Sweep of Southwest Tennessee ups Lady Senators win streak to six

ARLINGTON, TN – Walters State kept their impressive play going on Friday afternoon against Southwest Tennessee, sweeping the Lady Saluqis 16-2 in five innings and 18-5 in five innings. 

With the sweep, Walters State improved to 20-6 overall and 10-2 in TCCAA play. 

Game One: Walters State 16, Southwest Tennessee 2 (5 Innings)

In game one on Friday, Brianna Beech, Ava Brooks and Kaitlyn Harper each had three hits as the Lady Senators cruised to the win. 

Beech and Harper, along with their three hits, drove in three runs each as well. Olivia Harris, making the start at catcher, hit a grand slam for her first collegiate home run.

In the circle, Ashley Milligan got the start and threw four innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit while striking out six. Allison Chandler pitched the final inning, a scoreless fifth, to close things out. 

The Lady Senators wasted no time getting on the board as Halle Laramie, the third batter of the game,  doubled home Jessica Campbell, who singled to start the game. Kasey Bennett quickly made it 3-0 the next at-bat with a two-run home run.

Following two runs from Southwest in the bottom of the first, the Lady Senators got both runs back in the top of the second as Campbell singled home Brooks and Tatum Dye grounded out, scoring Harper in the process. 

In the third inning, Walters State broke the game open as they tallied five runs to make it 10-2. The first run came as Beech singled home Bennett. The Lady Senators then loaded the bases before Harris cleared them with a grand slam. 

The scoring continued for a fourth straight inning in the top of the fourth for Walters State as Harper singled in Beech and Jessica Odom. It was soon 13-2 when Campbell scored Brooks on a sacrifice fly. 

The final three runs came on a Beech two-run home run and a Harper RBI single in the fifth. 

Game Two: Walters State 18, Southwest Tennessee 5 (5 Innings)

For the second straight game, the Lady Senators run-ruled Southwest with an impressive hitting performance.

In game two, Walters State had 15 hits with Brooks leading the way with three of them as well as three RBIs. Maggie Johnson and Harris also had three RBIs apiece while Halle Laramie had two hits and four RBIs. 

Chandler got the start in the circle and threw two innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out one. Abigayle Holt pitched the final three innings, allowing five runs on five hits while striking out two. 

Much like game one, Walters State scored in the top of the first in game two to take a 1-0 lead. That run came as Odom scored on a Bennett groundout. 

In the second, the Lady Senators added seven more runs to give themselves a comfortable lead. Johnson got the scoring going by driving in Brooks with an RBI fielder's choice. Harris was the next batter and it was 3-0 as she singled in Johnson. 

A few batters later, it was 5-0 in favor of Walters State as Laramie singled in Harris and Odom. The scoring concluded with a Bennett RBI single and Brooks RBI single. 

Wanting to put the game away, Walters State did just that in the third with eight more runs to make it 16-0. Dye singled in the first run of the inning before Laramie singled in two more runs. Brooks then singled home a run before Johnson and Harris singled home two runs each for the final runs of the inning. 

Southwest finally got on the board with four runs in the bottom of the third, but Walters State got two runs back in the top of the fifth as Ashlyn Gaines hit a pinch hit home run. The Lady Saluqis scored once more in the fifth before the Lady Senators ended the game. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday, taking on Southwest Tennessee for two more games. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.