HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s baseball team opened Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) play in impressive fashion, sweeping Calhoun in a four-game series over the weekend.
The Lions (19-9, 4-0 ACCC) won a pair of games in Decatur last Thursday and capped the sweep with two more victories at James C. Bailey Stadium over the weekend.
Wallace State opened the series with wins of 5-2 and 8-6 in Decatur.
In the series opener, lefty Blake Schilleci (2-0) fell one out shy of a complete game. He struck out six and allowed two runs on six hits over 8 2/3 innings. Lane Wallace recorded the final out for his third save.
Stephen Dobbs went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple and a stolen base for Wallace State, Darien Prewett went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base, Lance Cleveland added two singles and an RBI and Jonathan Smith contributed a pair of singles.
Turner Vincent finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored for the Lions, Brad Norman had an RBI single, Cole Collins had a single and a run scored and Gerrio Rahming scored a run.
Wallace State prevailed 8-6 in Game 2, battling back from an early 4-1 deficit.
Wallace State’s Prewett and Ryan Goodman each had a single and two RBIs, Vincent had a double and two RBIs and Collins had a single and scored two runs.
Cleveland added two RBIs, a stolen base and a run scored, Smith singled, scored and stole a base and Dobbs singled and scored.
Peyton Hayes was the winning pitcher in relief for the Lions, tossing the final two innings.
Wallace State breezed to a 12-2 victory in seven innings in Saturday’s opener.
Will Eiland (2-2) was the winning pitcher for Wallace State after five strong innings. Jansen Acton tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Collins had three RBIs for the Lions, while Cleveland added a pair.
Wallace State sophomore Garrett Suchey (2-0) delivered his most dominant outing of the season in the series finale, a 2-1 victory. Suchey, an Alabama commit, struck out eight and yielded only a run on three hits.
Collins went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Lions, Rahming had an RBI single and scored, Norman added a double and Cleveland singled.
Wallace State continues ACCC play on Thursday, traveling to Lawson State for a doubleheader.
Wallace State softball sweeps Central Alabama
Wallace State’s softball team also remained perfect in ACCC play, blanking Central Alabama in a pair of games over the weekend.
Wallace State (25-17, 6-0 ACCC) has won six games in a row and 17 of 19 after winning 11-0 and 7-0 over the Lady Trojans.
Freshman righty Brittany Ledbetter earned a pair of victories on the mound, tossing 8 1/3 scoreless innings in the twinbill. She pitched a three-hitter over five innings in the opener, striking out eight in an 11-0 victory. Ledbetter (12-4) went 3 1/3 innings in the second game, yielding two hits, striking out one and walking one.
Four Lady Lions had multiple hits in the opener as Wallace State exploded for an eight-run fourth inning.
Freshman Taylor Beshears finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple and a run scored for Wallace State, Sarah Ellen Battles had two singles, scored two runs and swiped a bag, Shelby Brown had two singles and Amber Hammonds was had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs.
Lyndsay Reeves cranked her first collegiate homer and finished with three RBIs for the Lady Lions, Karra Elam had an RBI single and scored a run, Katie Parr doubled and had two RBIs and a steal and Molli Garcia singled and scored a run.
Wallace State cruised again in the second game of the twinbill, getting at least one hit from eight players. The Lady Lions plated three runs in the first and two more in the second and third innings.
Beshears had a double and two RBIs for the Lady Lions, raising her team-leading average to .404. The freshman from Hewitt-Trussville also leads the ACCC with 51 RBIs.
Battles had an RBI double for Wallace State, Brown had a run-scoring single and scored a run, Parr had a double, Elam doubled and scored, and Garcia, Reeves and Leisha Yamauchi each singled and scored.
Jesse Butler relieved Ledbetter and pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing two hits.
Wallace State pitchers have combined for shutouts in three of the team’s last four games.
The Lady Lions continue conference play at Snead State on Tuesday.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu/.
Photo: Wallace State freshman Brittany Ledbetter pitches against Central Alabama over the weekend.
