Vogele’s big hit, Trucks' clutch relief appearance leads No. 1 Walters State over Lake Land in JUCO World Series

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Bases loaded. No outs. Bottom of the seventh. Walters State trailing by two.

If you give that situation to Walters State coach Dave Shelton, 10 times out of 10 he's going to choose Jack Vogele as the hitter he wants up in that spot.

On Wednesday night against Lake Land in the JUCO World Series, Vogele found himself in that spot. And all he did was prove why his coach would want him in that position.

Ahead 2-1 in the count, Vogele ripped a pitch into the right-center gap. The double scored all three runs, giving Walters State the lead. The Senators would add two more runs in the inning, and Mason Trucks was excellent in relief to lock down a 6-3 win over the Lakers. 

With the win, Walters State improved to 58-6-1 on the season and have won 24 games in a row and 38 of their last 39 games. 

"Thank goodness that he smoked that ball in the gap or we may have been on the wrong side of things," Shelton said. "Jack has been there for us all year. There's nobody I would rather see up to the plate in a big situation because I know that he has the confidence to take care of it. He's worked hard enough to earn the right to be successful." 

Vogele had struggled to start the tournament, with just one hit in the first two games. Vogele was 0-2 in his first plate appearances on Wednesday but made the most of his third one. 

"Bases loaded, down two and with no outs, that's the situation you want to be in as a hitter," Vogele said. "When I go up to the plate, I have confidence every time. It's just a matter of when I am going to get a hit, not if. I've believed I've worked hard enough to beat the pitcher." 

Vogele's hit would have been for naught if not for the pitching of Mason Trucks. Coming in with runners on first and second and no outs in the sixth, Trucks limited the damage to just one run. From there, he was automatic as he struck out five batters in his four innings of work. 

"The slider and fastball were working," Trucks said. "I just had confidence in those pitches and threw them for strikes…I was very confident coming in just because of how we prepare ourselves. I was just comfortable knowing that I had a standout defense behind me and good hitters." 

Trucks came into the game for Gage Peterson, who got the start. Peterson allowed three runs on six hits in his five innings of work and struck out two. 

The performance from Peterson and Trucks was all the more impressive when looking at the results from each World Series game. No team had been held to fewer than four runs in a nine-inning game until Peterson and Trucks did it Wednesday night.

"Gage was fantastic with multiple pitches tonight," Walters State pitching coach Sean Robinson said. "When we got that lead, we were just able to go after them with Trucks. Hats off to those guys." 

At the plate along with Vogele, Nate Conner hit a solo home run, walked twice and laid down a huge bunt single to load the bases in the seventh. 

It was a pitcher's duel to start, with the game scoreless until the bottom of the third. Conner got Walters State on the board in that inning, smacking a solo shot over the fence in right-center.

However, Lake Land would quickly tie the game in the fourth with a home run and then scored a run in the fifth and the sixth to go up 3-1. Things could have spiraled in the sixth with runners on first and second with one out, but the Senators threw a runner out stealing and Trucks got a strikeout for the third out. 

In the seventh, the Lakers again threatened with a double and a single with two outs. However, on the single, Jack Torbett threw behind the runner at third and caught him off the bag for the final out of the inning. 

The bottom of the seventh rally started with a Taylor Harris single and a Kole Fenton walk. After Conner's beautiful bunt single, Vogele came through with the three-RBI double. Vogele moved to third on a passed ball and then scored to make it 5-3 on a Holden Pantier single. Walters State loaded the bases back up with two outs, and Harris walked to score another run and make it 6-3.

From there, Trucks picked up a strikeout in the eighth and two more in the ninth for the win.

"What an absolute team-effort win," Shelton said. "Everybody did a little something to win that baseball game. That's what you have to have to win out here." 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Thursday night, taking on seventh-seeded McLennan with a chance to clinch a spot in the JUCO World Series Championship Game. First pitch is set for 7 pm MT (9 pm ET).