Senators finish sixth at JUCO World Series
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 0 |
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3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Fourth-seeded Walters State saw its season come to an end on Tuesday, falling 15-4 to Midland College in the JUCO World Series.
With the loss, the Senators ended the season with a record of 53-13. Walters State were TCCAA Regular Season Champions, TCCAA/Region 7 Tournament Champions, NJCAA Appalachian District Champions and sixth-place finishers at the JUCO World Series.
The 2026 season was one that saw seven program records broken. Holden Pantier broke the record for single-season hits with 118, career hits with 201, single-season RBIs with 124 RBIs, single-season doubles with 32 and career RBIs with 195. Meanwhile, Kole Fenton broke the school record for career doubles with 51, and Drew Blalock broke the program record for home runs in a season with 33.
The sophomore class for Walters State went 112-21-1 over two seasons, won two TCCAA Regular Season and Tournament Championships, two Appalachian District Championships, had a sixth-place finish at the World Series and finished Runner-Up at the World Series in 2025.
Blalock added to his home run total on Tuesday, smashing a three-run bomb in the first inning. Along with Blalock, Miles Shore had two hits in the game.
On the mound, Preston Allen got the start and threw an inning. Allen gave up six runs, three earned, on three hits. Sam Martell replaced Allen in the second and threw the next 1.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs. Lane Sharp was next on the mound, throwing 3.2 innings. Sharp allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and struck out two. Tim Tyler then threw 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on two hits while striking out three, and Colton Richards got the final out on one pitch.
Midland scored three runs in the first, but the Senators responded with three in the bottom of the inning. Kole Fenton led off with a double, and Pantier walked. That brought up Blalock, and he smashed a home run to right-center field that tied the game.
Unfortunately for Walters State, Midland scored three in the second and two in the third to take an 8-3 lead. Walters State got one more run, on a sacrifice fly by Kenny Cox in the third that scored Pantier, but that was all as Midland added on and ended the game in eight innings.
