Christopher posts two additional inside-the-park homers in same game; Bears blast SUNY-Purchase (23-0/4), VSU-Lyndon (8-0/5)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
State University of New York at Purchase | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
|
Shawnee State | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 21 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Vermont State University -- Lyndon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
|
Shawnee State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
Coming into Friday's contests against State University of New York at Purchase and Vermont State University-Lyndon, Jenna Christopher and Lauren Spears had already posted more production in two games than some college softball players are able to produce in a month's worth of time.
Having gone 8-for-13 at the plate with a double, a triple, a home run, five RBI and six runs scored between them Thursday, Christopher and Spears took their level of play up multiple notches Friday -- as the top two hitters in the Shawnee State order went 9-for-12 together with Christopher's two inside-the-park home runs and Spears' triple and double against Vermont State-Lyndon headlining an offensive attack that recorded two dominating victories over SUNY-Purchase (22-0) and VSU-Lyndon (8-0) Friday at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The two mercy-rule victories by the Bears saw Shawnee State combine for 33 hits, including 20 against SUNY-Purchase, as the Bears moved to a 68-0 run differential over its opposition to begin the first six contests of the year. Four of the six contests have been decided early due to Shawnee State hitting the eight-run rule after five innings of work.
Pitching-wise, Cassie Berry and Cameryn Davidson combined for a complete game four-hitter with six strikeouts between them against SUNY-Purchase, while Amariah Hoerner showcased her pitching skillset against VSU-Lyndon in the second affair, throwing a complete-game three-hitter while striking out 10 batters. Neither one of the three pitchers walked a single batter in Friday's victories.
Shawnee State 23, SUNY-Purchase 0 (F/5)
In the opening contest of the year against SUNY-Purchase, the Bears wasted no time jumping all over the Panthers.
After Jenna Christopher singled and came around to score to give SSU a 1-0 advantage, the Bears batted around in a four-run second inning that saw the two seniors and keyholds of the SSU softball unit -- Brittani Wolfenbarker and Cassie Berry -- step up in a major way.
Wolfenbarker's two-run triple in the nine-hole slot, followed by Berry's own RBI triple three batters later, pushed the Shawnee State lead to a 4-0 count after two innings complete.
Shawnee State, however, was just warming up.
In the third inning, the Bears sent 11 batters to the plate with Christopher, Spears, Berry, Sierra Dunnagan, Mackenzie Hale and Bianca Belo-Diaz each collecting RBI singles -- Christopher's of the two-RBI variety -- as Shawnee State opened the lead up to an insurmountable 11-0 margin through three innings of play. The Bears then exceeded their entire game total up to that point in the fourth inning as 12 additional runs came across to score with a two-RBI double by Gracey McCullough and a two-RBI base knock by Cameryn Davidson being the catalysts toward creating the crooked frame.
Shawnee State 8, VSU-Lyndon 0 (F/5)
As in the opening contest of the day, Shawnee State made quick work early on -- and in electric fashion, at that.
Up as the leadoff hitter in the lineup, Jenna Christopher posted a shot to left field that dropped deep in the hole -- and from there, the speedy 5-2 centerfielder was off and running all the way to the house as the Huntington, W. Va. native scored standing up on another inside-the-park home run. Lauren Spears then followed Christopher's shot with a double to right field -- and four batters later, Sierra Dunnagan's two-RBI single to center field scored both Christopher and Spears to push the Bears' lead to a 3-0 margin after the opening inning of play.
Cassie Berry and Amariah Hoerner, with two gone in the bottom of the second inning, each added in their own RBI singles to push the Shawnee State lead to a 5-0 cushion -- and in the fourth, the dynamic duo at the top of the Shawnee State order stepped up to create their own lightning.
Back to lead off the fourth, Christopher shot a bullet of a ball to center field, which ended up coming to rest on the warning track as Christopher again scored with ease on her third inside-the-park home run in a four-game span over two days of action. Spears then clobbered a triple to center -- allowing Berry to bring Spears in with ease on a sacrifice fly RBI to right field.
Ahead by a 7-0 margin through four innings of work, the Bears needed just one VSU-Lyndon mistake in the field -- an error -- to set Christopher up with yet another run-producing opportunity. True to form, Christopher delivered -- as her fifth RBI of the game brought in Lexie Lockwood to enact the mercy rule.
Additional
Along with Christopher and Spears, Dunnagan went 5-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored while Hoerner went 3-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored in addition to her strong pitching performance in Game 2.
Shawnee State (6-0) will be back in action Saturday afternoon for contests against Pikeville (2-2) and New Jersey City. Both games will occur on Field 1 and Field 5, respectively, at the North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Sports Complex.
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