Walters State stays alive in JUCO World Series with run-rule of Miami Dade

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Having their backs against the wall has become a comfortable spot for the Walters State baseball team.  

As they have become accustomed to doing over the postseason, the Senators staved off elimination on Sunday evening against Miami Dade. The Sharks struck first in the contest, but Walters State scored 11 unanswered runs. Nick Block ended the game in five innings when he singled with the bases loaded, scoring Dalton McLain to cap off an 11-1 victory.  

Walters State now moves on in the losers bracket. They will take on No. 1 seed Crowder in an elimination game at 4 p.m. ET on Monday.  

"I can't tell you how proud I am of our guys to show up and play the way they did tonight," Walters State coach Dave Shelton said. "Anybody who comes out of Florida is a good ball club. I am just really proud of the way our guys showed up and performed." 

It was a windy night at Suplizio Field; however, the Senators took a different approach at the plate than normal against the Sharks. Normally a power hitting team, Walters State struck for 10 hits on Sunday, with none of them being a home run.  

"We talked about it at batting practice, not to get too big," Shelton said. "We knew these guys had good off-speed pitches. So, we just didn't try and do too much and just tried to poke it around and tried to make things happen. I was glad to see our guys buy into that approach and do the job."  

Silas Butler led the way for Walters State in the contest with three hits and an RBI and started things off for the Senators.  

Down 1-0, Butler tied the game up in the bottom of the second with a big two-out RBI single that scored Cam Fisher. Then, with Walters State up 4-1 and looking to add more, Butler got things going in the bottom of the fourth, tripling and then scoring one batter later when Caleb McNeely singled him home.  

In the fifth, Butler picked up his third hit when he legged out a bunt that put runners on first and third with one out.  

For Butler, he is one of two players who have been to Grand Junction on the Walters State lineup and knows that his teammates look up to him.

"I am pretty much a hard-nosed player, I like to play all the way to the wall and lay it out there for my teammates because I know that if I do it for them, they'll do it for me," Butler said. "We keep that mentality throughout practice and games, so now that we are here, we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors and compete every day." 

While Butler and the Walters State offense were busy piecing together hits and runs, Nolan Letzgus was holding it down on the mound.  

Making just his second start since March 16, Letzgus was phenomenal as he pitched all five innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out four.  

"I was pretty ready for my first start here," Letzgus said. "I trusted my team to put runs up. My goal was just to limit the big runs and big hits. Us scoring the way we did just gave me the confidence to go out there and just pitch my game."  

Letzgus was helped out by his defense multiple times throughout the contest as he pitched to contact and let his teammates do the rest. 

"It's probably the most comfortable I will ever be (on the mound with his defense behind him)," Shelton said. "I trust them 100% of the time. Even if there is an error, I know that they will bounce back when the ball comes their way again and make the perfect play."  

Letzgus one blunder came in the second as he gave up a single and double that led to the first run of the ballgame. Luckily for him, his offense picked him up. 

After Butler tied the game in the second, the Senators struck for three runs in the third to take control. Jerry Hammons started things off with a single to left and moved to second when Alberto Osuna walked.  

Then, Nick Block collected his first hit of the contest and drove home both Hammons and Osuna with a double. Noah Gent was the next batter and he reached on a throwing error. The error would score Block and move Gent all the way to third.  

In the fourth, after McNeely singled in Butler, the Senators added one more run when Osuna singled through the left side to score Hammons, who reached earlier on a throwing error.  

The dagger came in the fifth for Walters State when they added five runs to close the game out. McNeely started things off with a double that scored Lukas Cook and Butler. Then, Hammons struck out but made it all the way to third on a drop-third strike that scored McNeely. Hammons would eventually score on a wild pitch before Block ended things.  

Now, Walters State must regroup and do it all again. The Senators are currently 6-0 in elimination games this postseason. And they'll look to make it 7-0 on Monday against the No. 1 team in the country.  

"Every game out here is so tough," Shelton said. "Just to win a game out here, you have to have a pretty special team. It was really satisfying to see how we played today, and we just have to keep it going."  

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics