HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State’s women’s golf team has won its third tournament of the spring season.
The Lady Lions captured the Calhoun Invitational tournament this week at Point Mallard, remaining perfect through three events.
Sophomore Hannah Sanders earned her first collegiate low medalist crown, carding a 149 (76-73), and Hope Harrell was named to the All-Tournament team with a fifth-place finish (79-83-162). Harrell was the low medalist in the previous two tournaments.
Brileigh Roberts (163), Abigail Baker (168) and Abby Brown (170) rounded out the Wallace State field.
Up next for the women’s golf team is the ACCC Tournament, scheduled for April 3-5 in Albertville. Wallace State is the four-time defending conference champion.
Wallace State softball sitting at 26-0
Wallace State’s softball team is ranked No. 2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I poll and is 26-0 overall and 8-0 in league play after two early conference-series sweeps.
The Lions have a run differential of +217, outscoring their opponents 238-21 and plating 10 or more runs in 10 games.
After conference sweeps this month against Central Alabama and Bevill State to begin Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) action, Wallace State softball has its conference bye this weekend. In Wallace State’s sweep against Bevill State, the Lions threw three consecutive shutouts.
Wallace State sophomore pitcher Josie Thompson is 8-0 with a conference-best 0.30 ERA, striking out 57 batters in 47 innings.
Bailee Hall, the ACCC Pitcher of the Week, is 9-0 with a 0.46 ERA, and Leigha Kirby is 7-0 with a 0.31 ERA, recording 69 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings.
Thompson, Hall and Kirby have the three-best ERAs in the league with each throwing 45 innings or more.
“The pitching staff has been the anchor and cornerstone for our team and directed the ship when the offense has experienced ebbs and flows,” said Wallace State coach A.J. Daugherty. “We’ve got to continue to get better both offensively and on the mound. We’ve got to find multiple ways to score runs and not expect to consistently score in bunches.”
Offensively, sophomore Felicity Frame leads the conference with a .547 average. She’s second in the ACCC with 34 stolen bases and has scored a team-high 36 runs.
Sophomore Maddie Cartron has blasted a league-high 11 home runs. She’s added a .373 average and 24 RBIs.
Freshman Lillyanna Cartee is hitting .477 with eight homers and 23 RBIs, while sophomore Gracie Benton hits at a .390 clip with four bombs and 27 RBIs.
Harper Niblett has also provided a spark at the top of the lineup, hitting .471 with 17 stolen bases, and Sarah Beth Brake has four homers and 16 RBIs.
“Players like Harper Niblett put in quality work last season, and she is now being rewarded. We believe our quality depth has carried us through thus far,” Daugherty said.
Wallace State travels to Georgia Highlands for a doubleheader on Thursday.
The Lions next conference series begins March 24 at Southern Union.
Wallace State softball is a 13-time ACCC Tournament champion and a two-time NJCAA national champion.
Wallace State baseball
Wallace State’s baseball team plays Lawson State this week after splitting a four-game series against Bevill State last weekend to open ACCC play. The Lions travel to Birmingham on Thursday and host Lawson State on Saturday.
Wallace State (14-8, 2-2 ACCC) bookended the Bevill State series with 11-1 and 2-1 victories.
In the 11-1 victory, Wallace State tallied 15 hits.
Ben Arnett was 3-for-4 with pair of runs scored for the Lions, while Colson Lawrence was 2-for-3 with a homer, double, walk, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Catcher Dan Stewart had a pair of hits, including a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Austin Roberts and Jayce Guyette each had a pair of singles and two RBIs and Jorge Carerro had two singles and scored two runs.
Mitchell Heer had a single and three RBIs and Presley Walker singled, had an RBI and scored a run.
Owen Arndt and Ridge Raper combined to scatter one run on four hits, striking out three.
The Lions edged the Bears in the series finale (2-1), behind a solid pitching performance from Cade Henry. The freshman from Florence went six innings, striking out seven and allowing one run on five hits.
Heer tossed a perfect inning for his fifth save.
Heer had a multi-hit game at the plate for the Lions, while Arnett had a double and scored a run.
In a 9-4 loss in the series, Lawrence finished with a homer and two RBIs. Guyette and Walker each added an RBI.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit www.athletics.wallacestate.edu or the athletics Facebook page at www.wallacestate.edu/athleticsfb.
