Holden Pantier hits walk-off grand slam to complete sweep of Cleveland Community College

MORRISTOWN, TN – Bottom seventh. Bases loaded. Down a run.

If put in that position, Walters State baseball coach Dave Shelton would want Holden Pantier up to the plate 10 times out of 10.

On Wednesday in game two against Cleveland Community College, Pantier came to the plate in that situation, and all he did was prove why his coach wants him in that spot. 

Pantier worked a 2-1 count against the Yetis before unloading on a pitch, smashing it over the fence for a walk-off grand slam to pick up a 9-6 win. The Senators won game one, 13-5, over the Yetis. 

With the sweep, Walters State improved to 22-6 overall. 

GAME TWO: No. 16 Walters State 9, Cleveland Community College 6

The walk-off grand slam was four of eight runs the Senators scored in the final two innings to pick up the win. 

Pantier led the way in the game with three hits, the grand slam and five RBIs. Pantier is now hitting .485 on the season with seven home runs and 50 RBIs. 

Along with Pantier, Luke Jenkins and Hayden Blair each picked up two hits and an RBI.

On the mound, Hayden Mills got the start and threw a scoreless inning. Justin Bell then got two outs, allowing three runs on one hit, before Mason Grindstaff entered and got two outs. Grindstaff gave up two runs on four hits. 

Following Grindstaff, Ryan Smith threw the next three innings. Smith allowed just one run on three hits and struck out one. After David Hamilton faced two batters, Lane Sharp (3-2) threw the final 1.2 innings. Sharp allowed just one hit and struck out two, picking up his second win against Cleveland in a week. 

Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the second, but Walters State picked up a run in the bottom of the inning when Pantier walked with the bases loaded to score Davis Peralta. However, the Yetis scored two more in the third and one in the fourth to go up 6-1.

That was the score until the sixth. Jackson Berry led off the inning with a single, and Peralta followed with a walk. After a wild pitch moved both runners up, Jenkins flew out but scored Berry to make it 6-2. Kenny Cox was next up, and he singled home Peralta to cut the lead to three. Following a two-out single by Pantier, Blair singled in Cox to make it 6-4. 

In the seventh, a Berry walk was sandwiched between a popout and strikeout. Down to their final out, Jenkins kept things alive with a single, and Cox walked to load the bases. That brought up Fenton, and he walked to score a run to make it 6-5. Pantier was the next batter, and he sent everyone home with his towering grand slam. 

GAME ONE: No. 16 Walters State 13, Cleveland Community College 5

In game one of the day, the Senators broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth with eight runs. 

Leading the way at the plate, Jackson Berry was a perfect 4-4 with four RBIs. Along with Berry, Fenton had two hits and three RBIs while Blalock drove in three runs. Blair also had two hits and two RBIs. 

On the mound, Blalock got the start and threw two innings. Blalock gave up just one hit and struck out one. Colton Richards replaced Blalock and threw 2.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits, and Bridger Hamilton (1-0) followed and picked up his first win of the season. Hamilton allowed just one hit and struck out two. Lorenzo Atwell threw the final inning to close things out, not allowing a hit in a 1-2-3 inning. 

It was all Senators early, as Cox and Brady Dalton singled and Miles Shore walked to load the bases in the second. Berry was up next, and he singled home two runs to get Walters State on the board. Later in the inning, Fenton flew out but scored Dalton to make it 3-0.

However, Cleveland scored four in the top of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. The Senators briefly took the lead back in the bottom of the inning, as Blalock singled to score two runs, but Cleveland tied the game at five in the top of the fifth. 

In the sixth, the Senators loaded the bases with a Blair double, Blalock walk and Cox single. Dalton then walked to score Blair, and Berry followed with a two-RBI single that made it 8-5. Fenton then singled home two runs to make it 10-5, and Blair doubled to score Fenton and Pantier to make it 12-5. The final run came on an error that brought Blair home.

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action on Friday, hosting No. 17 Wabash Valley. First pitch is set for 12 pm ET.