CUTHBERT, GA – 2020-21 has been unlike any time we have seen in decades.
A worldwide epidemic hit. The world shut down. Sports were cancelled for a time.
However, here we are at the end of May. And here we are as the Walters State baseball team has once again clinched a spot in the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, CO.
Some things never change.
On Tuesday, the Senators Noah Gent broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth against Andrew College with a two-run home run to left field. From there, Walters State tallied off seven more runs as they left no doubt, finishing it off with a 10-1 victory.
For Walters State, it is their 10th JUCO World Series appearance in school history and their third straight time going.
"We have dealt with a ton of adversity, everyone did with COVID," Walters State baseball coach Dave Shelton said. "For these guys to get here and accomplish one of our main goals of getting back to Grand Junction, it is pretty special. We were one game away from being eliminated last week, but we finally found a rhythm. If we can get to the point where we are clicking on all cylinders, we might be a little dangerous out there (in Grand Junction)."
Following a game one victory in the Appalachian District Series on Tuesday, Walters State got off to slow start in game two on Wednesday and were tied at one apiece heading to the bottom of the sixth.
However, after Cam Fisher walked to put a runner on with one out, Gent left his impact on the game with a massive home run. Walters State would score five in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth to close out the win convincingly.
For Gent, it was his second home run in as many days. And, it couldn't have come at a better time.
"He was throwing a lot of off-speed in and it was a 2-2 count, and he hung a high-end breaking ball and I just did everything I could to get my hands extended," Gent said. "I was just trying to stay with our approach.
"I went back after last weekend to one of my hitting coaches in Knoxville because it wasn't my best week. I just wanted step up for our team this week and just stuck to a backside approach and line drive approach. It worked for me this week."
Following Gent's home run, the Senators kept it going as Silas Butler singled in Lukas Cook and Nick Block. Caleb McNeely capped off the inning with a solo shot to left.
In the seventh, Walters State put Matthew Ellis and Gent on to start, bringing up Block with two outs. Block singled to left scoring two runs and then himself after the ball went through the left fielders' legs and all the way to the wall. In the eighth, Skyler Cannady pinch hit and singled to right, scoring McNeely.
However, it wasn't all offense in the game as it took a while for them to get going. While the Senators were trying to figure things out at the plate early on, the Kohl Drake and Nathan Morris duo were busy shutting things down on the mound, the second time in a week they have closed out a clinching game.
Drake got the start on the mound and battled through five innings, allowing five hits and walking four but not giving up a run while striking out seven.
Morris replaced him in the sixth and gave up a solo home run but was solid after, throwing the final four innings and allowing just two hits.
"Kohl did a great job, he got his pitch count up high early, but I knew we were sitting here pretty strong in terms of arms," Shelton said. "I wanted to give Morris a chance to see what he looked like. I thought he matched up well with all their right-handed batters. He did a great job."
Forgotten by all the offense in the later innings was Walters State's first run of the game. That run came in the second inning and was courtesy of some savvy baserunning by Fisher.
After reaching on a walk, Fisher stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw. Then, seeing the Andrew defenders slow to get the ball in, Fisher slowed down and then took off, sliding in safely at the plate to put Walters in front.
With the win, Walters State improves to 60-5 on the season.
UP NEXT:
The real test begins for Walters State next weekend as they head to the 10-team World Series in Grand Junction. For most teams, because of there not being a World Series in 2020, they don't have the benefit of having players that have been in a situation like that before.
Luckily for Walters State, that is not the case for them as Jerry Hammons and Silas Butler were both on the 2019 team that came in third place.
"That should help us a lot," Shelton said. "That's two guys who can reiterate what it's like. The more you can prepare them for what is coming, the better off you'll be. The team that can get through the nerves out there, has the best chance to win game one. We're just going to try and prepare them."
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics