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| Govs get back on track with sweep of Central | 2007-04-21 |
| The bats finally came back for the Wallace Govs. In the first game of their double header against Central Alabama Saturday afternoon, double-digit hits returned. The Govs pounded out 10 hits and won 7-3. | |
 The bats finally came back for the Wallace Govs. In the first game of their double header against Central Alabama Saturday afternoon, double-digit hits returned. The Govs pounded out 10 hits and won 7-3.Then in game two, it was dominant pitching that did the trick. Combined with timely hitting and outstanding defense, the Govs completed the sweep of the Trojans with a 2-0 victory. The sweep continued a year-long streak for the Govs. Wallace has yet to drop a conference series. The Govs improved to 20-4 in the Southern Division, 30-15 overall. If there had been such a thing as a player of the day, no doubt for the Govs it would be Cody Shields. After playing second base in the first game and picking up two hits, Shields pitched a complete game shutout in game two. He only gave up five hits, and he saved the best for last, striking out the final two batters he faced. He also picked up another hit at the plate. “I am very tired,� Shields said after the double-header. “But this is something I like to do. I like to play both ways. It’s something I’ve been doing since Little League, so I’m used to it now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.� Shields got all of the offensive support he needed in the fifth inning when the only runs of the game were scored. Michael Precise led off the inning with a single to left field, and he was promptly bunted over to second base. Andrew Starr then hit a line-drive single to left field. The ball was hit so hard that Precise could only advance to third base. Brett Chamberlain knocked in the first run with his sacrifice fly to center field. Starr then scored on a double in the right center field gap by Ryan Reece. “We got good pitching in both games today,� Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “I am still not satisfied with our hitting, but we did come up with the big hits when we needed them. We did the little things right today to get the wins.� In the first game, the Govs used a formula that made them successful earlier in the season. That’s jumping on the opponent early and applying the pressure. Even though winning pitcher Mitchell Davidson gave up a run in the top half of the first, his teammates rallied for four in the bottom half and the Govs never trailed after that. Shields began the Govs hitting when he led off with a single to left field. After he was bunted to second base, Precise knocked him in with a solid single to center field. Ernesto Gonzales followed with a double down the left field line. Andrew Starr plated the second run with his single to left field. Chamberlain brought in the third run with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. Then Ryan Reece knocked in the final run of the inning with his RBI single to left field. The four-run first inning chased Central pitcher Dustin Bowers from the game. Bowers took the loss, pitching one inning, giving up four runs and five hits. The Trojans did manage to get within one run of the Gov lead when they scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. But in the bottom of the inning, Precise got his second hit of the game. This one was a solo home run over the left field fence. For Precise, it was his team-leading 11th homer of the year. The Govs put the game away in the next inning. After relief pitcher Dustin Brenton was pulled from the game due to an injury, Shields greeted new pitcher Dwight Hause with a two-RBI single. That hit plated Chamberlain and Reece who had both reached on singles. Will Scott came on in the seventh inning of the game to earn the save. Scott pitched three innings and didn’t give up a hit. The Govs will be on the road Tuesday when they play LBW in a non-conference game at 4 p.m. GAME NOTES • Cody Shields did just about everything for the Govs Saturday afternoon except work the concession stand. Shields started the first game at second base and went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. He pitched the second game and shut out the Trojans on five hits and struck out two. Offensively, he was 1-for-3. He bat lead-off in both games. • Cody Shields also played great defense, particularly on the mound. At one point in the second inning, Shields fielded a really good bunt down the third base line. He was falling into foul territory as he picked the ball up in one motion and threw out the base runner. It was such an outstanding play that one of the Central-Alabama fan yelled good play. Coach Mackey Sasser said to the Central fans, “If it was that good, then why don’t you clap.� The Central crowd promptly applauded. • Here’s proof that baseball players can be real smart as well. After Michael Precise hit his home run, Mitchell Davidson asked him, “Is that your first home run since your last one?� For the record, by the way, it is Precise’s first home run since he hit his 10th, making this one his 11th of the year. • In one of the more bizarre plays of the year, the base umpire was beaned by a ball in the second game. It happened when Brett Chamberlain hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored a run. The throw to the plate was late, so the catcher attempted to get the runner going to second base on the throw. Instead, he nailed the umpire in the back of the head. • Coach Mackey Sasser unveiled a new coaching strategy in the first game—at least new for him. With runners at first and third base in the first inning of game one, Sasser actually called for a bunt. The bunt was perfectly executed by Brett Chamberlain. What made this so unusual is that Sasser almost never calls for a bunt early in the game with a runner at third base and less than two outs. | |
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