No.2 Walters State complete season sweep of Roane State

Morristown, TN — The sweep over Roane State has been completed by No. 2 Walters State Community College.

The Senators picked up their ninth and 10th wins over the Raiders of Roane State on Thursday evening with a 9-1 victory in game one and a 7-3 victory in game two.

"I thought Roane State did a good job hanging around in both games," Walters State manager David Shelton said. "We couldn't put them away like we wanted to with the opportunities we had. I think we did just enough."

Alberto Osuna led the day at-bat with his two home runs in game two and racked up five RBIs on the day. Caleb McNealy and Andrew Ott each hit a bomb for the Senators in game one as the two combined for three RBIs.

Walters State picked up its 47th and 48th win after defeating Roane State (10-30) in the series to extend its record to 48-2 with the postseason right around the corner.

"Every game we have left is a tune-up for the postseason," Shelton said. 

Walters State 9, Roane State 1

The Senators were able to keep Roane State to just two hits in game one as Kohl Drake dealt six innings. 

Drake (7-1) picked up the win as he struck out nine hitters while only allowing the one run for the Raiders. He was relieved by Brayden Matthews who closed the game as he retired batters in order.

Walters State grabbed a 5-0 advantage through the first three innings with Osuna's RBI double highlighting the beginning of the game. 

"Osuna did have a great day," Shelton said. "He has been big for us all year. I shouldn't complain because we won 9-1 but I felt like with hitting as a whole, we struggled just a little bit with the opportunities we had."

Osuna finished 2-for-3 at the plate in game one. 

Then came the sixth inning where McNeely and Ott each bombed a baseball over the fence to account for three of the four runs in the frame. Matthew Ellis brought in the ninth and final run with his single.

Walters State 7, Roane State 3

Roane State was able to hang around the Senators in game two with its eight hits but the Senators were able to save themselves by getting out of a few jams.

Andrew Romanoli (9-0) pitched six innings for Walters State and struck out two. Joey Mitchell relieved Romanoli in the seventh and struck out two of the six hitters he faced in two innings. 

"Mitchell came into relief there with the bases loaded and no outs. He was able to get three outs without giving up a run which was huge for us. If he would've given up a hit there, it could've changed the game completely," Shelton said.

Even though the Senator could never build a big lead over the Raiders, the defense was there to keep Roane State off the board. 

At the plate, it was Osuna leading game two as he racked up four of his five RBIs on the day in the 7-3 victory. He knocked two home runs, one in the third inning and one in the seventh, which brought in three of the runs.

As the Senators took a 4-0 advantage, Roane State cut the deficit after leaving Walters State empty for three innings. The Raiders were able to score twice during that time but still trailed 4-2.

Three runners crossed home plate for the Senators in their frame of the seventh, though, to put pressure on the Raiders. Osuna, Ellis and Nick Block were all responsible for bringing home one runner apiece.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics