Pioneers Earn Split Vs. Walters State

Spartanburg, SC - In a battle of two Top 25 programs, SMC split a pair of games with Walters State on Tuesday afternoon. In the first game, the Senators slugged their way to a 15-6 win, while in game two, great pitching and timely hitting helped the Pioneers earn a hard-fought 4-2 victory.  

In game one, Walters State started off with a bang against Pioneer starter Greg Harrison (Hilton Head HS), scoring three runs before recording an out, on two consecutive base hits and a long home run to right field.

The Pioneers scored a run of their own in the bottom of the frame, as Reggie Weatherford (Lake City HS) reached on a one-out single through the middle and advanced to second on a balk, and Tyler Jackson (Robert E. Lee Academy) lined a base hit to right to score him.  

In the second inning, Harrison hit the leadoff batter and gave up a one-out double to right-center to drive in a run. An RBI groundout plated another Senator to put the score at 5-1.

The Pioneers threatened again in the bottom of the second, as Seth Neely (Rock Hill HS) led off with a double in the gap, Parker Hudson (Mauldin HS) reached on an infield single, and Dacen Cash (Stephens County, GA HS) drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Following a strikeout, SMC plated one run on error, but the Senators worked out of the jam, getting a strikeout and a flyout to limit the damage to one run.

The Senators added three more runs in the third, as they used a lead-off homer and three straight one-out hits to end Harrison's day, and the Pioneers went to the bullpen and Logan Pemberton (Lewisville HS) down 8-2. Pemberton gave up a single but then got a big strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.

The Pioneers added another run in the fourth on a sharp infield single by Travis Burnside (Laurens HS) that hit the pitcher and bounced back in front of home plate, scoring one and putting runners at first and third with one out. After a pop up to left, Jackson walked, but Walters State again worked out of a bases loaded jam by getting Luke Tollison (Laurens Academy) to fly out to center.

In the fifth, the Senators used four singles, a walk, a wild pitch, and a Pioneer error to put four more on the scoreboard. The Senators then tacked on three unearned runs in the sixth, taking advantage of sloppy play as a pair of SMC errors and a walk loaded the bases, setting the stage for a two-out, three-run triple that expanded the visitors' lead to 15-3.

The Pioneers fought back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Burnside's two-run triple. Both teams went quietly in the seventh, and SMC went down by a final score of 15-6.

Burnside and Hudson each had two hits for SMC, with Burnside also driving in three. Jackson had a pair of RBI for the Pioneers.

In the second game, SMC found a way to hold down the formidable Walters State lineup, as starter Jake Long (T.L. Hanna HS) was masterful and the Pioneer bullpen held the Senators scoreless in 2.2 innings of work.  

The Pioneers got on the board in the second, as Seth Neely reached on a one out walk, stole second, and scored on a two-out hit by Champ Rowland (Wade Hampton HS). SMC added to the lead in the third, as Tollison lined a single to left with two outs, and Walters State melted down on the mound, with three walks, a hit batsman, and a wild pitch allowing two runs to score before the visitors could get to their bullpen for the final out of the inning, down 3-0.

Meanwhile, Long was solid in his second start of the season, holding the Senators scoreless through four innings before leaving in favor of lefty Ian McKinney (Dorman HS) after allowing three hits and a pair of runs in the fifth to narrow the lead to 3-2. The Pioneer bullpen came up big, as McKinney got a big groundout to short and Corey Rhoney (East Burke, NC HS) induced a soft dribbler back to the mound with two runners on to end the inning and the Walters State threat.

In the sixth, Rhoney worked out of another jam, as, with no outs and a runner on third, he got a strikeout, a groundout to the drawn in infield, and another groundout back to the mound to maintain the 3-2 Pioneer lead.

SMC added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Keels (Manning HS) drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a balk, was sacrificed to third by Cash, and scored on Rowland's base hit through the drawn-in infield, putting the Pioneers up 4-2.

In the seventh, Rhoney got the first two outs via strikeout and pop-up before hitting the third batter of the inning with a pitch and leaving the game with the tying run coming to the plate. Left-hander Ronnie Kleinbach (Batavia, NY HS) got the call from the bullpen and induced a game-ending fly-out on his first pitch to earn his first save of the season and a hard-earned split for the Pioneers.

Rowland led the Pioneer offense with two hits and two RBI. SMC (10-5) plays at home again on Wednesday as they host Limestone JV in a doubleheader. Game time is 1 pm.  

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The College is in its 100th academic year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.
 
For more information please contact athletic director Mark Perdue at (864) 587-4237.