No. 2 Walters State sweeps Muskegon CC in home opener

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 2 Walters State scored a combined 26 runs on Saturday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader over Muskegon Community College with a 14-4 win in five innings in game one and a 12-5 win in game two.

With the sweep, Walters State improved to 11-2 on the season.

GAME ONE: No. 2 Walters State 14, Muskegon 4 (5 Innings)

In game one, Muskegon came out hot with four runs in the top of the first inning. However, the Senators responded with nine runs in the bottom half of the inning and were off and running from there. 

Corbin Shaw and Cole McCallum led the way in the game, both going 4-for-4 and driving in three runs. Deniel Ortiz also drove in three runs and hit a home run, while Caleb Marmo blasted a solo homer.

As a team, the Senators totaled 13 hits in the game. 

On the mound, Landon Crumbley (4-0) picked up the win with four innings of work. Crumbley allowed four runs on five hits while striking out three. Blake Cooper pitched the final inning, striking out one while not allowing a hit. 

It was all Muskegon early as they scored four runs in the top of the first. However, the Senators were not affected as they scored nine runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. 

McCallum started things off with an RBI double and Shaw singled him home to make it 4-2. It was 4-4 after an Ortiz two-run home run, and the Senators took the lead on an RBI bunt single by Jackson Bryan. The other four runs came on an RBI single by Kio Lugo, an RBI single by Cooper Torres, a double steal that allowed Lugo to score and an RBI single by McCallum. 

The Senators added three more in the third to go up 12-4 as McCallum singled in another run before Shaw and Ortiz hit back-to-back RBI doubles. The final two runs came in the fifth as Marmo smoked a home run over the fence in right and Shaw singled home Torres. 

GAME TWO: No. 2 Walters State 12, Muskegon 5

Game two started similarly to game one as Muskegon scored two in the top of the first. But the Senators would claw back into it, with a six-run fifth inning capping things off. 

Marmo led the way at the plate in game two, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Ortiz homered again and drove in two runs while Cooper Torress hit a pinch-hit three-run homer. Kurtis Reid drove in two runs, as well. 

On the mound, Bradley Gagen got the start and threw 2.2 innings. Gagen allowed three runs on four hits while striking out three. Brayden Matthews (1-0) replaced Gagen with two outs in the third and picked up the win. Matthews threw 3.1 innings, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out six. 

Preston Allen threw the final inning, giving up two runs on one hit while striking out one. 

After Muskegon opened things up with two runs in the top of the first, Walters State cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the inning as Reid tripled in Marmo. 

Muskegon added a run in the second to make it 3-1, but Walters State took the lead in the bottom of the second with three runs. Will Cawthon started things with an RBI single before Marmo tied the game with an RBI single. Reid gave the Senators the lead with an RBI single that scored Marmo. 

Following a two-run home run by Ortiz in the third that made it 6-3 in favor of the Senators, Walters State broke the game open in the fifth with six runs. Those runs came courtesy of an error that scored Kruise Newman and Ortiz, a Marmo double that scored Lugo and a Torres pinch-hit three-run bomb. 

Muskegon picked up two runs in the top of the seventh but it was too little, too late.

Up Next: 

Walters State will be back in action on Sunday as they host Patrick & Henry Community College. It will be a doubleheader with game one starting at 12 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics