BARNESVILLE, GA – A day after two tough losses for No. 5 Walters State to Gordon State, the Lady Senators bounced back in a big way on Saturday with 11-0 and 15-8 victories over the Highlanders.
With the doubleheader sweep, the Lady Senators improved to 6-4 overall.
GAME ONE: No. 5 Walters State 11, Gordon State 0 (5 Innings)
In game one, the Lady Senators scored six runs in the first and went on for the big win.
Alayna Ross was a perfect 4-4 at the plate and had two RBIs for Walters State, while Randi Delong had a home run and three RBIs. Abbie Young and Nora Mack drove in two runs each, while Olivia Neese and Lauren Ruehl each had three hits.
In the circle, Emma Myatt pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits.
After Neese and Kendal Mason singled to open up the game, Delong quickly put Walters State up 3-0 with a home run over the fence in left. Ross then singled and Ruehl doubled to put runners on second and third, and Mack drove in Ross with a single. The final two runs of the inning came on a Young RBI single and an Allie Seritt RBI single that made it 6-0.
Following a scoreless second, the Lady Senators added to their lead in the third as Ross singled home Neese and Mason to make it 8-0. Young made it 9-0 in the fourth with an RBI single, and Neese doubled in Faith Whited later in the inning. The final run for Walters State came in the fifth, as Mack flew out but scored Ross.
GAME TWO: No. 5 Walters State 15, Gordon State 8
In game two, the Lady Senators scored 14 runs in the final three innings of the game.
At the plate, Delong was a perfect 5-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Ross was just as good, going 2-3 with two home runs and four RBIs. For the season, Ross is hitting .567 with five home runs and 16 RBIs while Delong is hitting .472 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
In the circle, Summer Smith got the start and threw three innings. Smith allowed three runs on three hits. Following an inning by Makayla Ramsey, in which she gave up one run on a hit, Myatt pitched the final three innings to close things out. Myatt allowed four runs, only one earned, on three hits while striking out three.
Delong again homered in the first inning for Walters State in game two, but Gordon answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Gordon grabbed a 4-1 lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Walters State scored eight in the top of the fifth to go up 9-4. Those runs came on a Delong three-run homer, a Ross solo home run, an Imari Golden two-RBI single and a two-RBI double by Seritt.
The Lady Senators scored two more in the sixth to go up 11-4, as Ruehl singled home Mason and Mack grounded out but scored Delong. Gordon hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth to cut it to 11-5, but Mason singled home Neese in the top of the seventh and Ross followed with a three-run bomb to make it 15-5.
Gordon State scored three in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all as Walters State grabbed the victory.
Up Next:
The Lady Senators will be back in action on Thursday, February 20th, in Oxford, Alabama for the JUCO Softball Extravaganza. Walters State will play Georgia Military College at 3 pm and Northeast Mississippi CC at 7 pm.