5th-ranked Lady Senators open season with doubleheader sweep of Florida Gateway College 

LAKE CITY, FL – No. 5 Walters State opened the season, and the Britney Purser era, on Friday afternoon with two wins, taking 10-5 and 14-0 victories over Florida Gateway College. 

With the wins, the Lady Senators moved to 2-0 on the season. The wins were also Purser's first as a collegiate head coach. 

GAME ONE: No. 5 Walters State 10, Florida Gateway College 5

In game one, the Lady Senators fell behind 5-2 but rallied off eight straight runs to grab their first win of the season.

Alayna Ross led the way at the plate for Walters State, going 3-3 with two home runs and five RBIs.  Along with Ross, Addison Beech had two RBIs, while Imari Golden had a triple and a single. The Lady Senators collected 14 hits in the game. 

In the circle, Emma Myatt got the start and threw 2.1 innings. Myatt gave up four runs, three earned, on four hits. Myatt was replaced with one out in the third by Summer Smith (1-0) who threw the next 3.2 innings. Smith gave up one run on one hit and picked up the win.

Lauren Ruehl replaced Smith in the seventh and struck out one in her inning of work. 

Following a scoreless first inning, Walters State got on the board in the top of the second as Ruehl walked and Ross drove a ball over the fence in center that made it 2-0.

However, Florida Gateway got a run in the bottom of the second and four in the bottom of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Needing a response, Ruehl again walked to lead off the fourth and her courtesy runner, Faith Whited, scored on an RBI single by Ross. Sarah Short was then hit by a pitch, and Golden reached on an error to load the bases with one out. Florida Gateway got the second out of the inning on a fielder's choice, but Beech stepped to the plate and tied the game at five with a two-RBI double. 

In the fifth, the Lady Senators took the lead for good as Abbie Young singled and Ross hit her second two-run home run of the game to make it 7-5. The top of the sixth was more of the same for Walters State, as Randi Delong doubled and scored on a Ruehl RBI double. Following an Allie Seritt RBI single that made it 9-5, Kendal Mason doubled home Walters State's 10th run of the game. 

That was all Walters State needed, as Smith and Ruehl shut Florida Gateway down to end the game. 

GAME TWO: No. 5 Walters State 14, Florida Gateway College 0 (5 Innings) 

In game two, the Lady Senators exploded for 20 hits and 14 runs while holding Florida Gateway to just two hits. 

At the plate, Beech and Emma Keck each had three hits while Mason homered and drove in three runs and Seritt drove in four runs. Ruehl had three hits and an RBI, as well, while Smith blasted a two-run home run. 

In the circle, Makayla Ramsey got the start and didn't allow a hit while striking out one. Allie Jones replaced Ramsey in the third and threw the final three innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out one. 

Walters State wasted no time getting on the board, as Beach doubled to lead off the game and Mason followed with a two-run home run. The Lady Senators added one more run in the inning after Delong singled, Ruehl singled and Seritt scored Delong with a sacrifice fly. 

In the second, Walters State picked up three, two-out runs. Keck started things with a single before Mason walked and Delong singled to load the bases. That brought up Ruehl, and she walked to score Keck. Seritt was next up, and she made it 6-0 with a two-RBI single to center. 

Following two more runs in the third, on a Beech RBI triple and Mason RBI single that made it 8-0, the Lady Senators picked up two more runs in the fourth on a Smith two-run home run. 

Walters State capped things off in the fifth with four more runs, as Seritt singled home Delong, Golden hit a sacrifice fly that scored Ruehl, Mack singled in Seritt and Beech singled in Mack to make it 14-0. 

Up Next:

Walters State stays in Florida on Saturday, taking part in the JUCO Kickoff Classic at Madeira Beach, FL. The Lady Senators will play Hillsborough Community College at 4:30 pm ET and No. 20 Sante Fe at 7 pm ET.