No. 17 WSCC sets record during sweep of Dyersburg State

Coach Larry Sauceman’s club is now 28-4 for the season and remains atop the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association standings with a perfect 22-0 worksheet.

Dyersburg saw its record dip to 16-16 on the year and 8-12 in TCCAA action. The two teams will square off in another twinbill at noon today.

Winning pitcher Jordan Fortel improved her mound record to 13-2 and also belted two home runs in the first game.

Vanessa Elliott, who was also the star of the big first inning, collected three hits including a home run as the Lady Senators managed eight safeties off losing pitcher Victoria Haugsness. Nadalynn Sauceman had the other round-tripper for Walters State.

Coach Sauceman was happy with the win but felt his team needed to hit a lot better in the first game. “In the first game, we just didn’t hit the ball. We struggled a little bit swinging the bat and had too many strikeouts.

“That last game, we swung the bats,” he said. “If I can get this team to hit a little bit, they can do pretty good, but we struggle sometimes. You saw what we’re capable of in the second game.”

He was also happy with getting to use three pitchers in the nightcap after Fortel went the distance. “I want to get them in there every chance I get because you never know when you might need them down the road.”

In the opener, Fortel struck out the side in the first and then clubbed a long home run over the trees in right field to lead off the bottom of the frame.

Hannah Prince smacked a home run to knot the score in the second, but Elliott led off the bottom of the inning with a homer to left, her fifth of the season. Sauceman banged her fifth with one out in the fourth to make it 3-1 and Fortel connected for her 11th to start the fifth.

Chay Poyner homered for the Lady Eagles in the sixth, but Walters State got a run-scoring single from Leslie Odom in its half of the inning and another scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2. Dyersburg scored on the final play of the game that saw Alexis Castleman get an infield hit to provide the run with the final out being made at second.

Fortel allowed seven hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six. Haugsness walked three and fanned eight.

After the visitors scored an unearned run in the top of the first in the second game, the Lady Senators put some staggering numbers up in the bottom.

All nine starters batted three times in the uprising. Walters State had 18 hits, had two batters hit by a pitch and the Lady Eagles committed four errors. The inning might have been even bigger if the Lady Senators had continued to run the bases instead of going base-to-base after the score got to 15 runs.

Sauceman knocked in the first run and Elliott followed with a grand slam. Before the inning was over, Casey Gilbert smacked her seventh home run, a three-run shot; Kaitlyn Davidson followed with a solo and Elliott added a two-run homer.

Elliott made it back to the plate again in the inning with the bases loaded but settled for a single and one RBI as the runners were going a base at a time. In the inning, Elliott, Gilbert and Katie McCann all had three hits while Fortel, Davidson, Sauceman and Lynzee Brewer all had two.

The Lady Senators got their final four in the fourth with three of them coming on Davidson’s 12th circuit smash of the season.

Gilbert got all five of her hits in the first three innings. Fortel, Davidson, Elliott and McCann all finished with three safeties. Sauceman, Shelby Shanks and Brewer all had two.

Odom pitched the first two innings and notched her ninth win without a loss. She gave up the only hit by Dyersburg and both unearned runs while striking out three.

Rachel Farmer worked the middle two innings and did not allow a baserunner. She struck out one. Payton Kelley pitched the final frame. She allowed a walk and fanned two.

Kaylee Luckett had the only hit for the Lady Eagles.