It was another successful weekend for the Chattanooga State baseball team – even more so in light of the opponent – but Sunday’s result kept it from being sensational.
After sweeping nationally ninth-ranked Walters State and breaking the teams’ first-place tie in Saturday’s TCCAA doubleheader at Chattanooga State, the 18th-ranked Tigers lost 11-5 in the series finale — after taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning and maintaining the margin at 4-1 after two.
Chattanooga State (28-9, 13-5) has a one-game lead for the regular-season title that this year comes with hosting the four-team district tournament that will include two Georgia teams, but the Tigers have three league series remaining — two of them away from home. They have won all six series so far.
“We came into it wanting to win the series, and we did that,” coach Greg Dennis said, “but when you have a chance to sweep and don’t, it leaves kind of a sour taste in your mouth.”
With only one extra-base hit, the Senators (25-12, 12-6) stitched together a four-run third inning and a six-run seventh, both started by No. 9 batter Michael Smith, who also made a diving catch in center field. Big hits for Walters (25-12, 12-6) in the third were Matt Harrell’s ground-rule double into the tarp along the left-field fence and RBI singles by Jared Allen and Dustin Woody.