HANCEVILLE – Conner Daniel’s bloop single lifted Wallace State baseball to its second walk-off victory in three days in the Lions’ 8-7 seven-inning win over Northeast Mississippi in Monday’s doubleheader opener.
Wallace State (8-1) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, extending the club’s early-season winning streak to eight games.
Trailing 7-5, Kevin Bryant led off the seventh with a double and scored on an error off the bat of Maison Goodwin, trimming Wallace State’s deficit to one run with one out. With Daniel at the plate, Billy Reed, who preceded Goodwin with a walk, scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Two pitches later, Daniel fought off a pitch from Northeast Mississippi’s Max Ludka, driving in Goodwin for the winning run.
Daniel finished 3-for-5 with the game-winner and two runs scored for Wallace State.
Dalton Sinquefield was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Lions, Bryant had two hits, including the seventh-inning double, and Jonathan Smith was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Cole Collins singled and scored a run for Wallace State.
Wallace State led 3-0 after the first inning. Northeast Mississippi answered with six runs in the third, grabbing a 6-3 lead. Wallace State cut its deficit to 6-5 in the fourth before Northeast Mississippi added a run in the top of the sixth.
Trevor Sanders got the starting nod for Wallace State on Monday and yielded two runs over three innings. Tyndall Kokocha went 2 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run.
Wallace State sophomore Blake Schilleci picked up the win in relief, striking out two over the final 1 2/3 innings.
Wallace State was two days removed from a walk-off win over Alabama Southern, completing a four-game sweep against the Eagles.
Palmer Ford was the hero for Wallace State in the series finale with a game-winning single in a 5-4 triumph. The Lions won Saturday’s opener, 6-2.
The series began in Monroeville last Thursday with Wallace State sweeping a doubleheader.
Ford finished the series with five hits, including a solo homer and a double, and five RBIs.
Sinquefield, a freshman from Smith’s Station, finished the series with seven hits, including a homer and a double, five RBIs and a stolen base for Wallace State.
Daniel had five hits, four RBIs and scored three runs in the series; Billy Reed had five hits, including a double, and two RBIs; and Heath Haskins and Collins had four hits apiece against the Eagles.
Wallace State’s Kevin Donovan, Neal Collins, Wallace Henry and Tanner Rusk combined to limit the Eagles to five hits in a 6-2 win. Donovan struck out six hitters over 4 2/3 innings. Henry recorded six strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.
Blake Rivera started Saturday’s finale and went five innings. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven. Weston Bonner and Rusk combined to go the final two innings.
The eight-game winning streak has Wallace State coach Randy Putman 19 wins away from 1,000 career victories at Wallace State.
The Lions travel to Motlow State on Tuesday for a doubleheader.
Wallace State softball weekend roundup
Wallace State’s softball team won a pair of games in Marianna, Fla., over the weekend, knocking off Pensacola State College, 6-3, and Lakeland Community College, 10-3. Wallace State (4-5) dropped its final three games to Gulf Coast State College, Georgia Military College and Tallahassee Community College in a tournament hosted by Chipola College.
In the 6-3 victory over Pensacola State, Wallace State scored a pair of runs in the first, third and fifth innings.
Sophomore Taylor Beshears finished 3-for-4 with a solo homer, double, and an RBI for Wallace State, while freshman Charlee West went 3-for-3. Taylor Stalnaker had a single and collected two RBIs in the win, and Brittany Ledbetter and Karra Elam each had a single and an RBI. Tanner Robertson added a single and scored a run for Wallace State.
Savannah Bolton picked up the win in the relief, pitching the final five innings. The sophomore from Danville allowed one run on seven hits, walked two and struck out two.
Beshears, West and Erin Whitlock each cranked homers in the win over Lakeland Community College. Beshears and Whitlock hit solo shots and West blasted a two-run homer for the Lions.
Amber Hammonds finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs scored for Wallace State; Stalnaker finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs and a run scored; Elam was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Ledbetter added a run-scoring single.
Ledbetter was the winning pitcher for Wallace State, striking out five over five innings.
Hammonds, West, Beshears, Ledbetter and Elam each had multiple hits in a 9-4 loss to Gulf State College. Lyndsey Reeves had a pinch-hit, two-run double and Hammonds and Ledbetter each had an RBI.
Elam went 2-for-4 with an RBI against Georgia Military, Ledbetter had two hits, including a double, and West went 2-for-3.
Against Tallahassee Community College, Ledbetter, Elam and Robertson each finished 2-for-2. Ledbetter and Robertson each had an RBI.
Wallace State softball travels to Gulf Shores on Friday for a weekend tournament.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit www.athletics.wallacestate.edu.
