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| Govs pound Jeff State in opening round of State Tourney | 2007-05-13 |
| It turned out to be the perfect scenario for Mackey Sasser and the Wallace Govs. In the opening game of the ACCC State Tournament Saturday night, the Govs got outstanding pitching, they hit the ball, and they scored a lot of runs. | |
 That was a lethal combination for the Jefferson State Pioneers. The nearly two hour rain and lightning delay did little to cool off the Wallace bats, as the Govs easily won the game 14-2. The scheduled nine-inning contest ended early due to the 10-run rule.“We hit the ball well tonight,� Sasser said. “That’s what we needed to do. But we’re going to have our hands full tomorrow.� The win sets up a showdown with Shelton State at 3:30 Sunday afternoon at Northcutt Field. According to most coaches, Shelton has the deepest pitching staff in the conference. But because of the way the Govs played Saturday night, they may have set themselves to go deep into the tournament. Starting pitcher Dave Mason only pitched four innings due to the Govs having such a huge early lead. The Govs went the rest of the way with a pitcher an inning so they could all get some work. Andrew Hockenburry, Brett Birdsong, and David Travis finished the game for the Govs. Seven of the nine starters in the Gov lineup got at least one hit. Only Dennis Perez and Jonathan Eaves didn’t get a hit. However Perez did reach base twice—once on an error and once on a walk. Cody Shields got the got the Govs rolling in the bottom of the first inning when he singled to left field. Dennis Perez then reached on an error. The first run scored on an RBI single to left field by Michael Precise. After Andrew Starr was hit by a pitch, Ryan Reece doubled to the gap in right center field. That plated two more runs. A sacrifice fly to right field by Brett Chamberlain plated the fourth run. Then a successful bunt single by Harman Watkins brought in the fifth run. The Govs didn’t stop there. In the second inning, Wallace added another run. Precise singled to center field and after stealing second base, he scored on a RBI single by Starr. That put the Govs up 6-0. The Govs added two more runs in the third. Chamberlain and Ernesto Gonzales both reached on singles. With runners on first and third, both runners scored without the benefit of a hit. Gonzales took off for second base, and the throw ended up in center field. Chamberlain easily scored from third base. When Gonzales headed for third base, the throw to get him ended up in the dugout so he scored also. Wallace added three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to complete the scoring. The only runs the Pioneers scored came in the top of the seventh when the game was well in hand. Leading the Govs hit parade was Michael Precise who was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and he was hit by a pitch. Ernesto Gonzales was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Harman Watkins was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Chamberlain was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Ryan Reece was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a walk. Andrew Starr was 1-for-1 with an RBI, two walks, and was hit by a pitch. | |
| © Wallace Community College |
