No. 13 Walters State drops finale to Columbia State

NASHVILLE, TN – No. 13 Walters State fell 23-10 on Saturday in the final game of the series against Columbia State.

With the loss, the Senators fell to 32-8 overall and 15-6 in TCCAA play. 

At the plate, Justin Bell had three hits while Kenny Cox and Drew Blalock each homered. Blalock drove in two runs, while Cox had three RBIs. 

On the mound, Hayden Mills (3-1) got the start and threw three innings. Mills gave up seven runs on eight hits and struck out two. Sam Martell replaced Mills in the fourth and got one out while allowing seven runs on five hits, and Bridger Hamilton entered for Martell and threw 2.2 innings. Hamilton allowed two runs on one hit and struck out three. Dakota Crumbley threw the next inning, allowing three runs on three hits, and Ryan Smith got an out while allowing four runs on two hits. 

Columbia State scored three in the second to go up 3-0, but Walters State answered with four runs in the top of the third. Holden Pantier got it started with a two-out triple, and Blalock followed with a walk. That brought up Cox, and he tied the game with a three-run home run. Miles Shore and Bell then singled, and an error brought home Shore to give the Senators a 4-3 lead. 

Columbia State tied the game back up with a run in the bottom of the third, but Walters State briefly took the lead back with a run in the top of the fourth when Pantier hit a sacrifice fly that scored Blair to make it 5-4.

Unfortunately for the Senators, the Chargers scored 10 in the fourth and two in the fifth to take control. In the sixth, Walters State got a little closer when Blalock smacked a two-run home run, and when Cox scored on a double play. The Senators got two more runs in the eighth on a Bell RBI single and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded that scored Cox, but the Chargers scored seven in the eighth to end things early.

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action on Tuesday, hosting Pellissippi State. The DH is scheduled for 1 pm ET.