Zion Taylor has monster day in No. 16 Walters State’s doubleheader sweep of Montreat College JV

MONTREAT, NC – No. 16 Walters State picked up two wins on Tuesday afternoon against Montreat College JV. The Senators won 19-2 in game one and 14-2 in game two.

With the sweep, Walters State improved to 29-9 on the season.

Zion Taylor led the way for Walters State, collecting seven hits and driving in seven runs. He hit two home runs in game one, as well.

GAME ONE: No. 16 Walters State 19, Montreat College JV 2 

In game one, the Senators scored 17 runs in the final three innings to take the lopsided victory.

Taylor led the way at the plate with four hits, two being home runs, and three RBI. Along with Taylor, Taylor Harris hit two home runs and had five RBI. Carson Cabbage had two hits and four runs driven in, as well, while Logen Sutton had three hits and three RBI. 

On the mound, Luke Ferguson (2-1) got the start and threw two innings. He allowed no hits and struck out two. Drew Horn replaced Ferguson in the third and threw two innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. 

Following Miles Smith's 0.1 inning outing that saw two runs come across, Nate Conner got the final two outs of the fifth. Jonny Stevens took over and finished things out, throwing two innings. He allowed one hit and struck out four. 

Walters State got things going in the third, with Taylor mashing a two-run homer to put the Senators on top. 2-0 would be the score until the fifth, when Harris hit a solo homer and Sutton singled home Taylor to make it 4-0.

Montreat answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but Walters State scored 10 runs in the sixth to blow things open. Those runs came on a Jarrett Martin solo homer, a Harris three-run home run, a Taylor solo home run, a Sutton RBI double, a Jack Vogele RBI double, a Cabbage two-RBI single and a Harris sacrifice fly that made it 14-2.

The Senators closed things out in the seventh with five more runs, as Sutton tripled in a run, Cade Hitson doubled home two runs and Cabbage smacked a two-run homer that made it 19-2. 

GAME TWO: No. 16 Walters State 14, Montreat College JV 2

In game two, Taylor had three more hits and four runs driven in to cap off another win. 

Along with Taylor, Sutton and Brantley Bamberg each homered. Both drove in two runs in the game. 

On the mound, Ryan Bender (1-1) got the start and threw a clean inning. Tyler Welch followed with a one-run second-inning, and William Wexler struck out one in the third-inning. Next up was Walker Morgan and he threw a clean fourth-inning. Rowan Park was next, striking out the side in the fifth-inning. 

Aiden Robertson finished things off, pitching the final two innings. Robertson allowed one run on one hit and struck out three. 

Bamberg started the scoring for the Senators in the first, doubling home Vogele. The final two runs of the inning came as Taylor singled home Bamberg and Deniel Ortiz to make it 3-0.

Walters State added to their lead in the second with two runs, as an error scored Jack Torbett and Hitson to make it 5-0. Montreat got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second, but three more runs scored in the third for Walters State to make it 8-1. Those runs came home on a Taylor RBI single, an Ethan Bosely groundout that scored a run and a fielder's choice from Torbett that scored Taylor. 

In the fourth, the Senators made it 11-1 on a Vogele RBI double and a Taylor RBI single. Sutton mashed a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 13-1, and Bamberg scored the Senators final run with a solo shot right after Sutton. Montreat got one run in the seventh, but that was all. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Friday, hosting Volunteer State. Friday's nine-inning game is set for 2 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