4th-ranked Senators jump on Saluqis early, win 14-2 in eight innings
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 0 |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
MILLINGTON, TN – No. 4 Walters State led 4-0 four batters into the game on Thursday afternoon against Southwest Tennessee and never looked back on their way to a 14-2 win in eight innings.
With the win, the Senators improved to 17-3 overall and 9-1 in TCCAA play.
Hayden Blair led the way at the plate for the Senators with three hits, a home run and three RBIs. Kole Fenton picked up four hits and two RBIs, as well, and Holden Pantier had two hits and two RBIs. Drew Blalock also homered, while Miles Shore had two hits.
On the mound, Preston Allen (3-0) got the start and picked up the win. Allen threw five innings, allowing one run on four hits, and struck out six. Ryan Perkins replaced Allen in the sixth and faced three batters, and Sam Martell threw the final three innings. Martell allowed one hit and struck out five.
Fenton led off the game with a single, and Pantier followed with a walk. Blair was next up, and he smashed a home run to make it 3-0. Blalock was the next batter, and he made it 4-0 with a solo bomb.
Southwest Tennessee picked up a run in the bottom half of the first, but Walters State got the run back in the second when Fenton scored on an error to make it 5-1.
That was the score until the sixth when Walters State added three runs. Jaxon Walker walked with one out for the Senators, and Fenton singled to move him to second. Blair then walked with two outs to load the bases, and Blalock was hit by a pitch to score Walker. Kenny Cox then walked to score Fenton, and Justin Bell was hit by a pitch to bring home Blair to make it 8-1.
Southwest TN tried to answer back in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. However, Martell entered and allowed one run but picked off a runner at first and struck out two to get out of the jam.
In the eighth, the Senators tacked on six more runs. Those runs came on a Shore bases-loaded walk, a Walker hit by pitch with the bases loaded, a Fenton two-RBI single up the middle and a Pantier two-RBI double that made it 14-2. Martell allowed a double and a walk in the bottom of the inning, but struck out two and got a flyout to center to end the game.
Up Next:
Walters State and Southwest Tennessee play two more at USA Stadium on Friday. The doubleheader is set to begin at 12 pm ET.