MORRISTOWN, TN – After dropping a close 8-7 game to Columbia State to open Saturday afternoon, No. 8 Walters State responded with 20 runs in the second game of the day and picked up a 20-0 win.
With the split, the Senators moved to 35-6-1 overall and 16-5 in TCCAA play.
GAME ONE: Columbia State 8, No. 8 Walters State 7
In game one of the day, the Senators had the tying and winning runs on base with an out in the seventh but could not get them home.
At the plate, Walker Morgan and Taylor Harris each drove in two runs while Holden Pantier, Kenny Cox and Jack Torbett had two hits apiece.
Aiden Robertson got the start on the mound for the Senators, throwing 4.1 innings. Robertson allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits and struck out three. Jace Kirby (1-1) replaced Robertson with an out in the fifth and threw the final 2.2 innings. Kirby gave up three runs on four hits and struck out four.
Walters State got on the board in the bottom of the second when an error scored two runs to put them ahead 2-0. Columbia scored two runs in the top of the third to tie the game, but Walters State got a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a fielder's choice and error that scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to give the Senators a 5-2 advantage.
However, Columbia scored two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and two in the seventh to go up 8-5. In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Myatt doubled to open things up and advanced to third on a single by Cox. A passed ball would score Myatt to make it 8-6 and, after a single by Morgan, it was 8-7 when Torbett singled to score Cox.
Unfortunately for the Senators, a flyout and hard lineout to second ended the game there.
GAME TWO: No. 8 Walters State 20, Columbia State 0 (5 Innings)
The Senators got six homers from six different players in game two of the day and sailed to the 20-run win in five innings.
Nate Conner, Myatt, Pantier, Hayden Blair, Justin Bell and Harris all homered in the game, while Pantier had three hits and Conner, Harris and Kole Fenton each had two. Conner drove in four runs, as well.
On the mound, Gage Peterson (5-2) got the start and picked up the win in four innings of work. Peterson allowed no runs on three hits and struck out three. Tyler Peterson pitched the final inning, striking out one.
Following a run in the first on a Jack Vogele RBI double, the Senators added four more runs in the second on a Harris RBI single and Conner 3-run bomb to make it 5-0. In the third, five more runs crossed the plate for Walters State to make it 10-0. Those runs came on a Pantier solo home run, a Torbett sacrifice fly, a passed ball that scored Morgan, a Harris solo home run and a Conner RBI double.
The fourth inning saw 10 more runs cross the plate for Walters State to make it 20-0. Carson Cabbage got things going in the inning with an RBI double, and Bell made it 14-0 with a 3-run homer way over the fence in left. After a passed ball scored Atticus Goodson and a sacrifice fly scored Fenton, Myatt crushed a two-run home run that made it 18-0. The final two runs came as Blair mashed a ball over the fence to make it 20-0.
Up Next:
Walters State will be on the road Tuesday, taking on Pellissippi State. The 9-inning game is set for 2 pm ET.
