|
 |
|
| Late inning rally lifts Okaloosa-Walton past Wallace | 2007-02-28 |
| The Wallace College Governors led most of the game against the Okaloosa-Walton Raiders Wednesday afternoon. But the key word is “most.� Even though they trailed by as much as five runs at one point, the Raiders came up with eight big runs in the top of the eighth inning. From there, they were on cruise control, and the Raiders left town with a 15-9 victory. | |
 “It was not our proudest day by any means,� said Wallace coach Mackey Sasser. “The biggest problem was our pitching staff just didn’t get the job done. But we can’t blame it all on pitching. We didn’t play good defense. We made physical and mental errors.�Headed into the eighth inning, the Govs led 9-7. Reliever Cody Shields came on to pitch, seeing his first action of the year. But all six of the batters Shields faced reached base safely. The first four hit singles, including a bases loaded two-RBI single by Micah Tipton that tied the game at 9-9. Jordan Darensbourg then reached base on an error, and that plated another run. Pinch hitter Trey Hayes then connected for a double to left field and that plated two more runs. That was the end of the day for Shields on the mound. But reliever Brett Birdsong didn’t fair much better. Although he did get the three outs in the inning, he was greeted by an RBI double from Scott Robinson, and later a two-run homer by Phillip Graham. When the inning was finally over, the Raiders had sent 12 batters to the plate, collected eight hits, scored eight runs, and Wallace had committed and error. “One of the key things we always preach in baseball is to stay out of the big inning,� Sasser said. “That obviously didn’t happen. We wanted to get some guys some work, but our guys have got to learn to pitch ahead. You can’t continue to pitch behind in this league and hope to win ball games.� The Govs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Ernesto Gonzales hit a double that scored Shields who had reached on single. Michael Precise, who walked, later scored on a wild pitch. Gov starting pitcher David Travis gave those two runs back in the top of the second when he couldn’t find the plate, and the Raiders briefly took the lead in the top of the third when they scored another run. But Wallace seemed to be in control in the bottom of the third when they scored six runs. The Govs scored their six runs on only two hits. Brett Chamberlain had a single, while Shields (who was playing second base at the time) had an RBI double. The Govs scored two runs on the only two errors the Raiders made in the game, two runs were scored on ground outs when the OW was unable to turn routine double plays, and the sixth run scored on a wild pitch. That put the Govs up 8-2. But the Raiders never did stop scoring. They added a run in the fourth, two more in the fifth, and one in the six before their big outburst. The Govs were only able to add a run in the bottom of the fifth. They came on Shield’s third hit of the game, an RBI single. Although Shields took the loss on the mound, he was 3-for-5 at the plate including a double, two singles and two RBIs. Justin Curry got the win for OW. Wallace falls to 7-9 on the season. The Govs return to conference play tomorrow. They will host CVCC in a nine inning contest beginning at noon. Saturday’s double-header against CVCC is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m. GAME NOTES • It was not a good day for Wallace pitching. The Govs had to use nine pitchers to get through the game. Those pitchers combined to give up 17 hits, walk seven batters, and hit two more. • It was also not a good day for the Gov defense. The Govs committed four errors in the game. After each of those errors, at least one run scored. • For the second consecutive game, Gov catcher Brett Chamberlain threw out a would-be base stealer. Chamberlain didn’t enter Wednesday’s game as catcher until the eighth inning. He also threw out a would-be base stealer in the second game against LBW this past Saturday. • Offensively, Cody Shields appears to have completely recovered from early season injury. Shields went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and two RBIs. • The Govs only had six hits in the game. Three of those hits came from Shields, Ernesto Gonzales had two, and Chamberlain had the other one. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for Wallace Baseball. He covers Wallace baseball for the Dothan Eagle. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com. | |
| © Wallace Community College |
