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| Shelton edges Wallace in state tourney | 2007-05-13 |
| The Wallace Govs game against the Shelton State Bucs lived up to all expectations. In this second round match-up of the ACCC State Tournament, there was good pitching, good hitting and four lead changes. | |
| But in the end it was the Bucs who out pitched and out hit the Govs. The Bucs took the lead for good in the fifth inning and never trailed again. Despite a late rally by Wallace, Shelton hung on for a 7-5 victory. The Shelton State victory puts them in the driver’s seat in the state tournament. Having earned the only bye in the event, the Bucs don’t have to play again until Tuesday night. By dropping into the loser’s bracket, Wallace will play at 3 p.m. Monday against Southern Union-Central loser. “It was a great game,� Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “I think we hit the ball harder than they did, but they had more balls to fall. We had our opportunities, but we just couldn’t come through with the big hits.� Wallace seldom gets fewer hits than its opponent. But against Shelton, the Govs managed only eight hits. Shelton got 14 hits. Despite the disparity, the Govs still had the tying run at the plate when the game ended. The Govs scored single runs in the second (Ryan Reece solo home run), third (RBI single by Michael Precise) and fifth (RBI single by Dennis Perez) innings and led 3-2. But in the bottom of the fifth, the Bucs scored two runs. Clay Booth and Corbitt Proctor both scored on a pinch hit single by Michael Birchfield. The Bucs then added single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning to pad their lead. Booth had an RBI single in the sixth off Wallace reliever Mitchell Davidson, who had just come into the game to replace Ernesto Gonzales. In the seventh, Daniel Boyd led off with a double for the Bucs and promptly scored on a single by Freiley Cox. Then in the eighth, Will Scott gave up an RBI single to Corbitt Proctor. The Govs were able to mount a bit of a rally in the ninth inning when Anthony Kopacz reached on an error and Cody Shields singled. But the excitement was tempered when Dennis Perez hit into a double play, although a run scored. After Michael Precise struck out, Andrew Starr singled to right field to plate another run. That’s when Ryan Reece came to the plate representing the tying run, but he struck out to end the game. In other action on Saturday, Wallace-Hanceville defeated Alabama Southern 3-2. Alabama Southern came into the tournament as the top seed and did not win a game. In the other elimination game, Faulkner State sent Jefferson State home by winning 12-1. | |
| © Wallace Community College |
