May 8, 2007

Wallace State Lady Lions Earn ACCC Softball Championship



HANCEVILLE, AL--The Wallace State-Hanceville softball team became the
2007 Alabama Community College Conference champions when they defeated
Central Alabama 5-1 in the finals of the ACCC Tournament in Alabaster on
Tuesday. The Lady Lions have earned their third trip to the NJCAA
Division I national tournament, which will be held in Plant City, Fla.
beginning next Thursday.



Wallace State Lady Lions are presented the ACCC Championship trophy


"It was a total team effort throughout the tournament," said Wallace
State coach Jayne Clem. "We stayed focused on our job."



Wallace State (63-9) advanced undefeated through the four-day double
elimination tournament, defeating Gadsden State 9-0, Central Alabama
7-6, and Bevill State 3-1 in earlier rounds.



"We were pumped after the first game when we defeated Gadsden 9-0, but
we found ourselves down 6-0 against Central late in the second round. We
managed to stay up, and stay focused, because we knew we were the better
team," Clem said. "We just kept chipping away. The players we put in to
pinch hit, got hits. And Holli (Hill) came in to relieve Ashley (Pratt)
and shut them down."



"In the third game, we were down 1-0 against Bevill but we never had any
doubts. Ashley told the girls 'give me a couple of runs and we'll be
okay', and we got our runs in the third inning," she said.



Ashley Pratt earned the win for Wallace State in the
championship game. She was also named to the All-Region first team and
the All-Tournament team.

In Tuesday's final, Pratt was on the mound again, and she pitched the
complete game win. She struck out seven batters, gave up one run on
three hits, and walked two in seven innings.



At bat for the Lady Lions on Tuesday, Courtney Underwood went 3-for-4
and scored one run. Lindsey McDaniel batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Pratt
went 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI. Amanda Rogers hit 2-for-2 with a
run. Rachel Baucom singled and scored twice. Delaina Franklin singled
and scored. Dandi Ammons had a hit.



ACCC Coach of the Year, Wallace State Coach Jayne Clem with ACCC Commissioner Al Cox


Following the tournament, ACCC Commissioner Al Cox presented Clem with
the ACCC Coach of the Year Award.



Courtney Underwood was named All-Tournament MVP and
All-Region second team. She's shown here being recognized by ACCC
Commissioner Al Cox


First baseman Courtney Underwood was named All-Tournament MVP. Third
baseman Lindsey McDaniel, catcher Dandi Ammons, and pitchers Ashley
Pratt and Holli Hill were also named to the All-Tournament Team.



All-Region honors were presented to Pratt (first team), Rachel Baucom
(first team) and Underwood (second team).



The Lady Lions will leave for Plant City on Monday. Their previous trips
came in 2003 and 2005, when they also won the ACCC Championship.



The 2007 ACCC Softball Champions, the Wallace State Lady Lions


This year, Clem believes the team is more prepared than they have ever
been to play at the next level.



"I think we want it more having been before," she said. "We've played a
tough schedule this year, and we beat the No. 1 team in the nation 7-0
earlier in the season."



For more information about Wallace State softball, visit
www.wallacestate.edu or www.acccsports.org. To learn more about
the NJCAA Division I Softball Tournament, visit www.njcaa.org.




ROSTER:

No. Name Class Position
Hometown

1 Jena Franks Fr 2B/OF
Muscle Shoals

2 Delaina Franklin So OF
Pleasant Grove

3 Brooke Allgood Fr P/UT Oak
Grove

4 Amanda Rogers Fr UT
Athens

5 Dandi Ammons Fr C/3B
Chelsea

7 Brittany Walker Fr OF
Madison

8 Holli Hill Fr P
Boaz

9 Jennifer Sexton Fr P/1B
Harvest

10 Sarah Wilson Fr OF
Alabaster

11 Lacy Kerr Fr P/OF
Athens

13 Hannah Strength Fr SS/UT
Bessemer

15 Cady Smith Fr 1B/3B Town
Creek

17 Courtney Underwood So 1B/OF Huntsville

22 Kaitlyn King Fr UT
Moulton

23 Ashley Pratt Fr P/3B
Madison

24 Lindsey McDaniel So 3B/1B
Tuscaloosa

55 Rachel Baucom Fr C/UT
Columbus, Miss.

  Kristen Holmes
  Director, Communications and Marketing
  Wallace State Community College
  P.O. Box 2000
  Hanceville, AL 35077
  256/352-8118
  E-mail: Kristen.Holmes@WallaceState.edu