Lady Senators softball stays composed, gets final out to defeat Dyersburg State in Region 7/TCCAA Tournament

GALLATIN, TN – Things were tense for No. 4 Walters State with two outs in the seventh inning against Dyersburg State Wednesday in the second round of the Region 7/TCCAA Tournament. 

With the Lady Senators leading 2-1, Dyersburg loaded the bases with two outs and had a 2-2 count. With the crowd rocking, Tori Coffman locked in and fired a pitch to the plate that was grounded to shortstop Kasey Bennett. Bennett made the throw to first and got the final out to give Walters State a 2-1 victory.

The win was big for multiple reasons for the Lady Senators. First, it was their 50th win of the season to go with two losses. More importantly, it moved Walters State one win away from the Region 7/TCCAA Championship game. 

At the plate on Wednesday, Bennett drove home the only two runs of the game for the Lady Senators with a two-run homer. Kailey Dixon had the only two other hits the Lady Senators could muster in the contest.

In the circle, Ashley Milligan got the start and threw two innings. She allowed no hits, walked four and struck out one. 

Following a walk to leadoff the third, Tori Coffman replaced Milligan in the circle and threw the final five innings. Coffman gave up one run and walked five but also struck out five. It was her 28th win of the season. 

The Lady Senators pitched out of trouble all game, starting in the first inning. In the first, Milligan walked the bases loaded with one out but got a fly out and pop out to end the inning. 

After Dyersburg stranded two in the top of the third, Walters State got on the board as Dixon singled with one out and Bennett mashed a two-run homer over the fence in center. 

That's where the score stayed until the top of the seventh when Dyersburg State pitcher Payton Reasons led off the inning with a solo homer to make it 2-1. Coffman then gave up a single before getting the first out of the inning. The next batter walked but a flyout to center kept the runners at first and second with two outs. 

That brought up Ryleigh Bowers who worked the count 3-2 before drawing a walk to load the bases. Cadey McDaniel was next up and worked the count to 2-2 before grounding out to Bennett at short who fired to Brianna Beech at first to secure the win.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Thursday, taking on Chattanooga State at 12:30 p.m. CT 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics