MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 16 Walters State scored 18 runs in the first inning on Wednesday afternoon against Southwest Virginia, going on for a 35-2 win.
With the win, the Senators improved to 22-8 on the season.
Walters State totaled 26 hits in the game. Miles Smith led the way with five hits, two being homers, and drove in five runs while scoring seven runs. Along with Smith, Kurtis Reid hit three home runs and drove in nine runs.
Other contributors at the plate were Walker Morgan with two home runs and three RBI, Carson Cabbage with three hits, including a homer, and three RBI, Brantley Bamberg with a home run and three RBI and Keaton Ray with a home run and three RBI. Jarrett Martin and Deniel Ortiz hit the other two home runs.
On the mound, nine different pitchers saw action and threw an inning for Walters State. Drew Horn got the start and struck out one, before Jonny Stevens struck out two in the second inning. Ethan Walker pitched the third and struck out one, and Matthew Porchas (1-0) struck out the side in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, Luke Beam entered and gave up two runs on one hit. William Wexler and Rowan Park were next and each struck out two in their inning of work. Tyler Welch and Aiden Robertson closed things out with clean eighth and ninth innings.
The Senators pitching staff gave up four hits and struck out 13 batters.
In the first, Walters State sent 21 batters to the plate and scored 18 runs. Ray got the scoring going with a two-run homer, and Martin made it back-to-back bombs with a solo shot. After a Zion Taylor walk, Ortiz homered to make it 5-0. Logen Sutton singled after, and Morgan hit the fourth homer of the inning to make it 7-0.
Following a Cabbage single and Smith RBI triple, Ray and Martin singled home runs to make it 10-0. Taylor was next up, and he doubled in the gap to score the 11th run of the inning. A bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch made it 13-0, and it was 15-0 after a Cabbage two-RBI single.
The final runs of the inning came on a three-run bomb by Reid to make it 18-0.
Following a scoreless second, Walters State scored 11 more runs in the third. The first four of those runs came on back-to-back-to-back-to-back solo homers by Morgan, Cabbage, Smith and Reid. Cade Hitson was hit by a pitch to end the consecutive home runs, but Bamberg picked it right back up with a two-run bomb that made it 24-0.
The final runs of the inning came on a Smith RBI single and a grand slam by Reid, his third home run of the game, that put the score at 29-0.
Southwest Virginia got on the board with two runs in the fifth, but Walters State scored four more in the bottom half of the inning. Those runs came on a fielder's choice that scored Morgan, a fielder's choice that scored Smith and a Taylor Harris two-RBI single.
The final two runs of the game came in the bottom of the sixth, as Smith smacked a two-run homer.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in conference play this weekend, traveling to Jackson State. First pitch of Saturday's nine-inning game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics