Lady Senators sweep Cleveland State on Sophomore Night 

MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State celebrated Sophomore Night on Friday against Cleveland State, and the Lady Senators picked up two wins in the process. Walters State won 14-6 in six innings in game one and followed it up with a 16-5 win in five innings in game two. 

With the sweep, the Lady Senators improved to 28-20 overall and 21-7 in TCCAA play.

GAME ONE: Walters State 14, Cleveland State 6 (6 Innings)

In game one, Allie Jones threw three scoreless innings and had two hits in the win.

Taking her first plate appearances of the season, Jones had a single in her first at-bat, before ending the game in the sixth with a three-run home run. 

Along with Jones at the plate, Alayna Ross homered and drove in three runs, while Brenna Hunley had three RBIs. Kacey Pillion also homered. 

In the circle, Summer Smith got the start and threw three innings. Smith allowed six runs, three earned, on four hits and struck out four. Jones replaced Smith in the fourth and threw the final three innings. Jones gave up just one hit and struck out three. 

Cleveland State got on the board with three runs in the top of the first, but Walters State hit back with four in the bottom of the inning. Addison Beech led off with a walk, and Pillion reached base on an error to put two on. Beech would score on a wild pitch, and Brianice Silguero reached on a walk to bring up Ross. Ross saw two pitches before unleashing on a ball, hitting it over the fence in center to give Walters State a 4-3 lead. 

The Lady Senators picked up another run in the second on a Ruehl RBI single, but Cleveland took the lead back in the top of the third with three runs that made it 6-5. In the bottom of the inning, Walters State tied the game up as Hunley drove in Callie Ensley with a sacrifice fly. 

In the fourth, Pillion gave Walters State the lead for good with a solo home run that made it 7-6. The fifth inning saw Walters State extend its lead with three more runs. Following a Ross double, Hunley doubled to score her. Hunley then scored on an error to make it 9-6, and it was 10-6 when Jones scored on an error. 

Walters State's final four runs of the game came in the sixth inning. The Lady Senators loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Lauren Ruehl and Silguero and a walk to Ross. Hunley then scored Ruehl on a sacrifice fly, and Jones ended the game one batter later with her three-run home run. 

GAME TWO: Walters State 16, Cleveland State 5 (5 Innings)

In game two, Pillion hit two more home runs, and Walters State completed the sweep. 

Pillion had three hits in the game and drove in five runs to lead the charge. Beech added three hits and two RBIs, while Hunley had two hits and drove in two runs. Allie Seritt and Faith Whited also had two RBIs each. 

In the circle, Ross got the start and threw two innings. She allowed no hits and struck out two. Carla Burge pitched the final three innings for Walters State, giving up five runs, two earned, on five hits. 

Walters State started quickly in game two, as Pillion smacked a two-run home run two batters into the bottom of the first. The Lady Senators scored two more runs in the inning, as Seritt drove in Ruehl with a sacrifice fly and Hunley singled in Silguero to make it 4-0.

In the second, the Lady Senators blew the game open with eight runs. Those runs scored on an RBI single by Ruehl, a bases-loaded walk that scored Pillion, a Hunley RBI single, a Whited two-RBI double, a Beech two-RBI single, and an error that scored Beech to make it 12-0.

Cleveland State answered back with four runs in the third, but Walters State got those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Pillion started the scoring in the inning with a three-run home run, and Nyah Mullins scored on a passed ball later in the inning to make it 16-4. Cleveland got one more run in the fifth, but that was all.

Up Next:

Walters State opens up postseason play next weekend in the TCCAA/Region 7 Tournament. The Lady Senators will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament.