Senators punch ticket to JUCO World Series for 13th time in program history

CARTERSVILLE, GA – For the 13th time in program history, the Walters State baseball team is headed to the JUCO World Series. 

On Wednesday, in game two of the Appalachian District Series against No. 17 Georgia Highlands, the 13th-ranked Senators homered six times and held on for a 9-6 win to clinch one of 10 spots in the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, CO. 

With the win, Walters State improved to 52-11 overall. It's the Senators' second straight year making the World Series and sixth time since 2018. Walters State has two second-place and two third-place finishes during that time. 

In Tuesday's game, Holden Pantier led the charge, as he has for much of the season. Pantier slugged three home runs and drove in four runs. Pantier is now hitting .483, with 29 home runs and 122 RBIs in 63 games. He's scored 98 runs and doubled 30 times. 

Along with Pantier, Drew Blalock, Miles Shore and Luke Graham all homered. Blalock's was his 30th of the season, and he is just the second player in Walters State history to slug 30 home runs in a season. 

As well as his home run, Shore had three hits in the game, while Graham and Hayden Blair each collected two hits. 

On the mound, Major Osbolt (8-1) got the start and threw six innings. Osbolt allowed six runs, four earned, on seven hits and struck out three. Sam Martell entered for Osbolt in the seventh inning and threw the final three innings. Martell allowed just two hits and struck out five to collect his third save of the year. It was his first appearance on the mound since April 20. 

Georgia Highlands struck for three runs in the top of the first, but Pantier got the Senators on the board in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot. In the second, Walters State tied the game at three on solo home runs by Shore and Graham. 

In the third, Walters State took the lead as Pantier hit Walters State's fourth solo home run of the game to make it 4-3. The Senators tacked on one more run in the inning, as Blair singled and scored on a Shore RBI single to make it 5-3.

That was the score until the fifth, when the Chargers went back in front with three runs. That lead was short-lived, however, as Blalock led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo blast to tie it at six. Shore and Berry followed with one-out singles, and Graham drove in Shore on a fielder's choice to give Walters State a 7-6 advantage. 

In the sixth, Walters State scored its final two runs, as Kole Fenton led off with a double and scored when Pantier smoked a two-run home run that made it 9-6. Georgia Highlands made a push in the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles, but Martell entered and got a lineout and back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam. Martell then got the Chargers 1-2-3 in the eighth, but the Chargers put two on with one out in the ninth. Not fazed, Martell picked up a strikeout and flyout to right to end the game and clinch a World Series bid. 

Up Next: 

Walters State will find out its seed on Tuesday, May 19, at 6 pm ET on the NJCAA Network. The World Series is set to begin on Saturday, May 23, in Grand Junction, CO.