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| Wallace wins opening game of showdown against Alabama Southern | 2007-05-07 |
| For weeks now, the talk in junior college circles has been about the upcoming showdown between the Wallace College Governors and the Alabama Southern Eagles. One of the two teams has been in first place in the conference throughout the year. This weekend, with the Eagles in town for the final regular season conference series of the year, the conference championship is on the line. The Eagles are currently in first place, with the Govs right on their heels in second place. And if that wasn’t enough to play for, the Eagles are ranked sixth nationally. | |
 But none of that mattered to the Govs on Friday afternoon. In round one, the Govs pounded out 23 hits and were able to hold on for a 10-7 victory. That means the Southern Division Championship will be decided today in the double-header contest. The Eagles are currently 24-4 in the conference, while Wallace is 22-6. The Govs will need a sweep in order to claim their second consecutive conference title.“We’ll worry about Saturday’s games on Saturday,� Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “But today, I think we sent a message. We just got 23 hits against the number six ranked team in the country.� And it could have been much worse. On three different occasions the Govs had the bases loaded and failed to score. Plus, twice the Govs had to battle from behind to take the lead and eventually get the win. The first time the Govs had to battle back came after a first inning. Kevin Orso hit a two-run homer off Wallace starting pitcher Mitchell Davidson. Orso’s ball hit the trees beyond the fence in right center field. It came as no surprise that Orso hit a home run. Two weeks ago, he was named National Junior College player of the week. The Govs were able to tie the game in the fourth inning on RBI singles by Jon Eaves and Michael Precise. An RBI single by Ernesto Gonzales knocked in Brett Chamberlain in the fifth to give the Govs their first lead of the game. Precise and Chamberlain each got their third hit of the game in the sixth inning. Both later scored on a two-RBI triple by Gonzales. That gave the Govs a 5-2 lead, and Wallace appeared to be on the way to a win. But in the top half of the seventh, Davidson began to tire. After giving up three hits and the team committing an error behind him, Davidson was replaced by Will Scott. But by the time the inning was over, the Eagles had scored four runs and taken a 6-5 lead. But the lead was short lived. In the bottom of the inning, the Govs faced the third (Jarret Dunnam) and fourth (Nick Avala) pitchers for Alabama Southern. Neither one had much success against the hot-hitting Gov line up as Wallace struck for five runs. Andrew Starr hit a two-RBI single, Ryan Reece hit a two-RBI double, and Gonzales hit an RBI single. The Govs now lead 10-6. The Eagles were able to get a late run in the ninth inning. Will Scott was credited with the win for the Govs, while Gonzales pitched the eighth and ninth innings to earn the save. Dunnam took the loss for the Eagles. The win sets up a very interesting situation for the Govs. “I’d like to win the conference championship,� Sasser said. “But at the same time I have to look at the big picture. We’re already in the state tournament, and what I’d like to do is get some of our guys ready to pitch in the tournament. With a 12-team tournament, there’s a possibility that a team could have to play six games. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.� The double-header for the conference championship gets underway today at 1 p.m. on the campus of Wallace College. The state tournament begins next Saturday here in Dothan. GAME NOTES The Govs combined for 23 hits against the number six ranked team in the country. Every batter in the line-up had at least one hit. Here’s how each player performed in the batting order: • Cody Shields was 2-for-6. • Dennis Perez was 2-for-4 with two walks. • Michael Precise was 4-for-5 with an RBI and a walk. • Andrew Starr was 1-for-5 with two RBIs and a walk. • Ryan Reece was 1-for-5 with two RBIs. • Brett Chamberlain was 3-for-5 with two doubles. • Ernesto Gonzales was 3-for-5 with a triple and four RBIs. • Harman Watkins was 2-for-5. • Jon Eaves was 4-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. With the ACCC state tournament just a week away, Wallace coaches, players, and administrators were given a sneak peak at the cover of this year’s official program. The Dothan Eagle is the tournament’s presenting sponsor, and the cover was designed by award-winning graphic artist Angila Brannon. The cover prominently features Wallace pitcher John Travis with other photos also on display. The tournament program will be included in the Friday edition of the Dothan Eagle, as well as available at the tournament. | |
| © Wallace Community College |
