SSU SB gets shutout from Davidson in circle, collective rally at plate in sweep of Goshen Saturday (2-0, 10-9 Ws)

COCOA BEACH, Fla. -- The true essence of a program that is clearly well-respected and can compete against all comers is one that finds different ways to win ballgames, no matter how the sequence of the games themselves play out.

Kristen Bradshaw has led teams that have accomplished this very piece time and again -- and throughout the day on Saturday, the Shawnee State softball program took on this mantra as the Bears got a complete game shutout from senior pitcher Cameryn Davidson to claim a 2-0 victory in Game 1, then made a furious rally from a 6-0 deficit after three innings of play against Goshen (Ind.) to post a 10-9 come-from-behind triumph in Game 2 to complete a successful sweep of the Goshen Maple Leafs' softball program Saturday at the Launch Pad Sports Complex in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Winning in various ways

Shawnee State rode the clutch pitching of Davidson -- who seemed to come up with the needed pitch at every opportunity in Game 1 -- to claim the dub in Game 1, while the Bears sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth inning and eight batters to the dish in the fifth and sixth innings of Game 2 en route to scoring all 10 of its runs in those three frames to make up the six-run deficit over Goshen (Ind.) in thrilling fashion.

Goshen -- who lost by just one run to No. 25 Coastal Georgia (3-2) and Johnson, Tenn. (2-1), the latter of whom is receiving votes themselves -- fell to 4-6 overall, while Shawnee State started its season 2-0 with the victories.

Game 1

Throughout Saturday's opener, the contest proved to be a battle of wits between Davidson and Goshen sophomore Camryn Barrows, who combined to give up just seven hits as the duo's control made hits a premium in the 10 a.m. affair.

Davidson, in particular, overcame a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings that she pitched inside the circle by forcing six groundouts and a double play to help keep the contest at a scoreless tie heading into the bottom half of the third frame.

There, Shawnee State came up large.

With two gone in the bottom of the third frame, Bianca Belo-Diaz's walk allowed the senior to move to second base on a passed ball -- and Sierra Dunnagan, along with Sydney Skiver, each followed with huge RBI doubles that gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage.

Those runs proved to be all that was needed for Davidson.

In the sixth inning, the senior faced her largest test of the contest as a walk and two hit by pitches allowed Goshen to load the bases with two gone in the top half of the frame. However, the nearby graduate of Raceland High School responded with a massive punchout -- as her lone strikeout, that of Goshen's Esme Pico, couldn't have come at a better time. The Maple Leafs didn't threaten again as Shawnee State claimed the opener.

Dunnagan, who went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, led the offense while Skiver (1-for-3, double, RBI), Belo-Diaz (1-for-2, walk, run scored) and Genavie Espinoza (1-for-3) all proved to be huge in the final result.

Game 2

After building an early lead in Game 1 and holding that advantage to the finish line, Shawnee State had to work itself out of a hole in Game 2 as the Bears trailed by a 6-0 margin after three innings of play.

Shawnee State, however, changed the direction of the contest in a hurry in the middle innings.

In the fourth frame of action, Genavie Espinoza utilized a one-out double to start a threat, and with two gone, the Bears utilized a scoring blitz to get back into the contest as back-to-back RBI doubles by Emily Moore and Emily Cheatham immediately cut the Goshen advantage to a 6-2 count. Walks by Jenna Christopher and Bianca Belo-Diaz then loaded the bases, setting up Sierra Dunnagan who promptly drove in two additional runs with her two-RBI base knock to score both Cheatham and Christopher -- turning the 6-0 deficit into a scant 6-4 margin.

Goshen added a run to its advantage with an RBI double by Alyssa McDonald, but the Maple Leafs could not hold back the Shawnee State offensive onslaught, as the Bears hung another four-spot in the fifth. Two walks and a hit by pitch allowed Cheatham to drive in Espinoza with a sacrifice fly, and an error, an RBI single by Belo-Diaz and a passed ball resulted in three additional runs with Christopher scoring on the passed ball to give the Bears an 8-7 lead in a dramatic turnaround where Shawnee State scored all eight of its runs in both frames with two outs on the board.

Shawnee State kept the two-out magic rolling right into the sixth inning -- as the Bears utilized a hit by pitch and two walks to get a run on an error and another on an RBI single by Christopher, extending the Bears' lead to a 10-7 count heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Goshen answered Shawnee State's two-run sixth with a two-run sixth frame of their own on base hits by McDonald and Bianca Diamond, but the Bears forced a two-out 1-3 groundout to get out of the sixth inning with a 10-9 advantage, then closed the deal in the seventh as a groundout, flyout and lineout cancelled out an error and subsequent stolen base to claim the thrilling 10-9 triumph.

For the contest, Moore (2-for-2, two doubles, two walks, RBI, two runs scored), Dunnagan (2-for-4, walk, two RBI) and Christopher (2-for-4, walk, RBI, two runs scored) led the multi-hit outings for Shawnee State while Espinoza (1-for-2, double, two walks, three runs scored), Cheatham (1-for-3, sac fly, double, two RBI, run scored) and Belo-Diaz (1-for-4, walk, RBI) all contributed to the hit column in the Game 2 win.

Additional

Shawnee State (2-0) is scheduled to take on New College of Florida and Siena Heights (Mich.) at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday evening, respectively in Viera, Fla. Games can be watched at https://www.spacecoastspringgames.com/space-coast-spring-games-online-video.