Wallace State baseball loses wild affair to Columbia State in non-conference game

HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s baseball team lost 20-14 to Columbia (Tenn.) State in a wild affair Tuesday evening at James C. Bailey Stadium, keeping Hall of Fame coach Randy Putman one win shy of 900 career victories with the Lions.
Columbia State, which trailed 14-11 entering the ninth, plated nine runs in the final inning to earn the non-conference victory, which lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes.
Wallace State (9-21) nursed a 8-7 lead after a bizarre 7-run fifth inning. The Lions sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth, scoring seven runs on only one hit. Three Columbia State pitchers combined to issue six walks and plunk two batters in the frame.
The Lions added five more runs in the seventh and maintained a 14-11 lead before Columbia State had the final rally in the ninth.
Wallace State sophomore Zac Hatfield finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs and was also hit three times. Luke Porter, Dalton Carriker, Frank Alcantara, Drake Tucker, Grant Bennett and Nate Smith each had RBIs in the fifth inning. Carriker added his second RBI with a single in the seventh, while Chris Blakey had an RBI bunt single in the eighth.
Wallace State dips back into conference play Thursday, hosting Lawson State at 4 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but has been pushed up because of inclement weather concerns. The Lions continue the three-game set in Birmingham on Saturday.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
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Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu