Sometimes a coach just has that gut feeling. That was the case with Wallace coach Ryan Ihle Friday afternoon in his Govs final game against Reid State.
Ihle had watched his own pitcher Mason Kozcwara and Reid State's Garrett West battle for six innings to a scores tie.  Then with two outs in the top of the seventh, Ihle decided to insert Jackson Cliatt as pinch hitter. That hunch paid off.

Cliatt stepped to the plate and slapped a solo home run over the left field fence. That dramatic home run gave the Govs a 1-0 win and a four -game sweep of the Lions, Earlier in the day the Govs beat the Lions 15-1. On Thursday, the Govs beat the Lions 10-0 and 8-0.

"Jackson Cliatt had been scuffling a little bit," Ihle said. "That's part of the reason he wasn't in the starting lineup during this game. It was to give some other guys a chance to get going. It was a gut feeling. I knew if we brought him in, a big strong guy that could get one up in the air he could give us a chance. It was a good situation for him to hopefully just get on base."

"It was pretty cool,"  Cliatt said. "We had been competing the whole game. He left me a fastball right down the middle and I just swung. I was really just trying to get on first and pass the sticks. But then I ran into one and got lucky."

But still the game wasn't over. Playing as the visiting team on their home field, the Govs still had to compete in the bottom of the seven. Despite his heroic performance through the first six innings, Koczwara was replaced in the bottom of the seventh by Clint Lafferty.

Lafferty allowed a lead-off single, and after a couple of ground ball outs, the Lions had a runner at third base. Lafferty uncorked a wild pitch into the dirt that would have gotten by almost any catcher, But it didn't get by Peyton Ryback who made an outstanding play to block the ball, preventing the game-tying run from scoring.

"We have a lot of faith with throwing breaking balls in the dirt with Peyton behind the plate," Ihle said. "That's why we brought him here from Wisconsin to do that, to really work hard behind the plate. That's a game changer right there. With almost any catcher back there, that  ball is getting to the backstop and tying the game up."

As for Friday's first game, the drama ended in the first inning. That's when the Govs opened the game by scoring six runs and the game was over at that point. The Govs added three more runs in the second, one each in the third and fourth innings, and finally four runs in the fifth.

Among the top hitters for the Govs were Kasen Gleaton who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, and Johnny Petrucelli who went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBIs and a home run. For Petrucelli, it was his first collegiate homerun.

"It was exciting," Petrucelli said. "I felt good in the box prior to the homerun. I had two hits prior to it. I'm glad I've been playing a little more regularly. I've had to work my way up the pedestal to show I deserve to play."

Because the score was so lopsided, one defensive play almost got lost in the goings on. But third baseman Caleb Scott made what could be considered a SportsCenter Top 10 moment. A hard hit line drive was hit down the third base line that somehow Scott was able to snare. That was outstanding in itself. But then Scott was able to get to his feet, race to tag third base for one out while simultaneously throwing the ball to first base and getting a second out.

"I'm all the way down the line, and to be honest I thought it was going to get by me," Scott said.  "I took a dive, I get it, and I had to throw on the run because the runner was halfway down the line. I was trying to get two outs for the team. I just try to keep my mind clear and let the game come to me. It was just one of those plays where I was glad to get the team hyped up."

The Govs are now 9-17 on the season. Wallace is scheduled to  host Tallahassee on Tuesday and Central Alabama on Thursday.