HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s baseball team split a doubleheader with Northeast Mississippi Community College at James C. Bailey Stadium on Wednesday, winning the nightcap 4-1. The Lions (14-9) dropped the opener 7-2 in a pair of seven-inning games.
With the first conference series looming next week, a handful of Lions made good impressions on Wednesday, a day after the team split a road doubleheader at Georgia Highlands College.
Jake Nelson, Peyton Hayes and Lane Wallace combined to scatter a run on three hits in the second game. Nelson, a freshman from Hartselle, started and went the opening 2 2/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits.
Hayes, a freshman from Grissom, struck out a pair in 2 1/3 scoreless innings, and Wallace notched his second save with two scoreless innings.
“The pitching staff has been an experimental type thing, and we knew it was going to be. We had some new faces step up in the second game,” said Wallace State coach Randy Putman, whose team was the ACCC/Region 22 runner-up last season. “We’ve got to learn to play with a chip on our shoulder as team. Our guys want to be successful and for the team to be successful, but they’ve got to learn there’s not any first-round draft picks on this team. We can’t afford to put it in neutral every now and then. We’ve got to play with a chip on our shoulder no matter who we play.”
In the second game, Wallace State plated a pair of runs in the first inning and added two more in the fourth.
Sophomore outfielder Turner Vincent finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs for Wallace State, Chris Steele had a pair of singles, Maison Goodwin was 1-for-3 with a single, RBI and run scored and Lance Cleveland, Gerrio Rahming and Brad Norman added a hit apiece.
Northeast Mississippi won the opener, scoring at least one in six different innings. Four Tigers had multiple-hit games.
For Wallace State, Cleveland had three hits, including a double, Turner Vincent had two hits, including a double, Jonathan Smith had a multi-hit game and scored a run and Stephen Dobbs had a single and two RBIs. Cole Collins added a single and scored a run.
Sophomore Garrett Suchey, pitching for the first time in two weeks, went 4 2/3 innings for Wallace State, allowing three earned runs on nine hits. He struck out two.
Wallace State hosts Southeastern (Iowa) CC on Monday at 3 p.m. and travels to Motlow State on Tuesday before Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) action begins March 17 at Calhoun.
“Our sophomores are ready for the conference grind. They understand the importance of it,” Putman said. “Our freshmen also know it’s important and need to understand how crucial it is to get in a groove before conference play begins.”
Wallace State softball sweeps Columbia State
Wallace State’s softball team swept a home doubleheader against Columbia State on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to 11 games. The Lady Lions (17-15) won 6-4 and 8-0 in five innings at Bobby McCracken Stadium.
In the opener, freshman Taylor Beshears finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored, and Katie Parr had a pair of hits, including a double, and an RBI.
Leisha Yamauchi had a RBI double for the Lady Lions, Amber Hammonds singled and scored, Jennifer Gonzalez, Molli Garcia and Shelby Brown added a single apiece and Sarah Ellen Battles walked twice and scored three runs.
Freshman Brittany Ledbetter (6-2) went the distance for Wallace State on the hill. She stuck out 10 Columbia State batters and allowed three earned runs on five hits.
Wallace State led 5-1 after the fourth inning.
Sophomore Julia Dailey provided the clutch hit in the second game, cranking a pinch-hit grand slam as Wallace State broke a scoreless tie with a seven-run fourth inning. Dailey, a sophomore from Huntsville High, has two hits this season – both pinch-hit grand slams.
In the fourth, Wallace State scored its first run on a Columbia State error and Dailey followed with the grand slam. Yamauchi added a two-run single later in the inning.
Hammonds finished 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI and run scored for Wallace State, Brown had a pair of hits, Yamauchi added a double, Karra Elam was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored and Gonzalez and Beshears added a single apiece.
Savannah Bolton (2-1) tossed a two-hit shutout in the five-inning contest, striking out a pair.
Wallace State travels next to Niceville, Florida for a weekend tournament. The Lady Lions open conference play Tuesday at Southern Union.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu/.
