Lund obtains 100th career hit; Shawnee State BB earns third consecutive series victory to begin River States Conference play with Friday split against Midway (13-11 W, 13-8 L)

MIDWAY, Ky. -- In a pair of contests that proved to be offensive slugfests, the Shawnee State baseball program was able to claim a split with the Midway Eagles' baseball program Friday evening, with four players -- Nolan Tressler, Eli Jones, Hunter Warner and Tyler Lund -- each enjoying multi-hit performances to lead the Bears in a 13-11 victory to seal the series against Midway while Lund reached the 100-hit mark for his career in Game 2 for Shawnee State in a pair of games that were held at Branch Rickey Park Friday.

Between both contests, the Bears collected 21 runs on 24 hits as Shawnee State hit 13 runs for the second consecutive game in its opener on Friday, matching the second-most runs by the Shawnee State baseball program this season in a River States Conference contest and matching the third-most runs this season in a game with its first outing.

Game 1

After initially trailing by a 3-0 count after the opening inning and a half of work, Shawnee State rallied in the second inning as Hunter Warner -- known affectionally by the coaching staff as 'Pudge,' shot a leadoff double to left field to immediately put a threat on the basepaths for Shawnee State. That threat then increased as Jace Parnin not only singled to move Warner over to third base, but stole second himself -- putting two runners in scoring position.

Two batters later, Ryan Scott came through for Shawnee State -- as the veteran starter drove in two runs with his shot to left field to bring in Warner and Parnin to immediately draw Shawnee State within one run, 3-2.

Then, two additional batters later, standout talent Nolan Tressler came up and smacked a two-run homer down the right field line -- giving Shawnee State a 4-3 lead after two innings of work.

The Bears then took advantage again in the fourth inning, as after an error, Tressler followed up his two-run jack with an RBI triple to left field to score Tyler Lund -- and the following batter, two-hole hitter Eli Jones, posted an RBI base knock to drive in Tressler.

Later on in the same frame, Jones stole second base, and after two hit batters, Warner again came up with a critical at-bat by drawing a bases loaded walk to score Jones -- as the Bears increased their lead to a 7-3 count.

Shawnee State then increased its lead to an 8-3 count through five complete as a leadoff triple by Zach Gaspar was followed by an RBI single to left by Lund -- but in the sixth inning, Midway rallied with six runs to retake the lead briefly as three singles, two walks, an error and a three-RBI triple gave Midway a 9-8 advanage.

However, the Bears came back -- and grabbed the lead for good in the bottom half of the same frame. Diego Mendoza's leadoff walk, a Mason Reid single and a hit batter ultimately loaded the bases with nobody out, and a passed ball allowed Mendoza to score as Jace Parnin stepped into the dish for his own at-bat. Parnin then proceeded to put a ball into play that not only brought in a run, but scored another as the ball was misplayed by the Midway defense -- giving Shawnee State an 11-9 advantage. Warner then blasted a solo home run in the seventh inning and after a hit batter, Lund brought in Zach Gaspar with an RBI single in the eighth as SSU offset two late Midway runs with two tallies of their own in the 13-11 triumph.

For the contest, Tressler (2-for-4, triple, home run, walk, three RBI, two runs scored), Warner (2-for-3, home run, double, walk, two RBI, three runs scored), Lund (2-for-5, two RBI, run scored), and Jones (2-for-5, RBI, run scored) all produced in the lineup while Scott (1-for-3, walk, two RBI, run scored), Mendoza (1-for-3, run scored), Reid (1-for-4, run scored), Gaspar (1-for-4, triple, run scored) and Parnin (1-for-5, two RBI, run scored) also joined the hit column in Game 1.

Game 2/Lund hits 100-hit mark for career

Shawnee State also trailed to begin the second contest of Friday's matters as the Bears initially fell behind by a 1-0 count over the opening half-inning, but rallied to take a sizeable lead in the early goings of the second affair of the day.

After a solo home run by Diego Mendoza tied the score at one run apiece after the opening inning of play, a leadoff single by Jace Parnin and a hit batter set up the table for Nolan Tressler, who shot a two-RBI double to left to give the Bears a 3-1 lead after two innings of work. Hunter Warner's walk in the third inning was then followed by an RBI triple from Parnin as Shawnee State extended its lead to a 4-1 margin after three innings of work.

Midway rallied to take a 6-4 lead by scoring once in the fourth frame and four times in the fifth stanza, but Shawnee State knotted the score at six apiece as Zach Gaspar's single was followed by a two-out homer to left field by Warner, who notched his second home run of the day in the process, to tie the game. However, the Bears weren't able to hold the Eagles back as Midway ultimately scored six of the game's final eight runs en route to a split of the day's affairs.

Despite the loss, Parnin went 4-for-4 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored, while Lund, who entered the final game of Friday's series with 99 hits, notched a single to center field in the sixth inning to reach the 100-hit plateau. Lund, a three-year starter at Shawnee State, is hitting .351 for the year with three doubles, four triples, 22 RBI and 19 runs scored in 2025, all while notching more walks (10) than strikeouts (eight).

For his career at Shawnee State, Lund is hitting .319 for his career with the Bears and has four home runs, 19 doubles, 12 triples, and 74 RBI as a guy who has essentially served as a second leadoff hitter at the bottom of the Shawnee State lineup for Rob Ehlers' club.

Additional

Shawnee State (16-8, 6-3 River States Conference) will get a week's rest before taking on Oakland City (Ind.) in a River States Conference series next Friday and Saturday at Branch Rickey Park. First pitch for Friday's single nine-inning contest is set for 2 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader set to start at 12 p.m.