Wallace Gov pitcher Mason Koczwara almost threw a no-hitter Friday afternoon against Marion Military. Almost.

There were two outs in the seventh inning when Koczwara finally gave up an infield single. A second hit quickly followed before Koczwara quickly regained his composure and shut down the Tigers. Led by his dominating pitching performance, the Govs won the second game of their doubleheader 2-0.

Earlier in the day, the Govs got some timely hits to win game one 8-2.

"I just did my thing, Koczwara said afterwards. "I did what I had been doing all year. It worked out for me this time,"

And just what is Koczwara's "thing"?

"Just throwing strikes and letting my stuff work for me. I kind of lost focus that last inning. But basically what I did was just throw strikes and pound the zone and let them make contact, letting my stuff work for me. I just wanted to be the guy I was brought here to be."

But with any no-hitter or near no-hitter, it requires s good defense. And the Govs put their best foot forward in this game making one spectacular play after another.

"Caleb Scott made some great plays," Koczwara said. "He almost saved the no-hitter, but I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried about winning games. He also made a great play earlier. Also, Mahki Buckley made some great plays in center. He had some diving grabs. I really love seeing these guys out there making it a lot easier for me and helping me get easy outs early n the count."

"In that second game, Mason Koczwara did what Mason Koczwara does," head coach Ryan Ihle said. "He goes out there and gives us a quality start. Caleb Scott played some good defense over at third. Buckley was going out there tracking balls down. We've still got some minor miscues we've got to clean up. But when you've got a guy going out there that's pounding the zone and keeping hitters on their toes, it keeps your defense on their toes. They stay engaged in the game and it allows them to play good defense. I know we've got some guys that are versatile out there, but all the credit goes to Mason."

Credit also goes to JT Thigpen. His two-RBI double in the fourth inning provided the only runs in the game and the only runs Koczwara needed.

A pair of four-run innings was all the Govs needed to defeat Marion in game one. The first big inning came in the second with the Govs trailing 1-0. Those four runs gave the Govs a lead they would never relinquish. Evan Taylor's double to right field knocked in two runs, Buckley's groundout to third plated a run, while the fourth run scored on a wild pitch.

The second big inning put the game away. The Govs were only ahead 4-2 when JT Thigpen uncorked a bases loaded, bases clearing double that plated three runs. Thigpen later scored on a wild pitch.

The Govs won three of their four games against Marion.

"After not finishing the game yesterday I thought it was a good response," Ihle said. "Pitching performed well. It was good to see guys like John LoCurto get in there and put up a scoreless inning (in relief of Grant Hodges who tossed six innings. Timely hitting was the key."

Wallace is now 16-8 in conference play and in third place. The Govs will next host Wallace-Selma Thursday at noon.