Wallace College - Baseball Press Releases

Wallace sweeps ABAC in the snow	2009-03-01
For the Wallace Govs to play baseball is not unusual. For the Govs to play baseball in the snow is a history making event. That’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon.
The Govs and the Abraham Baldwin Stallions had a double header scheduled on the Wallace campus. A steady downpour of snowflakes, a temperature of around 40 degrees, and wind blowing around 25 miles per hour which made it seem much colder, didn't stop the ball games. With all of that as a backdrop, the Govs won both games. Wallace won the first game 11-3, and then completed the sweep with a 9-1 win in the nightcap. “Under the circumstances, we played pretty good,” Wallace coach Mackey Sasser said. “Our mental focus wasn't completely there, but it hard to fully focus in conditions like this.” And the players could easily tell you that. After all, Wallace has several players from the North who grew up in the snow. They also have players from Florida and Puerto Rico who have never seen snow. Either way, their reaction was the same. “I couldn't feel the ball,” said Starling Arias who is from Massachusetts and got the victory in the first game. “When I came South, I thought it would be 80 or 90 degrees every day. I didn't even bring any clothes with me for this type of weather.” Arias said back home is Massachusetts, baseball doesn't usually get started until late March so it has gotten warmer. He said he’s pitched in cold weather before, but “It’s not as windy as it was today. I had to really concentrate on hitting my spots.” That concentration was apparently pretty good. Arias pitched six innings to earn the victory. He gave up only four hits, walked two, struck out six, and allowed three earned runs. He got offensive support from Yeriel Nieves who had two doubles and two RBI's, Loenardo Lamarche who went 3-for-4 with two RBI's, and Daniel Fuller who went 3-for-4 with an RBI. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Adam Oliver who earned the victory in the second game. Oliver is from Tallahassee and has never seen snow. “I couldn't use all of my pitches,” Oliver said. “The ball was just too wet and slippery. Basically all I could throw was fast balls and change-ups. If I tried to throw a curve ball or a slider, it ended up in the dirt.” When asked what was the biggest difference for him, Oliver said, “There was no such thing as getting into a groove. It was like starting over with every pitch. Oliver pitched six innings and gave up only two hits, one earned run, struck out 11, and walked two. The Govs did get seven hits, but not a single batter had more than one. Wallace was helped immensely by the Stallion pitchers whose wild pitches accounted for three runs. Wallace is now 9-6 on the year. The Govs will host Grand Rapids at 1 p.m. Monday and will play in Marianna on Tuesday against Chipola. Nathaniel Frazier is Sports Information Director for Wallace College baseball. He can be reached at NFrazier@DothanEagle.com .