MORRISTOWN, TN – After falling in extra innings in game one on Saturday afternoon, Walters State bounced back with a 6-4 game two victory to earn a win on the weekend. 

With the split, the Lady Senators moved to 23-9 on the season and 13-5 in TCCAA play. 

"It was good to get that last one," Walters State coach Larry Sauceman said. "We just didn't play great this weekend. We've got to play at home like we've been playing on the road. We've played well on the road. It's just a learning process for us." 

Game One: Volunteer State 11, Walters State 6 (8 innings)

In game one on Saturday, Walters State led 5-3 going to the seventh inning before giving up three runs to give the Pioneers the lead. The Lady Senators would tie the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh but a five run top of the eighth gave Vol the win. 

Ashley Milligan got the start in the circle and was solid, allowing one run on two hits while striking out three in five innings of work.

Allison Chandler replaced Milligan in the sixth and threw an inning, allowing five runs, but only two earned, on five hits. Abigayle Holt pitched the final two innings, allowing five runs, but only two earned, on three hits. 

The Lady Senators committed four errors in the game behind their pitchers. 

"Milligan was cruising along," Sauceman said. "Then we put Chandler in and she did her job. We just didn't do our job behind her." 

At the plate in game one, Brianna Beech led the way with three hits, two of them doubles, and two RBIs. Sarah King and Kasey Bennett had two hits as well while Halle Laramie also drove in two runs. 

The two teams traded scoreless half innings to start the game until Walters State finally broke through with the first runs of the game in the third inning. 

The rally started with three straight runners reaching base to open up the half inning, Kaitlyn Harper and Jessica Campbell both singled while King walked. Bennett was the next batter and made it 1-0 with an RBI single. Laramie was next in the order and followed up with a two-RBI double to make it 3-0.

Vol State cut into the lead in the fourth with a run, but Walters State scored two in the fifth to make it 5-1. Those runs came on a Beech two-RBI double. 

In the sixth, the Pioneers continued to chip away at the lead with two runs. Then in the seventh, the Lady Senators struggled in the field as two errors allowed Vol State to score three runs and take a 6-5 lead. 

Down to their final three outs, the Lady Senators fought back as Beech led off with a double. She was pinch ran for by Jessica Odom who would score on a sacrifice fly from Tatum Dye to tie the game.

Unfortunately for Walters State, Vol State scored five in the eighth inning to put the game away.

Game Two: Walters State 6, Vol State 4

In game two, Walters State led 6-1 through four innings and, this time, held on for a 6-4 victory.

Chandler got the start in the circle in game two and threw a complete game, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out two. 

At the plate, Campbell led the way with three hits while Bennett had a home run and drove home two runs. 

Vol State started things off with a run in the top of the first, but the Lady Senators answered with a three spot in the bottom half of the inning. Those runs came from a Laramie RBI single, an error that allowed Beech to reach base and King to score and a line drive single by Dye that scored a run. 

Walters State added to the lead in the third with two more runs to make it 5-1. The first run came on a Bennett home run with the second coming on an error that scored Laramie. 

In the sixth, the Lady Senators scored one more run to increase their lead to 6-1 as Bennett scored Campbell on a groundout. From there, they held on as Chandler pitched them to the victory.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action next week on the road with four games against Roane State. First pitch of Friday's doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. 

"We just need to focus on the mental part of the game," Sauceman said. "We have the ability; we just have to go out and do it."

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics