MILLINGTON, TN – No. 14 Walters State had the bats going on Friday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader against Southwest Tennessee. The Senators took a 16-3 win in game one and an 11-0 win in game two.
With the sweep, Walters State improved to 27-9 overall and 12-3 in TCCAA play.
GAME ONE: No. 14 Walters State 16, Southwest Tennessee 3 (6 Innings)
In game one, eight different batters for Walters State had an RBI.
Leading the way was Jarrett Martin with two hits and four RBI. Kurtis Reid had three RBI, while Nate Conner had three hits and drove in two runs.
Manning West (6-0) got the start on the mound and threw five innings. West gave up three runs, two earned, on three hits and struck out six. Ethan Walker replaced West in the sixth and pitched a clean inning, striking out one.
Walters State got the scoring going in the top of the second, as Walker Morgan doubled home two runs and Reid grounded out to score Morgan and make it 3-0. In the third, five more runs came across to up the lead to 8-0. Those runs came courtesy of a Keaton Ray sacrifice fly, a Martin two-RBI single and a Reid RBI single that Martin also scored on via an error.
Southwest answered back with three runs in the bottom of the third, but Walters State got a run in the top of the fifth on a Martin RBI single that made it 9-3. The final seven runs for the Senators came in the sixth, as an error scored Miles Smith, Logen Sutton walked with the bases loaded, Martin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Reid walked with the bases loaded, Smith walked with the bases loaded and Conner singled home two to make it 16-3.
From there, Walker shut the door to grab the win.
GAME TWO: No. 14 Walters State 11, Southwest Tennessee 0 (5 Innings)
In game two, Walters State scored 11 runs on 10 hits and cruised.
Conner, Ortiz and Sutton each hit home runs in the contest. Sutton had three RBI, while Conner, Ortiz, Morgan and Reid all knocked in two runs.
On the mound, Karson Bonaparte (7-1) was automatic in throwing a complete game shutout. Bonaparte allowed no runs on two hits and struck out seven. He issued zero walks, as well.
Morgan again got the scoring going for Walters State in game two, singling home two runs in the top of the first to make it 2-0. In the third, the Senators mashed two two-run home runs. Ortiz hit the first to make it 4-0 and Sutton followed him up with one to make it 6-0.
The Senators continued the two-run home run trend in the fourth, as Conner hammered one to make it 8-0. The final three runs came in the fifth on a Sutton RBI single and a Reid two-RBI single.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to play Montreat College JV. First pitch is set 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