PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- UPIKE baseball suffered a setback in its mission to clinch a spot in next weekend's Mid-South Conference Championship after dropping both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Shawnee State.
Shawnee State won both games by three runs, after taking the first game 10-7 and the second game 7-4.
Game 1
For at least two innings, it looked like the Bears would only need the first game to clinch the trip to Bowling Green.
UPIKE scored twice in the fourth inning for the game's first runs on a RBI single by Anthony Houk and a sacrifice fly by Dillon O'Grady.
Meanwhile, Bears starter Bruce Bell was dealing through the first four innings, giving up just one hit while striking out seven.
Pikeville added on to its lead with a three-run fifth inning without a hit. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with just one out. UPIKE then scored on a wild pitch and a two-base error to give the Bears a 5-0 lead.
But then things turned south for UPIKE as Bell began to run out of gas. SSU responded to UPIKE's three-run inning with one of their own. Bell walked two batters and gave up a single to load the bases with one out.
Shawnee then turned to some station-to-station baseball with another single and walk to bring in their first two runs, then added the third on a wild pitch.
SSU continued its rally with a five-run sixth and a two-run seventh to quickly turn a 5-0 deficit into a 10-5 lead.
UPIKE had the rumblings of a comeback started after Brendan Halstrom hit a two-run home run to cut Shawnee's lead to three runs, but it was all the Bears could muster.
Game 2
The second game was eerily similar in terms of game momentum, although it all occurred in a much more compact timeframe.
Both UPIKE starter Ean Walda and Shawnee starter Dalton Phillips were able to keep the opposition off the scoreboard until the fourth inning.
UPIKE loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth with a Lubiniecki single and two walks then began its rally. RBI hits from Dillon O'Grady, Luke Hartlage, a Kase Mattingly walk and a Jacob Alvarado sac fly gave UPIKE a 4-0 lead.
However, that lead was short lived after Shawnee scored seven runs in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs. Shawnee State's first five runners all reached without recording a hit on four walks and a hit batter. Then three consecutive hits and an error gave Shawnee State a 7-4 lead that would last for the rest of the game.
UP NEXT
Saturday's losses turn Sunday's contest into a win or go home situation for both teams. The winner of tomorrow's 1 p.m. contest will secure the No. 5 seed and a trip to next weekend's MSC Championships in Bowling Green.
-UPIKE-
