GDW Analysis:
HANCEVILLE: Wallace State baseball concluded the regular season Saturday, splitting their conference doubleheader with Calhoun from James C. Bailey Stadium.
The Lions earned a 5 to 3 victory in the opener with the Warhawks taking the nightcap 10 to 3 to claim a split.
Wallace State was playing for pride in its final time on the home diamond. The Lions had already clinched a berth to the district tournament this week to be played at Choccolocco Park in Oxford.
The Lions earned 18 wins in the conference in 36 games, giving them 6th place.
Calhoun would be 7th in the ACCC at 12 & 24, tied with Chattahoochee Valley. The Warhawks had 20 wins overall against 32 losses.
The 2024 season has been on the most challenging for Lions' coach Randy Putman. Putman has been in charge of Wallace State BB since 1990 and is the winningest coach in the history of the ACCC.
Injuries stormed through his call club from opening day, taking out four sophomores who were very valuable to the team going 36 & 16 in 2023 and winning the ACCC North championship.
Wallace was able to keep its head above water and in the late run of the conference schedule, be more superior in having a 6 game lead on CVCC and Calhoun to keep their season going into the first week of May.
The Lions trailed 1 to 0 to the visitors from Decatur after the top of the first.
The deficit was short lived with the Lions gaining a 4 spot on their side of the Bailey Stadium scoreboard in the 1st.
Logan Green, returning from a recent pulled hamstring, single and scored leadoff batter Casen Heaps.
The big blast was a 3 run homer by 1st baseman JW Hopkins, a sophomore from Madison. That propelled the Lions to a 4 to 1 lead.
Calhoun scored once in the 2nd and in the 3rd to trim the margin to 4 to 3.
Grant Gage was brought in by Putman to relieve starter Cole Molina in the 5th. Gage stood his ground, holding the Warhawks scoreless and hitless in the final 3 frames to earn the save.
Calhoun managed just five hits in the opener with the Lion pitchers combining for 8 strikeouts.
An insurance run for the Lions was added in the 5th on a sacrifice fly by left handed hitter Nash Rippen.
Nine hits were displayed by the Lions in the opener with Green having a pair of singles.
Game 2 started well for the Lions in a 3 run 2nd to break a 0 to 0 tie.
Tucker Burns clobbered a 2 run single and a sac fly from Connor Cosby scored Burns to a 3 to 0 advantage.
Unfortunately, Calhoun took advantage of the Lions in the 3rd, scoring 7 times on 3 hits, 3 walks and a couple of errors and never trailed from that point.
The Warhawks' pitching had the Lion batters off balance as they managed one hit in the final 4 innings. The Lions did get a series of walks, but could never deliver a comeback as they ended the 3 hour, 12 minute game leaving 12 runners on base.
The Lions went 13 & 5 against the conference at Bailey Stadium. No conference opponent came to Wallace and sweep the Lions. Wallace had conference home sweeps of CVCC, Coastal South, Gadsden and Lawson.
Wallace State was 16 & 10 in home games this season in the presence of GDW.
The last 2 years, Putman's Lions had won 36 of 51 decisions with GDW in attendance, a percentage of .703.
Sophomores recognized before game time were Burns, Rynzo Cructher, Jacob Fernandez, Dominic Decker, JT Blackwood, Juan Paublo Morales, Eli Jackson, Mitchell Rhodes, Rippen, Mason Mann. Luke Fernandez, Hopkins, Colton Dempsey and Landon Carroll.
Through the regular season, Payton led the Lions with a .310 average, hitting 6 HRs and 34 runs batted in.
Top sophomore hitter was Jacob Fernandez at .307, driving in 33 runs on 46 hits.
Hopkins' HR Saturday was his 2nd of the season.
Heaps compiled a .1000 fielding percentage with no errors in 71 chances.
Morales played catcher most of the time and was .967 with 248 putouts.
Luke Fernandez topped the Lions on the mound with a 3.77 earned run average, 34 walks, 92 strikeouts in 74 innings.
The Lions will find out Monday who they will be playing with the district tournament as 6 of the participants are from the ACCC and the other 2 coming out of the state of Louisiana.

Photo of JW Hopkins rounding 3rd and getting congratulated by WSCC coach Randy Putman after hitting a 1st inning HR vs. Calhoun Saturday in Game 1 from James C. Bailey Stadium.
Photo courtesy of WSCC Media Relations.