MORRISTOWN, TN – A come-from-behind walk-off win and an easy run-rule victory highlighted No. 2 Walters State's sweep of Jackson State Saturday afternoon at Ken Campbell Field.
The 2nd-ranked Senators scored 10 runs in both games but how they got there was certainly different. Walters State had to rally with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the first game 10-9 but rode the arm of Jackson Hull in game two to a 10-0 triumph. With the two wins, the Senators improve to 27-4 and 6-2 in the conference while the Green Jays fell to 3-19 and are still in search of their first league win as they stand at 0-7.
In the first game, the Senators fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, rallied to take the lead in the fifth, lost the lead in the sixth but then won the game on a walk-off as they downed the Green Jays 10-9. Defense was problem for both teams as they combined for eight errors with the Senators committing five miscues and Jackson State booting it around three times which included the last play of the game, allowing Walters State to win.
Jackson State struck early with four runs. Nomar Prieto had an RBI double, Chris Godwin drove in a run on a bases-loaded walk, Mike Bell scored on an error and Mike Romagno flew out to right to plate a run as it was 4-0 right out of the gates. Walters State responded with a run in the home half of the opening frame as Cole McCallum's sac fly brought Cooper Torres around to make it 4-1.
After Chris Godwin came home on an error for the Green Jays in the third, the Senators got the offense on track in the fifth. Torres was hit by a pitch and McCallum doubled. Both came home on a two-run triple by Corbin Shaw. Deniel Ortiz was plunked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Jarrett Martin, who came into the game as a pinch-hitter in the nine-hole, gave the home team their first lead with a two-run single.
The Walters State lead didn't last for long, however, as the Green Jays answered with four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Connell Hardin had a pinch-hit double to right. Jalen Fithan singled and Prieto had an RBI-single and later, Fithan raced home on a failed pick-off attempt. Yet another Senators' error plated an additional run as Jackson State went up 9-6.
Ortiz started the Walters State seventh by drawing a walk and later scored on a wild pitch. Kurtis Reid was hit by a pitch and Martin walked. Caleb Marmo had a pop up single that fell between three Jackson State defenders for an RBI. The game ended when McCallum reached on an error that brought Marmo home from third and Miles Smith was also able to race home for the game-winner.
Karson Bonaparte picked up his third win of the season (3-0) in relief as he threw two innings with three strikeouts and one hit allowed. Landon Crumbley started and leads the nation in wins but had an uncharacteristic six walks in 3.1 innings. He struck out five batters and had four earned runs. Ty Cobb pitched an inning and two-thirds with three earned runs and a strikeout. Cory Francis (0-6) took the loss for the Green Jays.
"Teams can go through some funks here and there and you hope you can survive them," Walters State head coach Dave Shelton said of the first game. "We went through a stretch in four straight conference games where we made 15 errors and in the previous 24 games on the season, we only made 21 errors. There has been a lack of mental focus. We have a lot of freshmen who don't really understand going through the rigors of a college baseball season. You have to handle it very professionally as you have to take care of yourself off the field, get in bed early, take care of your body, get up early and eat a good breakfast because all that has to do with whether you are going to be able to stay mentally focused for at least one baseball game, let alone two. We are learning how to manage that.
"It's like the whole team has gone into a slump all at once," the Senators' skipper said of the fielding woes on Saturday. "I don't know if I ever had a team that can fall apart together the way this team does. Hopefully we can battle our way through that. We were very fortunate to get that first game and realistically, Jackson State should have won that first one. Tip your hat to them because they played hard and did what they needed to do to give themselves a chance to win."
There was little drama in the second game as the Senators scored nine of their 10 runs in the third and fourth innings to blank Jackson State 10-0. Jackson Hull was outstanding as the sophomore from Virginia pitched a two-hit shutout to improve to 6-0 on the season. Hull walked three batters and fanned two. The bats came to life in the second game of the twin-bill as Ortiz and Kruise Newman both went yard. Jack Hearn (1-1) was tagged with the loss for Jackson State.
Walters State struck first when Torres tripled to right center field and later came home on Corbin Shaw's single. The Senators plated four runs in the third with the first coming on a sac-fly to center by Shaw for his second RBI in the game. Ortiz launched a solo homerun to left field and was followed by Ray's moonshot to right. Reid was plunked for the second straight time in the game and fourth time on the day but got his revenge when he scored on Newman's single.
The Senators put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. McCallum, Ray, Reid and Newman all had RBIs and Shaw reached on an error that brought another run home and then Hull retired the Green Jays in order in the top of the fifth to close out the day.
"Their pitchers didn't make a whole lot of mistakes today for us to do damage on," Shelton said. "They did a good job pitching us inside and utilizing their secondary pitches away and that kept us a little off balance. That second game, we hit the ball a little bit more like we are capable of and hopefully we can continue that on Sunday."
Up Next
The two teams will complete their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics