Allow Walters State Community College to reintroduce itself. The Senators from Morristown, Tennessee, are in the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series for the first time since 2022. Their two-season hiatus snapped a streak of four straight appearances at junior college baseball’s highest stage, and they’re in the tournament for the fifth time under coach David Shelton. Walters State, the tournament’s top seed, brings a 55-6-1 record to Grand Junction. “The seeding doesn’t mean anything. There are 10 No. 1 teams here,” said Shelton, who has coached at Walters State since 2003 and has been the head coach since 2014. He was an assistant on the 2006 national championship team. The Senators’ .389 team batting average leads Division I NJCAA by a mile (Texas’ Midland College is second at .369). They also lead the nation in on-base (.497), slugging (.688), home runs (125), extra-base hits (313), hits (752) and RBI (668). Leading that batting barrage is one of the nation’s most feared hitters in Tyler Myatt. His 29 home runs, 104 RBI and .497 batting average all top Division I’s leader boards. Another of Walters’ top hitters has local ties. Holden Pantier, a redshirt freshman, is an Erie High School graduate. Pantier initially went to Wichita State but didn’t make an appearance for the Shockers in 2024. He’s making the most of his time in Morristown. Pantier has a .393 average with 12 home runs, 65 RBI and has scored 66 runs. All of the Senators’ players with more than 100 at-bats have posted a batting average north of .330. Five of those players have a batting average better than .390 — Pantier, Carson Cabbage (.397), Jack Torbett (.423), Jack Vogele (.433) and Myatt. “(The 2022 team) was really built on pitching … That team was good offensively,” Shelton said. “(This team) is more versatile. We’ve got a good pitching staff this year, as well. Every team you bring out here is different.” Eight of Walters’ pitchers have logged 22-plus innings. Aiden Robertson has 77 innings of work, and his 115 strikeouts lead the team and is third in the nation. Gage Peterson’s 3.04 ERA in 53⅓ innings is the best among Walters’ most active pitchers. Matthew Porchas has registered a 0.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 14⅓ innings. Walters is riding a 21-game winning streak and looks to stay hot against No. 10 Eastern Oklahoma State College, which is making its first JUCO appearance in 24 years, at noon on Saturday. Despite all of those staggering numbers, Shelton thinks the team’s chemistry stands above all else. “This is such a great group of kids,” Shelton said. “(Each one is a guy) you’d want your daughter to bring home.”
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