Osuna hits walk-off grand slam, No. 8 Walters State sweeps Roane State

MORRISTOWN, TN – Alberto Osuna proved Tuesday afternoon why Dave Shelton has said Osuna is one of the strongest players he's ever coached.  

Down 4-2 with the bases loaded and two outs, Osuna came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh in game one of a doubleheader against Roane State. Hitless coming into the at-bat, Osuna watched the first pitch go by before swinging away at pitch number two.  

And he got all of it. 

Osuna hit a walk-off grand slam off the scoreboard in left that won the game 6-4. Osuna hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first in game two that sparked a 4-2 victory and sweep of the Raiders.  

Osuna now has four home runs and 16 RBIs through five games and is hitting .615.  

"Alberto stepped up huge for us," Shelton said. "He was good all day, had a couple of big hits.  

"I know we were struggling, but I think they had a lot to do with that. They pitched it really well today. They have done a great job as a coaching staff getting those guys ready. We did a lot of disappointing things. There's still some nerves, and we just need to find some games so that we can get out of that and get to playing well."  

With the sweep, Walters State improves to 5-0 on the season.  

WALTERS STATE 6, ROANE STATE 4 

It was a slow start for the Senators in game one as their first hit of the game didn't come until a bunt single in the fifth inning.  

However, after an early run by Roane State in the top of the first, the pitching kept them in the game until the offense could catch up. 

Nolan Letzgus got the start on the mound in game one for the Senators, throwing three innings and striking out seven. He allowed just the one run on five hits. Jake Knapp followed suit with three innings of his own, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out three. Joey Mitchell pitched the final inning and struck out two in a hitless seventh.  

Mitchell picked up the win, his first of the season.  

"They did a good job," Shelton said. "A couple of them weren't as sharp as I have seen them. Letzgus is way better than his first inning. He settled in his third inning (striking out the side), but we have to figure out how he can do that from the start.  

"I thought Knapp did a good job of coming in and battling. Joey Mitchell did a great job of getting that win in the first game. That's his first outing, and he showed me some character today. That was good to see."  

Offensively, the Senators totaled six hits in game one with Lukas Cook leading the way with two. Osuna had five RBIs in the game.  

Down 3-0, Walters State finally woke up in the bottom of the sixth. The Senators scored their first run of the game with one out on an error from the Roane State third baseman. Then, with two outs, Cook ripped a single, scoring Matthew Ellis and cutting the lead down to one. 

However, the Raiders would add a run in the top of the seventh with a home run. Down to their final three outs in the bottom half of the inning, the Senators rallied.  

Caleb McNeely walked with one out but was out on a fielder's choice by Cam Fisher that made it two away with the tying run at the plate. After Jerry Hammons singled, moving Fisher to second, Logan Harbin walked to load the bases and bring up Osuna. 

And Osuna made them pay.  

WALTERS STATE 4, ROANE STATE 2 

Wanting to build off the momentum from game one, the Senators got off to a hot start in game two and held on late despite a Raiders seventh inning rally. 

Hammons led the Senators in the game with two hits as did Osuna. Both also had two RBIs and got the scoring going in the first inning. With McNeely on first, Hammons lined a ball over the fence in right-center to make it 2-0. Not to be outdone, Osuna followed up his game one performance with a solo shot to right field, and the Senators led 3-0 after one.  

However, after that Walters State struggled again at the plate, putting up just one more run. Naturally, it was Osuna who drove in the fourth run with a sacrifice fly.  

"I think we just are getting a little bit lackadaisical with our approaches at the plate," Shelton said. "I think that is where the nerves kick in. The nerves lead you to do things you're not used to doing. It's almost like we are trying too hard at times. We just need to get these games under our belt so we can coach and work through these things."  

On the mound, it was a consistent performance yet again from Hayden Summers (2-0) that led the way for Walters State.  

Summers pitched three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three. Summers has pitched six innings this season and has allowed just three hits, no runs and has struck out seven.  

Kohl Drake replaced Summers in the fourth and pitched just as well going two innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three. Nathan Hickman replaced Drake in the sixth and, after a scoreless inning, gave up a home run and triple to start the seventh that made things interesting.  

But Hickman worked his way out of it to preserve the win. 

UP NEXT: 

Walters State will have a long break in between games as they are not scheduled to play again until Feb. 20 at Chattanooga State. First pitch for that doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m.   

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics