Bears rout Rio in series opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Shawnee State University scored early and often and cruised to a 12-6 win over the University of Rio Grande, Friday afternoon, in the opening game of their River States Conference baseball series at Bob Evans Field.
     The Bears improved to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in league play with the victory.
     Rio Grande, which had a five-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in the RSC with the loss.
     Shawnee State scored in five of its first six at bats in the contest, bolting to a 12-1 sixth inning lead.
     The RedStorm avoided a premature end to the contest by scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth inning and twice more in the seventh.
     Byson Arthur led the Bears at the plate, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs. He hit a two-out, two-run home run in the first inning, had a two-run single in SSU's three-run second and delivered an RBI single as part of a two-run sixth inning.
     Jack Amis also had three hits and drove in a run for Shawnee State, while Jace Parnin had two hits, Wyatt Haupt clubbed a three-run home run and Eli Jones added a two-run single to the winning effort.
     Ricardo Medrano started and got his third win in as many decisions for the Bears, allowing four hits and a run over five innings with a walk and five strikeouts.
     Redshirt junior Jacob Napier (Alexandria, KY) started and lost for Rio Grande, allowing 10 hits and 10 runs -seven earned - over five innings. He walked three and struck out five.
     Junior Joel Pagan (Humacao, P.R.) had two hits, included a double, and scored twice for the RedStorm, while senior Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) hit a solo home run.
     Freshman KB Perkins (Chillicothe, OH), junior Angel Morales (Herrera, Panama) and sophomore Gregory Catano (Santo Domingo, D.R.) all drove in one run in the loss.
     The two teams will conclude their series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.