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| Wallace pounds Enterprise-Ozark | 2007-04-06 |
| ENTERPRISE—One inning. That was all it took. For the Enterprise-Ozark Boll Weevils, that one inning had to seem like a never ending nightmare. Playing against the Wallace Govs Friday afternoon, that one inning was the seventh. | |
 Enterprise had jumped on top of Wallace 5-0 in the game. But in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, the Govs suddenly woke up. The seventh inning was the nightmare inning. That’s when the Govs scored 10 runs and went on to defeat.the Boll Weevils 16-5.Once again the Govs ended a game early due to the 10-run mercy rule. The scheduled nine inning affair only lasted seven innings. “Sometimes we can be a slow starting team,� Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “Spotting a team five runs is certainly not what we want to do. But we hung in there and were able to take advantage of their walks and mistakes later in the game.� Wallace had already rallied to take a 6-5 lead when, as EOCC coach Tim Hulsey put it, “The wheels came off.� In that seventh inning, the Govs sent 15 batters to the plate. They scored runs just.about every way possible—hits, walks with the bases load, an error, a wild pitch, and a first-and-third double steal. The Govs only got six in the inning to score their 10 runs. The inning began routinely enough with a fly out by Andrew Starr. It wasn’t until 12 batters later that the Boll Weevils were finally able to get the second out. In the inning, Harman Watkins and Jon Eaves both picked up RBIs when they walked with the bases loaded. Cody Shields and Ryan Reece each had two-RBI singles, Michael Precise had an RBI single, and Brett Chamberlain also had an RBI when he reached base on an error. “The thing that hurt us is what we have been concerned out throughout the season, and that’s our late inning pitching,� said EOCC coach Tim Hulsey. “But fundamentally, we didn’t do what we needed to do early on. We had a lot of chances to score more runs early in the contest, and we didn’t get the job done.� The Boll Weevils did get to Wallace starting pitcher Dave Mason early in the game. Enterprise jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first inning. A sacrifice fly by Brooks Glover and a two-RBI single by Garrett Thomson did the job. The Boll Weevils were able to add to the lead with single runs in the second and fourth inning. Glover’s RBI double did the trick in the second, while Kyle Olasin got the job done in the fourth. Olasinn’s hit chased Mason from the game. The Govs began their comeback in the fifth inning, and it was the long ball that did the job. First, Michael Precise hit a two-run homer over the left field fence. Two batter’s later, Andrew Starr hit a solo homer that cleared the right field fence. That cut the Weevils’ lead to 5-3. In the sixth inning, the Govs took the lead themselves. After Dennis Perez and Ryan Reece both reached base on hits, Harman Watkins connected for a two-RBI single. Two batters later, Cody Shields gave the Govs the lead for good with a sacrifice fly to right field. David Travis got the win for Wallace. In his two innings of work, Travis struck out five and didn’t allow a single hit. Brett Birdsong got the save. At the time Birdsong entered the game, the Wallace lead was only one run. He managed to get a crucial out with a runner at third base, then pitched the final inning. Michael Oncale took the loss for the Boll Weevils. With the win, the Govs improved to 16-3 in the Southern Division, 20-12 overall. The Govs will conclude their conference series against the Boll Weevils Saturday afternoon in Enterprise. The double header gets underway at noon. GAME NOTES • The Govs continue to pound out double-digit hits against opponents. Against the Boll Weevils, the Govs had 17 hits. • The hottest hitter for the Govs on the day was Dennis Perez. He went 4-for-4 in the game with a walk. Ryan Reece was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Michael Precise hit his team leading 10th home run, while Andrew Starr hit the longest home run during his two years at Wallace. Starr’s blast over the right field fence was a “no-doubter.� • During the seventh inning, the Govs employed the use of what one player referred to as “the rally chant.� It is nearly impossible to describe in words the noises the players were making. But, whatever it was, it worked. The Govs scored 10 runs in the inning. • Game notes co-writer Brett Birdsong played a key role in the outcome of today’s game. Birdsong got the save for the Govs. He came on at a crucial point in the sixth inning with a runner at third base. He got the final out and then came out to finish the game in the seventh. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for the Wallace Govs baseball team. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com . | |
| © Wallace Community College |
