Emily Cheatham (1-for-3), Jenna Christopher (1-for-3) and Madison Franz (1-for-3, run scored) all reached the hit column as well to complete the winning cause and the sweep.

Additional

Shawnee State (13-9, 9-5 RSC) will make the trek to Cera Sports Park in Columbus, Ind. as the Bears will take on Indiana-Columbus (7-17, 4-8 RSC) in a pair of River States Conference matchups. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m.