4th-ranked Senators defeat Southern Union State, fall to Chipola

MARIANNA, FL – No. 4 Walters State picked up a 10-2 win over Southern Union State on Friday, before falling to Chipola, 6-5. 

With the split, the Senators moved to 6-1 on the season.

GAME ONE: No. 4 Walters State 10, Southern Union State 2

In game one, Hayden Blair hammered two home runs to lead the way for the Senators.

Blair drove in three runs, as well, and walked once. Along with Blair, Kole Fenton had two hits and three RBIs, while Drew Blalock and Kenny Cox drove in runs. Holden Pantier also collected two hits. 

On the mound, Preston Allen (1-0) got the start and threw 3.1 innings. Allen allowed one run but didn't give up a hit. He struck out four. 

Colton Richards replaced Allen with an out in the fourth and threw the next 2.2 innings. Richards allowed one run on two hits while striking out three. Ryan Perkins pitched the final inning and struck out one. 

Walters State got on the board first in the game as Fenton doubled home two runs with two outs in the second. Fenton then scored on a wild pitch, and after Pantier singled, Blair made it 5-0 with a two-run blast. 

In the third, Fenton again came through with two outs. Following a walk to Braeden Trajkovski and a single from Brady Dalton, Fenton singled to score Trajkovski and made it 6-0. Southern Union got a run in the top of the fourth, but Walters State got it back in the bottom half of the inning when Blair led things off with a solo shot. 

The Senators concluded their scoring in the fifth with three more runs. Those came on a sacrifice fly from Blalock that scored Dalton, a Cox single that scored Fenton and a wild pitch that scored Pantier to make it 10-1. Southern Union got one more run in the sixth, but that was all. 

GAME TWO: Chipola 6, No. 4 Walters State 5

In game two of the day, the Senators were walked off after leading late.

Brady Scott got the start in the game for Walters State and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits. He struck out three. Lane Sharp (0-1) replaced Scott with two outs in the fourth and threw 2.2 innings. Sharp allowed three runs on four hits and struck out five.

At the plate, Luke Graham homered while Blalock and Cox each collected two hits. Pantier had a hit and walked twice. 

The Senators struck first in the game, scoring in the opening inning as Pantier walked, took second on a hit by pitch, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball. Walters State made it 2-0 in the second inning when they loaded the bases, and Fenton grounded into a double play but scored Miles Shore. 

Chipola scored a run in the bottom of the second, tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third and then took the lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth. That 3-2 score would remain until the top of the sixth when Jaxon Walker reached on an error and scored from first on a Fenton RBI double to tie the game. Fenton moved to third on a Blair single and then scored on a delayed steal, dodging the catchers tag to give the Senators a 4-3 advantage. 

Walters State increased its lead in the top of the seventh, as Graham slugged a solo shot to make it 5-3. However, Chipola scored three in the bottom of the seventh and walked off the Senators. 

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action Saturday at Chipola, taking on Southern Union at 11 am ET and No. 3 Florida SouthWestern at 1:30 pm ET.