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| Wallace splits with Alabama Southern; Eagles win conference | 2007-05-05 |
| It was obvious from the beginning the strategy Wallace coach Mackey Sasser chose to employ. Instead of going directly after the conference title, Sasser chose to try and get some of his players ready for the state tournament. | |
 In game one, instead of pitching a usual conference starter, he chose to start seldom used Gilberto Reyes. In addition, three of his regular starters were not in the line-up.Even with all that, the Govs played a competitive game. But in the end, they fell to the Eagles 14-8. Sasser employed a similar strategy in game two. Once again he used three different pitchers. But this time he used Dave Mason to start the game, so the Govs never fell behind. The trio of Gov pitchers ended up shutting out the Eagles as Wallace earned a 3-0 victory. The split means Alabama Southern wins the conference with a record of 25-5. Wallace finishes in second place with a record of 23-7. The Govs will play at 7 p.m. Saturday night in the opening game of the state tournament. “It’s been a long season, but I am very proud of my guys,� Sasser said. “They did everything I asked them to do. I am particularly proud of our sophomores. These guys have been here for two years and they knew what it took to win. They’re going to make coaches at the next level happy they recruited them. These guys are leaders and they really know how to play.� Even with seldom used players, and pitching five pitchers in game one as if it were a non-conference affair, Wallace still jumped out to a 3-0 lead. However Reyes never made it out of the second inning. He only gave up one hit, but he walked six and hit two batters. The Eagles scored eight runs on only a bunt single in the second inning, and that did the trick. Yet late in the seventh inning, the Govs scored five runs to make it a game. Wallace pulled with three runs, 11-8 and had the tying runners on base. But the Eagles were able to get out of the inning without any further damage. What ultimately sealed any possibility of a Wallace comeback happened in the ninth inning. On what should have been a routine throw from the catcher back to the pitcher, the ball was thrown wide of the mark and two runs ended up scoring. One bright spot in game one was Michael Precise. The Geneva native and Troy signee hit his 13th and 14th home runs of the year in the game. In game two, neither team managed to punch a run across until the fourth inning. That’s when the Govs loaded the bases in the bottom half. Harman Watkins then hit a ground out to short stop, and Andrew Starr scored the go-ahead run. A couple of insurance runs came just one inning later. After Cody Shields led off with a single to center field, Dennis Perez hit a two-run homer over the left field fence. That was all of the scoring in the game. Mason was credited with the win, while Brett Birdsong got the save. “It’s been a good season for us,� Sasser said. “But now the second season begins. We’ve got to get all of our guys focused and ready to play. The key to winning the state tournament isn’t always the best team, but the team playing the best baseball at the time. We’re going to pick up a game this week to keep our guys sharp. The key for us is going to be how well we hit the ball. Editor’s Note: The ACCC State Tournament presented by the Dothan Eagle begins next Saturday here in Dothan at Pitman and Northcutt Fields. LBW of Andalusia is the only other Wiregrass team in the 12-team tournament. The complete tournament bracket will be released early next week in the Dothan Eagle. GAME NOTES: • Saturday was a bittersweet day for several Wallace Govs. It marked the last time they will play a game on their home field. Michael Precise, Dave Mason, Andrew Starr, Mitchell Davidson, Ernesto Gonzales, Cody Shields, and Will Scott have all played two years for Coach Mackey Sasser. A couple of other sophomores transferred into the program. Nearly all of the sophomores are expected to continue their baseball careers at four year schools, a testament to the Wallace program and how well the players have performed. • The quote of the day belongs to Corey Crawford. The outfielder from Slocomb got the start in the first game and came through with a double to the gap in right center field. A short time later, Crawford was wiped off the bases thanks to a base running blunder. When asked why these things seem to always happen to him, Crawford replied, “Because I am stupid!� • On this Gov team, just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean your teammates are going to go easy on you. Andrew Hockenbury told Gilberto Reyes he knew why he couldn’t throw strikes. The seldom used Reyes wanted to make sure there were photos taken of him while he was on the mound. Hockenbury told him that’s why he couldn’t find the plate. He said instead of looking at the catcher as he was delivering the pitch, he was looking into the dugout and smiling at the camera to make sure he looked good in the photos. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for Wallace baseball and covers the Govs for the Dothan Eagle. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com . | |
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