Fenton's walk off single pushes No. 1 Walters State past Eastern Oklahoma State College in JUCO World Series opener

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Adversity is a thing the 2025 Walters State baseball team has been able to overcome all throughout the year.

On Saturday afternoon, the Senators overcame it on multiple occasions. 

Taking on 10th-seeded Eastern Oklahoma State in the opening game of the JUCO World Series, the top-seeded Senators fell behind by four runs three innings into the game. Walters State scored seven runs in the fourth to take a commanding lead, but Eastern Oklahoma State tied the game in the ninth. 

Needing to overcome that adversity again, Walters State did just that in the bottom of the ninth as Kole Fenton singled home Taylor Harris to give the Senators an epic 11-10 win.

With the victory, the Senators improved to 56-6-1 on the season.

"It was an absolute battle, and we knew it would be," Walters State coach Dave Shelton said. "There's 10 one seeds at this thing, and each game can go either way. You have to play at your best to have a chance to win this thing. Tonight was not our best but hopefully we can overcome some of our nerves and figure things out for the rest of the tournament." 

Fenton got put into the walk off situation after Harris singled and moved to third on a wild pickoff attempt. While he said he had never been in that situation before, Fenton was ready for the moment and delivered. 

"I just tried staying simple, staying on top of the baseball and getting the job done," Fenton said. 

Harris was the star at the plate for Walters State, totaling four hits and driving in two runs. Jack Vogele hit Walters State's lone home runs of the game, while Carson Cabbage drove in three runs and recorded a triple. 

On the mound, Walker Morgan got the start and threw 2.2 innings. Morgan allowed five runs, three earned, on five hits and struck out four. Brady Scott replaced Morgan with two outs in the third, and came up huge for the Senators. Scott threw four innings, allowing four runs, but just one earned, on seven hits and struck out six. 

"I was just trying to come in and throw strikes," Scott said. "I know our offense is so good, so I knew at the end of the day that as long as I came in and did my job and threw strikes, we were going to have a chance." 

After Scott, Jace Kirby threw the next 1.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit while striking out two. Gage Peterson got the final two outs, allowing a hit while striking out one. 

Eastern Oklahoma struck first in the game with two runs in the first, but the Senators cut the lead in half in the second. Holden Pantier led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Pantier then scored when Harris bunted for an RBI base hit. 

However, Eastern Oklahoma regained control in the third with a bases-clearing double that made it 5-1. Needing an answer, Walters State got it in the bottom half of the inning as Vogele led off with a mammoth solo home run. Tyler Myatt then doubled off the wall, and Brantley Bamberg scored him with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3. 

In the fourth, it was Walters State turning the tables. Harris led off with a single and moved to second on a Fenton walk. Nate Conner then singled to load the bases, and Vogele drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Myatt then walked, and Pantier flew out to score a run that tied the game. That brought up Cabbage, and he hammered a ball off the wall in center, driving in both Myatt and Conner with a triple that made it 7-5. 

"I felt like I was seeing the ball really well," Cabbage said. "I had a meeting with coach before my at-bat, and he just told me to do damage. I got a fastball in a 3-1 count, and I'm glad I hit it." 

Following a Bamberg single that drove in Cabbage, it was Jack Torbett's turn to hammer a ball off the center field wall as he doubled and scored Bamberg to make it 9-5. The seventh and final run of the inning came on an RBI single by Harris that scored Torbett to make it 10-5. 

Eastern Oklahoma would chip away over the next few innings and then tied the game in the ninth. That's when Harris singled with an out, moved to third and scored on Fenton's walk off single. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Monday, taking on seventh-seeded McLennan. First pitch of the annual Memorial Day game will be at 6 pm MT.