CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Midway was unable to put together a counter to a fast Shawnee State start as the third-seeded Eagles lost 3-0 to fourth-seeded Shawnee State in the opening round of the River States Conference Baseball Tournament Wednesday night.
The Bears took the lead two batters into the game as an Eli Jones walk immediately gave way to a Diego Mendoza RBI double.
That would be the only earned run allowed all night by Eagle starter
Tyler Pyles, though the Bears were able to push their lead to 3-0 in the second inning on a two-out, two-run Midway error.
Pyles, who was named
River States Conference Pitcher of the Year before the game, finished with six strikeouts while gutting out 122 pitches over eight innings. He and the Midway defense also escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam unscathed in the fourth inning.
The Eagles's best attempt at a comeback appeared to be when
Isaac Tencza recorded a one-out triple in the sixth inning, only to be stranded. After being hit by a pitch, leadoff man
Grant Stone also got to third base in the next inning, but was once again left 90 feet from home.
Midway had just four hits, with Tencza and
Noah Atherholt accounting for all of them. Each player had two hits for the 28-20 Eagles, who now have to win Friday to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.
That will be a challenge, as the Eagles will have to face RSC regular season champion Indiana Southeast, the No. 20 team in the country.
Friday's game will begin at 3 p.m. at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
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