OXFORD, AL – Brooklyn Copley couldn't have chosen a better time to hit Walters State's first home run of the NJCAA DI World Series.
Tied in the 10th-inning of an elimination against 16th-seeded Lake Land, Copley stepped to the plate with two runners on and two outs. Copley wasted no time, leveling the first pitch of the at-bat over the fence in left to give Walters State a 5-2 lead.
Makayla Ramsey, pitching her fifth-inning of relief, got the final three outs in the bottom of the 10th, giving the Lady Senators a 5-2 win.
The Lady Senators will be back in action tonight at 5 p.m. CT. Their opponent is to be determined.
The home run was Copley's 20th of the season and couldn't have come at a better time for the Lady Senators.
The home run could not have happened without the help of Kailey Dixon and Abigail Taylor. Taylor led off the inning with a single and Dixon singled to put two runners on with no outs. Dixon reached base twice in the game, while Taylor had two hits.
Along with those two, Kendal Mason had a hit and an RBI while Jules Johnson tripled home a run. Johnson caught all 10 innings, as well.
Copley's bomb also would not have been able to happen without the admirable pitching from Hayley Lawing and Ramsey. Lawing got the start and threw five innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six.
Ramsey replaced her with no outs in the sixth and threw the final five innings. Ramsey allowed no runs on four hits and struck out two.
Walters State got the scoring going in the game in the top of the fourth. Nora Mack walked to lead things off, and Johnson tripled her home to make it 1-0.
That was the score until the sixth, when Lake Land finally broke through with two runs. Down to their final three outs, the Lady Senators rallied. Sarah Evers singled with one out, moved to second on a passed ball, to third on a passed ball and scored to tie the game on a Mason sacrifice fly.
From there, Ramsey was lights out. She set Lake Land down 1-2-3 in the seventh, stranded a runner on first in the eighth and set them down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
In the 10th, the Lady Senators finally broke through with Copley's bomb. Ramsey got three flyouts to center in the bottom half of the inning and won the game.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics