Pillion homers four times in Walters State’s doubleheader sweep of Southwest TN

MORRISTOWN, TN – Welcome back, Kacey Pillion.

Playing in her first games since January 31, Pillion hit two home runs in game one on Friday for Walters State against Southwest Tennessee, and she followed it up with two more home runs in game two. The Lady Senators offense exploded during the doubleheader, picking up 19-3 and 16-6 wins over the Saluqis.

With the sweep, the Lady Senators improved to 8-10 overall and 2-0 in TCCAA play. 

GAME ONE: Walters State 19, Southwest Tennessee 3 (5 Innings)

In game one, Pillion went a perfect 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs.

Along with Pillion at the plate, Addison Beech, Allie Seritt, Lauren Ruehl and Nyah Mullins each homered. Beech, Mullins and Seritt each drove in three runs, and Michayla Franzen had three hits. Brenna Hunley, Jordan Pena and Ruehl all drove in two runs, as well. 

In the circle, Allie Jones got the start and threw 1.2 innings. Jones gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits and struck out two. Lauren Ruehl replaced Jones with two outs in the second and threw 3.1 innings. Ruehl allowed no runs on one hit and struck out two. 

Pillion started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo home run, but Southwest Tennessee responded with three runs in the top of the second. In the bottom half of the inning, the Lady Senators retook the lead when Ruehl singled home Pena, and Seritt doubled in two runs to make it 4-3. Walters State added two more runs in the inning when Beech grounded out but scored Seritt, and Pillion smoked her second solo home run of the game that made it 6-3. 

In the third, the Lady Senators continued to pile on. Beech started it with a sacrifice fly that scored Franzen, who singled to start the inning. Pillion then came up and doubled down the right-field line to score Ruehl and make it 8-3. Three more runs came across in the inning when Mullins muscled a ball over the fence in center for a three-run home run. 

The Lady Senators concluded the scoring in the fourth with eight more runs, all coming with two outs. Those runs came on back-to-back-to-back solo home runs by Ruehl, Seritt and Beech, a Hunley two-RBI double, a Pena two-RBI single and a Franzen RBI double that made it 19-3. 

GAME TWO: Walters State 16, Southwest Tennessee 6 (5 Innings) 

In game two, the Lady Senators batted around twice in the first inning.

Pillion led the way with two more home runs, two RBIs and three runs. She went a perfect 6-for-6 on the day. 

Along with Pillion, Brianice Silguero hit a pinch-hit home run, while Hunley had two hits and three RBIs. Beech, Mullins and Pena drove in two runs each, as well.

In the circle, Alayna Ross got the start and threw one inning. Ross allowed one run on one hit and struck out the side. Summer Smith pitched the next three innings, allowing two runs on four hits, and Carla Burge allowed three runs on three hits in the fifth. 

Southwest TN jumped ahead early with a solo home run in the top of the first, but Walters State had 19 batters come to the plate and scored 13 runs in the bottom half. Those runs came on a Pillion solo home run, a Hunley RBI single, a Ruehl bases-loaded walk that scored Ross, a Seritt bases-loaded walk that scored Hunley, a Beech two-RBI double, a Mullins two-RBI single, a Hunley two-RBI single, a Pena two-RBI triple and a Franzen RBI single that made it 13-1. 

Following a run in the second on Pillion's fourth solo home run of the day, Southwest Tennessee scored two in the third to make it 14-3. The Lady Senators picked up another run in the third on a Ruehl sacrifice fly that scored Callie Ensley, who doubled to start the inning, and Silguero hit a pinch-hit home run in the fourth that made it 16-3. Southwest TN scored three in the fifth, but that was all. 

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action on Saturday, hosting Dyersburg State. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12 pm ET.