No. 8 Walters State opens season with sweep of Snead State

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 8 Walters State started strong and ended strong on Saturday afternoon in their season opener, taking both games from Snead State. The Lady Senators won 2-0 in game one and took a 10-2 win in six innings in game two. 

With the wins, Walters State improved to 2-0 on the season. 

"It was a good opening day," Walters State coach Larry Sauceman said. "It was good just to see pitches and get out there today. We needed those two games just to get started and get them under our belt." 

GAME ONE: No. 8 Walters State 2, Snead State 0 

Game one looked like a repeat of the 2023 season, as Tori Coffman got the start in the circle and threw a complete game shutout. 

Coffman found trouble in the first inning, as Snead loaded the bases with one out. However, Coffman struck out the next two batters and that set the tone for the rest of the game. Coffman gave up just two hits and struck out seven for the game. 

At the plate, Kailey Dixon led the Lady Senators with two hits, one being a double. Oliva Neese had a double, as well. 

Following two scoreless innings, Walters State got things going in the third inning. Neese led things off with a double, moved to third on a Dixon sacrifice bunt and scored on a groundout by Imari Golden. 

That was where the score remained until the bottom of the sixth. Dixon led things off with a double, moved to third on a flyout to right and scored on a Nora Mack sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

GAME TWO: No. 8 Walters State 10, Snead State 2 (6 Innings) 

In game two, the Lady Senators bats found fire and ended the game early. 

Emma Myatt got the start in the circle for the Lady Senators, throwing 2.1 innings. Hayley Lawing replaced Myatt with an out in the third and threw the remainder of the game, striking out two. 

Walters State wasted no time getting the scoring going, as Dixon led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a Golden RBI single. 

Snead State got the run back with a solo homer in the top of the second, but Walters State answered in the bottom half of the inning. Abigail Taylor led things off with a bunt single and moved to second on a stolen base. After Dixon walked, Golden hit a groundball to the pitcher that saw Taylor out at third but Golden reached first. That brought up Mack, who hit a line drive that scored Dixon to make it 2-1. 

Jules Johnson was next up, and she singled up the middle to score Golden and make it 3-1. 

The third inning saw one more run score for Snead but two more runs score for Walters State. The first came from Brooklyn Copley, as she slugged the first home run of her Walters State career to make it 4-1. Taylor and Dixon reached after the homer on singles, and Golden grounded out to short but scored Taylor to make it 5-2.

Walters State didn't score in the fourth but added two more in the fifth. Mack got the two-out rally going with a single and, after Johnson was hit by a pitch, Haidyn Campbell scored them both with a two-RBI double. 

Walters State ended things in the sixth with three more runs. Neese, Copley and Sarah Short loaded the bases with singles, and Dixon walked to score Neese and make it 8-2. After Mack scored a run on a single, Johnson ended the game with a groundout that scored Short. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Friday, February 9, traveling to take on Georgia Highlands. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics