Wallace College - Baseball Press Releases

Beat Down! Wallace sweeps Faulkner in dramatic fashion	2008-04-26
For the Faulkner Sun Chiefs, it had to seem like a scene from the movie Ground Hog Day. That’s the one where the same thing happens over and over again.
Friday afternoon in their conference game against the Sun Chiefs, the Wallace Govs trailed going into the final inning. The Govs tied the game in the ninth and eventually won it in the 11th on a walk-off home run by Ryan Reece. Saturday, the Govs trailed by two runs headed into the seventh and final inning of game two of the conference double header. The Govs rallied to tie the game, and with two outs, Reece was once again at the plate. Surely it couldn’t happen again. But it did. With the winning run at third base, Reece did more than just get the run in. Once again he connected for a walk-off home run. This time it was a two-run blast to the deepest part of park in straight-away center field. That gave the Govs another dramatic 7-5 come-from-behind win. It also meant the Govs swept the Sun Chiefs, in their conference series. Lacking any drama at all, the Govs beat the Sun Chiefs 10-2 in the first game. In his 11 years at Wallace, Coach Mackey Sasser says a player has never hit walk-off home runs on consecutive days. Saturday’s home run was the 14 this year for Reece. He only hit eight all of last year. “I wasn’t thinking about yesterday when I stepped to the plate,” Reece said. “I was just looking for a pitch I could drive and score Chambo (Brett Chamberlain).” And there is even more irony. Reece hit a fastball for Friday’s victory. He hit a fastball Saturday. He also hit it off the same pitcher—Jeff Lyons. The Govs had gone into the seventh inning trailing 5-3. Harman Watkins led off with a double to left field and later scored on a single by Esterlin Perozo. Two batters later, Chamberlain knocked in the tying run with his RBI triple to center field. It was his third hit of the game. All of that preceded the heroics by Reece. Chamberlain did a little bit of it all in this game. He had three hits and two RBIs. He started the game playing first base, before moving to mound in the final two innings and getting the win. He also started game one as the catcher, and went 3-for-4 in that game with an RBI. The series sweep means the Govs have clinched at least second place in the Southern Division. The conference record is now 22-5 (32-13 overall). “It was dramatic,” Sasser said. “But if our pitchers can just keep the game close, we always have a chance to win. That’s because we have so many players who can do a lot of different things.” Just about lost in the drama of game two was an outstanding pitching performance by Joseph Braswell in game one. Braswell pitched a nine-inning complete game to earn the victory. He gave up only four hits, struck out six, and walked only one batter. “As the weather warms up, my arm starts to feel better,” Braswell said. “I can go longer in the game and my velocity picks up as well.” The Govs were so hot early on that Faulkner starting pitcher Jarrin Brister didn’t even make it out of the first inning. Things began to unravel for the Sun Chiefs when the Govs second batter, T.J. Rivera, hit a triple to center field. That was followed by two walks to load the bases. Chamberlain knocked in the first run with his single to right field. Two batters later, Jonathan Eaves brought in two more with his single to left field. That sent Brister packing. But relief pitching didn’t fare any better. Blake Summers walked the first batter he faced, and then gave up a two-run single to Hunter Pybus. All the runs were credited to Brister, and the Govs had a five run lead. After Braswell gave up a solo home run in the top of the third, Wallace got that run back and two more in the bottom half. Eaves hit an RBI double, Rafael Carlot followed with an RBI ground out, and Hunter Pybus got his second hit of the game—this time an RBI single. Braswell gave up another solo home run in the seventh, but the Govs ended any hopes of a comeback when they scored two more in the bottom of the eight. The Govs will play Wednesday at Darton College before closing out the conference schedule on the road next weekend at Alabama-Southern in Monroeville. GAME NOTES Hunter Pybus got a rare start in game one. Pybus made the most of his playing time getting two hits and three RBIs. T.J. Rivera also had a good day. He got three hits in game one, including a triple and had an RBI. Esterlin Perozo went three-for-four in game two with an RBI. Jonathan Eaves went two-for-three in the first game with a double and three RBIs. He also had a single and an RBI in game two. Brett Chamberlain had a full day for the Govs. He played three different positions in the two games--catcher, first base, and pitcher. He got the win in game two. He also had a total of six hits and three RBIs. Joseph Braswell had his best outing of the season. In his four-hit victory, he managed to pick up the Govs first nine-inning complete game conference win this year. Wallace Govs have clinched second place in the state tournament which will be held at Wallace-Hanceville this year. The tournament gets underway on Saturday, May 10. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for Wallace College Baseball. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com .