No. 2 Walters State belts two grand slams in sweep of Cleveland Community College

MORRISTOWN, TN – Caleb McNeely and Kory Klingenbeck each hit grand slams for No. 2 Walters State on Wednesday afternoon as the Senators swept a midweek matchup against Cleveland Community College, 7-5 and 14-6.

With the sweep, Walters State moved to 17-2 on the season.

It was a good day for the offense as they broke out of a mini-slump over the weekend, scoring 21 runs in two games.

"I think we minimized a lot and focused on putting the ball in play," McNeely said. "It's baseball so stuff happens. We just have to focus on putting the ball in play." 

Game One: Walters State 7, Cleveland CC 5

In game one, the Senators built up a 7-0 lead thanks to the bat of McNeely and pitching of Landon Crumbley and held off a late Cleveland rally for the victory.

Crumbley made his first start of the season on the mound and picked up his first victory, throwing five innings of one hit baseball. Crumbley struck out three as well and didn't allow a run.

"It was different (starting a game), but I have the defense to back me up," Crumbley said. "I knew whatever I threw, the defense was going to back me up. Early on, my changeup wasn't great, but by the third or fourth inning I had it going pretty strong." 

Crumbley is just one pitcher on a stacked pitching staff, trying to find a place. A start like Wednesday afternoons not only brings confidence to Crumbley but also to the coaching staff. 

"It helps a lot (the competition in the pitching rotation)," Crumbley said. "Having those guys pushing me helps a lot."

Following Crumbley was Jacques Gillespie-Taylor who threw a scoreless sixth inning. Landon Slemp came into pitch in the seventh inning and got two outs but gave up five runs. With the tying run at the plate, Ty Cobb relieved Slemp and shut the door for the win.

At the plate, it was all McNeely in game one as he homered twice, driving in five runs in the process as one of the home runs was a grand slam. 

"He threw me a lot of sliders and got me 2-2, but then hung another slider and I just made sure I didn't miss it," McNeely said. "I squared it up and hit it over the fence."

Taking advantage of good pitches is something McNeely is really focusing on at the plate this season as the number of good pitches he has seen this season is not high.

On Wednesday, McNeely was hit by a pitch his first two times up and then walked three times in game two, one being an intentional walk.

"It's very important to take advantage of those good pitches," McNeely said. "I really only get like two a game, so I just can't miss the pitch that I usually get." 

Along with McNeely in game one, Andrew Ott and Kruise Newman each had two hits with Newman hitting his fourth home run of the season. Noah Gent knocked in the other run for the Senators.

It was a slow start for both teams as the game remained scoreless through the first three and a half innings. Newman finally got Walters State on the board with a solo home run to left and McNeely followed suit just a few batters later with his first home run, making it 2-0.

Walters State added five more in the sixth to give themselves a comfortable lead as Gent singled in Corbin Shaw, who doubled to start the inning, and McNeely mashed a grand slam.

Game Two: Walters State 14, Cleveland CC 6

Game two was more of the same for the Walters State offense as they carried over that momentum from late in game one. 

The Senators totaled 10 hits in the game, coming from nine different players. Gent was the only Senator to have a multi-hit game as he had two hits and drove in two runs. 

Along with Gent, Colby Backus drove home three runs while Klingenbeck hit his first collegiate home run, a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth. 

On the mound, Nolan Letzgus got the start and threw three innings, giving up four runs on seven hits while striking out two.

Letzgus was replaced in the fourth by Luke Ferguson who picked up his first win of the season. Ferguson threw two scoreless and hitless innings while striking out two. Ferguson made way for Bracken Rice in the sixth as Rice pitched the final two innings, giving up two runs on two hits. 

The Senators got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first as Gent doubled home two runs.

Cleveland answered with three runs in the top of the second inning, but the Senators tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning when Backus hit a sacrifice fly that scored Dalton McLain. 

The Yetis would get one last lead in the game with a run in the top of the third, but Walters State scored five runs in the bottom of the third to make it 8-4. After a Jack Sutton bases loaded walk scored a run, a balk gave Walters State the lead. 

Declan Wiesner then made it 6-4 with a single to right field, and Backus capped the scoring with a two-run single. 

In the fourth, Shaw increased the lead to 9-4 when he led the inning off with a home run. The scoring concluded in the sixth with five runs. Ott started it with a bunt single that drove in a run and Klingenbeck finished it with a grand slam to left. 

Up Next:

Walters State opens up conference play on Friday with a three-game series at home against Motlow State. Friday will be one game, starting at 2 p.m., and Saturday will be a double-header that begins at noon.

For the Senators, getting off to a strong start in conference play is critical.

"Getting off to a strong start is probably the most important thing of the season," McNeely said. "Being able to get a high seed in postseason is going to be critical, so we need to get started early." 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics