KNOXVILLE, TN – Walters State split two games with Pellissippi State on Friday afternoon, dropping game one 7-6 before bouncing back with an 8-7 win.
With the split, the Lady Senators moved to 21-18 overall and 11-7 in TCCAA play.
GAME ONE: Pellissippi State 7, Walters State 6
In game one, Pellissippi State broke a 6-6 tie with a run in the bottom of the fifth and held on for the win.
At the plate, Randi Delong had three hits and drove in two runs while Emma Keck had two RBIs. Jaelyn McDaniel drove in two runs, as well.
In the circle, Allie Jones got the start and gave up five runs on three hits. Summer Smith replaced Jones and threw six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and struck out four.
The Lady Senators struck first in the game with two runs in the top of the first, as Keck doubled home Addison Beech and McDaniel hit a sacrifice fly that scored Keck. However, Pellissippi answered with five runs in the bottom of the first and grabbed a 5-2 advantage.
In the second, the Lady Senators tied the game back up with three runs. Keck got the scoring started with a groundout that scored Brooklyn Copley, and Delong made it 5-5 with a two-RBI double that scored Allie Seritt and Beech.
That was the score until the fourth when the Lady Panthers scored a run to go up 6-5. In the fifth, the Lady Senators tied the game back up at six as Delong doubled and Faith Whited, her courtesy runner, scored on a McDaniel RBI double.
But Pellissippi State scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and hung on for the win.
GAME TWO: Walters State 8, Pellissippi State 7
In game two, it was the Lady Senators who scored late with two runs in the seventh, and those runs ultimately proved enough for the win.
At the plate, Delong had two more hits and two RBIs while Abbie Young drove in two runs. Addison Beach also had two hits and a stolen base.
In the circle, Alayna Ross got the start and threw 1.1 innings. Ross gave up three runs on two hits and walked five. Emma Myatt replaced Ross with an out in the second and threw 5.2 innings. Myatt allowed four runs, only one earned, on six hits and struck out six.
Again, the Lady Senators got on the board first in the game with three runs in the top of the opening inning as Delong doubled home two runs and Young singled home Delong to make it 3-0. Pellissippi State scored a run in the bottom of the first, but the Lady Senators scored three more in the second. Those runs scored on a Ross RBI single, a McDaniel walk with the bases-loaded and a Young sacrifice that scored Delong to make it 6-1.
The Lady Panthers got two runs in the second, two in the fourth and one in the sixth to tie the game, but the Lady Senators rallied in the top of the seventh. Walters State loaded the bases in the inning with two outs on a McDaniel single, Seritt walk and Olivia Neese single, and a walk to Kendal Mason drove in a run to make it 7-6. Walters State scored one more run in the inning on a passed ball that allowed Seritt to cross the plate.
In the bottom of the inning, Pellissippi scored a run and had the bases-loaded with two outs but Myatt got a groundout to end the game and give Walters State an 8-7 win.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action next Saturday at Roane State. The doubleheader is set to begin at 2 pm ET.