Wallace College - Baseball Press Releases

Good Friday--Wallace defeats Southern Union in bottom of the 9th	2008-03-21
The Wallace Govs and the Southern Union Bison played a wild game that had an even wilder end Friday afternoon. In fact, the way the game ended could be called bizarre.
The two teams swapped leads a couple of times, but going into the ninth inning, the Govs trailed 8-7. But thanks to a solo home run by Ryan Reece and a game winning RBI single by Harman Watkins, the Govs were able to come away with 9-8 victory. That sounds simple enough, but there was much more to it than that. After Reece began the bottom of the inning with his 10th home run of the season, Chris Sasser was hit by a pitch. Sasser was wiped off the bases when Jonathan Eaves hit into a fielder’s choice. Rafael Carlot then hit a ground out, but Eaves went to second base and was in scoring position. Harman Watkins was next and he delivered a solid single to center field that would have easily scored the speedy Eaves. But Eaves fell to the ground as he rounded third and had to return to the base. “As I rounded the base, the third baseman slid over into my path and bumped me hard,” Eaves said. “That’s how I ended up on the ground.” The base umpire agreed. He called interference before the Govs coaching staff could even finish its protest. That meant Eaves was awarded home. Watkins was credited with an RBI, and the game was over. “I’ve never been involved in a game that ended that way,” Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “But we just kept battling and battling and finally won it in the end.” In this see-saw battle, the Govs quickly trailed by four runs. Starting pitcher Andrew Hockenbury was knocked out of the game after he gave up a run in the first inning and three more in the second. But Hunter Green came into the game, settled things down and allowed the Govs offense to get going. It didn’t take long, as the Govs scored four runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game. The Govs got back-to-back two-RBI singles from Rafael Carlot and Watkins to knot the game at 4-4. Southern Union went up 7-4 when the Bison scored a single run in the third and two more in the fourth. But the Govs rallied again to tie the game 7-7. Watkins got an RBI single that plated Carlot in the bottom of the fourth. Anthony Kopacz had a two-RBI single in the fifth. The Govs took their first lead in the sixth inning. After Watkins walked and stole a base, he later scored on an RBI ground out by Esterlin Perozo. The Govs now had an 8-7 lead, and that was the end of the day for Bison starting pitcher Jason Walls. But Daniel Vargasvila, the third of four relief pitchers used by the Govs, gave up two runs in the eighth inning, giving the Bison a one run lead that held up until the bottom of the ninth. As for his game winning hit, Watkins said, “I was very aware of the situation when I stepped to the plate. I just tried to be calm and think of it as just another at-bat.” Watkins’ plate appearances were pretty good in this game. He went three-for-five with a walk and four RBIs. Joseph Braswell, who pitched the ninth inning for Wallace, was credited with the win. Chase Whitley, who pitched the final three innings for Southern Union, took the loss. The Govs are now 11-2 in the Southern Division, 16-8 overall. The two teams will complete their conference series with a double header Saturday at noon on the Wallace campus. GAME NOTES The Govs continue their streak of hitting at least one home run in a game. Ryan Reece hit his 10th, which is good for second on the team. Anthony Kopacz reached base in three of his four plate appearances. He was two-for-three with a walk and three RBIs. Brett Chamberlain reached base in four of his five plate appearances. He got only one hit, but walked twice and was hit by a pitch. There was one thing that went unnoticed by practically everyone at the game. Friday was the last day on the job for Kerri Brown. He officially retired after 45 years. Brown was a campus police officer and he will be missed. Good luck Kerri from all us associated with Wallace College. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for Wallace College Baseball. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com.