Moore's third inning homer, Wargel's complete game five-hitter guides Shawnee State softball to 4-1 win over Lindsey Wilson in Game 2; Espinoza fires complete game three-hitter in opener

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- The softball program at Shawnee State put together two strong performances as the Bears gave homestanding Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) all it could handle in both contests of a nonconference doubleheader at Marilyn D. Sparks Park in Columbia, Ky., battling Lindsey Wilson straight up through seven innings of the opener between the two programs before falling by a 1-0 tally in the opener, then rallying back by grabbing the upper hand by scoring two runs in the opening inning of Game 2 and building its lead from there in a 4-1 triumph to score a split Wednesday evening in Columbia, Ky.

Game Summaries

Shawnee State's pitching and defensive effort were stout throughout both contests -- as the Bears held Lindsey Wilson to just two runs between both contests and eight hits total over 14 innings of play Wednesday. Defensively, the Bears committed just one error in its 40 defensive chances as a team Wednesday -- amounting to a .975 fielding percentage as a group in playing winning softball throughout both contests.

Game 1 -- Lindsey Wilson 1, Shawnee State 0

Despite giving up a run in the second inning off of a one-out sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Wilson, Shawnee State senior pitcher Genavie Espinoza wasn't phased by the Blue Raiders' early salvo.

In six strong innings of work, Espinoza allowed just three Lindsey Wilson hits and faced the minimum amount of batters in the first, fifth and sixth innings of work en route to giving Shawnee State a chance to win the opening affair, doing so while needing just 70 pitches to go the distance.

The Bears nearly came away with that dub, as well -- as in the fifth and seventh frames, Shawnee State threatened as an error and an Emily Cheatham single in the fifth along with a walk by Sydney Skiver, a single by Cameryn Davidson and an error allowed Shawnee State to put baserunners on first and third in the fifth frame and load the bags in the seventh and final stanza. However, a pop fly in the fifth and a pop out along with a fly out in the seventh allowed Lindsey Wilson to claim the 1-0 triumph in Wednesday's opener.

Cheatham and Davidson (1-for-3 each) along with Mackenzie Hale (1-for-2) led the Shawnee State batting order in Game 1.

Game 2 -- Shawnee State 4, Lindsey Wilson 1

With an opportunity to take control of Wednesday's Game 2 affairs early on, the Bears wasted no time pouncing on the Blue Raiders -- as a leadoff single by Sierra Dunnagan in the opening inning was followed by an error, allowing Dunnagan and Jenna Christopher to advance into scoring position. Mackenzie Hale and Emily Moore then did their jobs -- bringing home Dunnagan and Christopher with RBI groundouts to allow Shawnee State to grab a 2-0 lead after the opening half-inning of work.

As Emma Wargel began to roll inside the circle, Moore went to work inside the batter's box.

In the third inning, the freshman shortstop, who has already showcased elite abilities at the plate and in the field throughout her freshman season for Shawnee State in 2025, got cranking in Columbia by going yard with a one-out solo home run -- answering Lindsey Wilson's first run in the bottom half of the first inning with one of its own in the top half of the third as SSU pushed its lead back to a two-run cushion, 3-1, after three innings of play.

For much of the rest of the contest, it was all Wargel -- as the pitcher, much like Espinoza in Game 1, showcased strong control, facing the minimum in the third, fifth and seventh innings while needing just 96 pitches to go the entire seven innings. The Bears, ahead 3-1 as the game moved into the sixth frame, proceeded to put the contest to bed as a two-out single and swipe of second base by Emily Cheatham was followed by an RBI single by Sierra Dunnagan, finalizing the winning margin for Shawnee State.

In addition to Wargel's efforts, Dunnagan (2-for-3, walk, RBI, run scored), Moore (1-for-4, home run, two RBI, run scored), Hale (1-for-4, double, RBI, run scored) and Cheatham (1-for-3, run scored) led the Shawnee State offense in its three-run triumph in Game 2.

Additional

Shawnee State (15-11, 10-6 RSC) will face Rio Grande (25-7, 13-3 RSC) Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in a River States Conference doubleheader that could go a long way toward deciding who wins the River States Conference Regular Season Championship and obtains the No. 1 seed for the RSC Tournament that begins in early May. The contests will be at Doc Singleton Park.