DOTHAN, Ala. — Walters State split its final two games in the Visit Dothan Invitational Saturday, dropping a heartbreaker in extra innings to No. 13 Wallace State before picking up a victory by the mercy rule in five innings over Fayetteville Tech to finish the opening weekend at 2-3.
The Lady Senators led the entire game against Wallace State before seeing the Lions tie it in the bottom of the seventh and win it in the eight frame, 4-3. In the weekend finale, WSCC scored five runs in the first inning, five more in the third and two in the fifth to close out Fayetteville, Tech, 12-0.
In the opening game of the day, the Lady Senators had the national powerhouse Lions on the ropes, leading 3-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, but Wallace State scored a pair in the frame and took home the win with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom off the eighth after the game went to the international tiebreaker rules with a runner starting the inning on second base.
WSCC led 2-0 after one inning on a two-run single by Kallyn Newport, and the Lady Senators made it 3-0 after two frames when an error allowed Emily Whitaker to score. Wallace State got a run in the third before rallying late to win, spoiling Lauren Brickey's solid outing inside the circle.
Brickey allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out four batters in seven innings before giving way to Raylon Smith to pitch the eighth. Smith was tagged with the loss after a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third and a base hit to left scored the winning run.
Keeley Quillen continued her hot start to the season with two more hits, as she and Whitaker both had a single and a double in the contest. Newport, Brickey and Jenica Brown each had a single in the loss, with Newport notching both RBIs in the game for WSCC.
In the second game of the day, it was all Walters State from the start, as Sydney Dukes put the first run up on an RBI single in the top of the first, and Emily Whitaker was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the second run. Erin Foster notched an RBI single, while Sydney Fox plated a run with a grounder and Saylor Johnson added an RBI single for a 5-0 lead.
in the third frame, Johnson hit an RBI single, McCoy Hensley hammered her first collegiate home run to plate a pair, Kristen Hall tripled and scored on an RBI single by Maggie Middleton and Tia Wilson's RBI single made it 10-0. Foster and Johnson both had RBI singles in the fifth to close the scoring.
Delilah Malczewski grabbed the win by tossing three innings of one-hit ball, while Megan Bell worked the final two frames and allowed just one hit as well. Brickey and Olivia Wheeler both had two hits in the win.
The Lady Senators will be back in Alabama next weekend when they take part in the Coastal Alabama Tournament. WSCC will play three games Friday, beginning with a 10 a.m. contest against Jones County before playing two more games later in the day and a doubleheader on Saturday.