No. 3 Walters State ties program record with 29th consecutive win

No. 3 Walters State tied a program record for consecutive wins on Tuesday afternoon when they won their 28th and 29th straight games, sweeping Roane State 9-1 and 17-0.

The Senators also won 29 straight games in 2018, a season in which they went 60-8 and finished as National Runner-Ups.

With the sweep on Tuesday, Walters State improves to 35-1 and 19-1 in conference play.

Walters State left a handful of runners on base in game, however, they quickly made up for that in game two when they scored all 17 runs in the first three innings of the contest.

"We just got some timely hits there and it kind of got us going," Walters State coach Dave Shelton said. "We squandered some opportunities in game one which would have let us pull away. But that's baseball, sometimes you get the hits sometimes you don't. I felt like in the second game we really jumped on them early and got those hits."

While it was the Senators hitting that shined bright in the doubleheader, their pitching was just as good.

In game one, Kohl Drake got the start and went the distance. Drake pitched all seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and struck out 11. Drake is now 5-1 on the season.

Following that up, Andrew Romanoli got the start in game two and was just as good as he threw a complete game as well. Romanoli allowed just one hit, a single with one out remaining in the game, and struck out three. He is now 6-0 on the season.

For Shelton, he was happy to see his pitching continue to be consistent and step up when they are needed.

"We've got guys that are capable of stepping up and doing a job," Shelton said. "That's what we expect of them and that is what they are doing. I thought Kohl was really good in the first game. I liked that I tried to take him out in the last inning, but he wanted the ball and begged me to keep him in there.

"And then Andrew was one out away from a no-hitter. It was an outstanding job by him. Two really good wins."

NO. 3 WALTERS STATE 9, ROANE STATE 1

It was a slower start than normal for the Senators at the plate as they didn't really pull away from the Raiders until the fifth inning.

In game one, Walters State was led by Noah Gent. Gent had two hits, one a three-run bomb in the sixth inning, and had three RBIs. Gent has been on a tear as of late and is hitting .388 on the season with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

"Noah is what we thought he was when we recruited him," Shelton said. "I think he has the chance to be one of the best hitters in the state. He's always hit and now he has gotten himself into good shape and is playing really well."

Along with Gent, Matthew Ellis and Jerry Hammons each had two hits.

The scoring started off for the Senators in the second inning as Caleb McNeely hit his second home run as in many days, this one a solo shot, to put Walters State on the board.

Walters State would add another run in the third when Ellis singled home Hammons and two in the fourth when Hammons singled Silas Butler home and Alberto Osuna singled in Hammons.

In the fifth, Walters State began to pull away when Lukas Cook doubled down the line and scored Gent and Silas Butler scored Nick Block on a ground out. Gent capped the scoring off in the sixth with a monster 3-run home run.

NO. 3 WALTERS STATE 17, ROANE STATE 0

Whether angry by their performance in game one or just ready to hit, the Senators scored early and often in game two.

Ellis led the way as he had three hits, two of them home runs, and drove in six runs. Cam Fisher had two RBIs while Corbin Shaw hit a pinch-hit three-run home run off the shed in left field. Andrew Ott and Hammons also drove in two runs each.

It was Ellis who started the scoring in the first as he powered a pitch way over the fence in right for a two-run home run. Then, in the second, the Senators went for the kill.

First, Block scored a run on a sacrifice fly. Then, after Ott singled home a run, Ellis one-upped himself by blasting a home run to right field so far that the right fielder didn't even move. That made it 7-0 and it was 9-0 three batters later when Fisher doubled in two runs.

In the third, the scoring continued as Ott doubled home a run, Hammons doubled home a run, Skyler Cannady scored on a passed ball, Ellis singled in a run, Osuna singled in a run and Shaw hit his 3-run home run which made it 17-0.

UP NEXT:

Walters State will put their win streak on the line on Saturday afternoon as they take on Motlow State for a doubleheader at home. First pitch 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