COLUMBIA, TN – No. 20 Walters State broke into the NJCAA DI Softball Rankings this week and showed why on Friday evening.
Facing Columbia State, the Lady Senators scored early and often on their way to a 17-2 and 8-3 doubleheader sweep.
With the sweep, Walters State moved to 37-9 on the season and 25-5 in TCCAA play.
Game One: No. 20 Walters State 17, Columbia State 2 (5 Innings)
In game one, the Lady Senators scored in every inning as they blew past Columbia State for the win.
Ashley Milligan got the start in the circle and threw four innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five. Adrienne Morrison made her first appearance since March 14 in the fifth inning, throwing a scoreless inning.
At the plate, everyone got involved as nine Lady Senators got a hit. Kasey Bennett led the way with her 19th and 20th home runs of the season, knocking in four runs in the process. Brianna Beech also hit a home run and drove in three runs.
Walters State wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with four runs in the top of the first. Bennett hit her first home run of the game to make it 1-0 before Jessica Odom doubled home two runs and Halle Laramie singled in a run.
Columbia State got a run back in the bottom of the first, but Walters State scored twice more in the top of the second to go up 6-1. Those runs came courtesy of a Beech double that scored Bennett and a sacrifice fly from Olivia Harris.
Columbia State would score their final run of the game in the bottom of the second as the Lady Senators added to their lead with four runs in the third. Bennett started the scoring off with her second homer of the day, a three-run shot, before a passed ball scored Harris to make it 10-2.
Walters State closed things out with a run in the fourth and six in the fifth. The run in the fourth came on an RBI single from Ava Brooks while the six in the fifth came on a two-RBI single from Maggie Johnson, a two-RBI double from Jessica Campbell and a Beech two-run home run, her 15th of the season.
Game Two: No. 20 Walters State 8, Columbia State 3
In game two, Walters State used some mid-inning runs to pull away for the sweep.
Morrison started in the circle for the Lady Senators and threw 3.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out five. Allison Chandler replaced her with two outs in the fourth and threw 2.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits before Abigayle Holt pitched the final inning, allowing a run on one hit.
Brooks led the way at the plate for the Lady Senators with two home runs and four RBIs. Campbell and Johnson also had three hits each.
Walters State once again started things off strong in the game with three runs in the first. All three runs came with two outs as Brooks hit a two-run homer and Johnson singled home Odom.
Columbia State would get a run back in the second but that was all the scoring until the fourth when Walters State got back on the board with a run to make it 4-1. That run came on a Campbell home run.
In the fifth, the Lady Senators broke the game open with two more runs. The runs came courtesy of RBI doubles from Laramie and Sarah King. Brooks then made it 8-1 in the sixth as she hammered her second two-run homer of the day, her seventh of the season.
Columbia would score a run in the sixth and seventh but that was all as the Lady Senators held on.
Up Next:
The two teams will be back in action again on Saturday for the final two games of the regular season. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics