PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Using a 10-run inning in game one, the University of Pikeville baseball team beat Shawnee State (Ohio) 13-3 for the second straight game, this time in eight innings, before falling 11-4 in the finale on Friday at Johnnie LeMaster Field.
With the split, the Bears win the Mid-South Conference series 2-1, moving to 17-12 overall and 3-3 in the MSC. Shawnee drops to 12-13 overall and 1-5 in league play.
Hot was an understatement for UPIKE at the plate in game one as it outhit Shawnee State 21-4 as eight players had at least two hits. Matt Peterson and Jorge Perez led the way with three hits each, while Jay Vincent went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.
UPIKE led 1-0 through two innings before explosing for 10 runs on nine hits and an error in the third. By the time Nelson Muniz drove in two runs with a single and Vincent added an RBI double, it was an 11-1 lead for the Bears.
Starter Aaron Hedgeock had allowed three runs and walked three batters through 3 2/3 innings, so he was pulled for Dalton Dahley who closed out the final 4 1/3 to claim the win. Dahley struck out eight batters and gave up just one hit in a dominant relief performance.
Game two starter Jake Hamilton didn't have the same luck as Shawnee State got to him for five runs on two hits and three walks in just over an inning of work. Six pitchers ended up throwing for UPIKE which didn't get the bats going until the final inning when it scored four runs to get within seven before a Peterson groundout ended the threat.
SSU spread out its runs in the win, scoring six in the second, three in the fifth and two final runs in the top of the seventh. Dalton Phillips and Levi Jones hit the only extra-base hits of the game with a pair of doubles.
UPIKE was outhit 10-5 in the loss as no one in the lineup had more than one hit. Jacob Alverado and Alex Barbe tallied the Bears' only RBIs.
Zach Straley earned the win after lasting 4 1/3 innings without giving up a run and allowing just one hit. He struck out four before handing the game over to Jesse James the rest of the way after control issues sprang up in the fifth inning.
UP NEXT
UPIKE welcomes Kentucky Christian to town at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
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