Senators fall to Johnson County, 12-7, in JUCO World Series

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – An eight-run fourth inning for top-seeded Johnson County proved to be the difference on Monday in the JUCO World Series, as fourth-seeded Walters State fell 12-7 to the Cavaliers.

With the loss, the Senators fell to 53-12 on the season. Walters State will play No. 3 Midland on Tuesday afternoon at 2 pm MT in an elimination game.  

"Johnson County has a good club," Walters State coach Dave Shelton said. "They're tough outs all the way down the lineup. Their pitchers were pretty good, too. It's just hard to win a game when you give up eight runs in an inning."

Kenny Cox led the way at the plate for the Senators, going 2-4 with a three-run home run, double and three RBIs. Along with Cox, Drew Blalock smacked his 32nd home run of the season, breaking the Walters State single-season home run record held by Tyler Myatt. 

On the mound, Brady Scott (6-1) got the start and threw 3.1 innings. Scott allowed 10 runs on nine hits and struck out two. Ryan Smith replaced Scott with an out in the fourth and pitched a strong 3.2 innings. Smith allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three. Ryan Perkins threw the final inning, striking out two in an impressive inning. 

The Senators could not have gotten off to a better start in the game, as Kole Fenton and Holden Pantier led off with singles. Following an out, Cox stepped up and gave Walters State a 3-0 lead with a home run over the fence in right. 

However, Johnson County answered in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run of their own, and the Cavaliers took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third. That lead was short-lived, however, as Cox opened up the top of the fourth with a double down the line in left and scored on a Miles Shore single up the middle. 

Unfortunately for Walters State, Johnson County scored eight in the fourth to take a 12-4 lead. In the fifth, Walters State cut into the lead. Luke Graham led off with a single, and Brady Dalton followed with a walk. Following a walk to Fenton that loaded the bases, Graham crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Blalock grounded out but scored Dalton to make it 12-6. 

That was the score until the eighth, as Smith kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard with three straight scoreless innings. In the eighth, Blalock broke the program record for home runs in a single season with a solo shot to make it 12-7. However, that was as close as the Senators would get.