Bears shoot strong 294 on second day of OCU Fall Invite; finish fourth behind Stevenson's top-10, Hughes' top-15 performances

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio -- For the second consecutive day and round, the Shawnee State men's golf program put together a round under 300 as a group -- and in doing so, continued its upward trajectory as a team as the Bears shot an impressive 294 in the second and final day of the Ohio Christian University Fall Invitational to finish fourth in the 11-team event, which was held at Pickaway Golf Course and Country Club in Circleville, Ohio.

Shawnee State, who ultimately shot a two-day 593 after shooting a 299 on the opening day of the tournament, finished just 17 strokes back of second-place Indiana Tech. West Virginia Tech, who posted a a two-day 565, won the event.

For the second consecutive tournament, Tanner Stevenson ultimately led the charge in the overall finishing order for the Bears -- as Stevenson's even-par 72 on the second day of competition allowed the senior to post a two-day 145 en route to finishing in a tie for ninth place overall in the 53-player field.

Stevenson, who posted five birdies in his first day outing, nabbed four additional birdies on the fifth, eighth, 10th and 15th holes on Day 2. Stevenson also parred 10 additional holes to round out a consistent weekend where the senior from Wheelersburg collected 18 pars over the two-day tournament.

Behind the senior, Logan Hughes, who tied for 13th overall on the leaderboard, shot a second-day 75 to finish with a two-day 147. Hughes birdied the sixth, ninth, 11th and 16th holes Tuesday afternoon to round out another consistent outing for the junior from Flemingsburg, Ky.

With strong second day efforts behind Stevenson and Hughes, Ross Ferrell and Trey Cracraft finished inside the top-20 overall to put all four countable team scorers within that range.

Ferrell, who birdied the fifth, 11th, 13th and 14th holes on Tuesday, posted pars on 11 additional greens to shoot a second-day, one-over 73 -- and finish in a tie for 16th with a two-day 150.

Cracraft, who finished in a tie for 19th with a two-day 151, shot a two-over 74 in his second round, birding the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holes as well as the 14th green. Cracraft notched eight additional pars in his own highly-competitive second day showing.

Cayden Haislop, who rounded out the lineup for Shawnee State, finished in a tie for 40th overall, with his best score being an 81 on the opening day of competition. The true freshman shot a two-day 165.

With the two-day Ohio Christian Fall Invitational in the books, the Bears will return home to host the Roger Merb Invitational -- which will feature two rounds of action played over a single day. The 36-hole tournament commences Monday, Sept. 23 at Elks Country Club in McDermott.