May 11, 2007

CONTACT: Luke Brymer, Sports Information Assistant, Wallace State
Community College, luke.brymer@wallacestate.edu, 256/352-8231



Lions' Baseball Headed to ACCC State Tournament



HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The Wallace State-Hanceville baseball team is set to
open at the Alabama Community College Conference Tournament in Dothan on
Saturday. The double elimination tournament will be held May 12-17 at
Northcutt and Pittman Fields.



Wallace State Coach Randy Putman will be looking for his 700th win at
the tournament. He's currently four games away. But the Lions won't be
satisfied with four wins. They'll be looking for the championship and a
berth in the 2007 JUCO World Series.


Coach Randy Putman during a coach game in April.

The Lions finished the regular season last weekend with a 40-10 overall
record and 24-6 in the ACCC.



"We had a great season, and we are happy with how it went overall,"
baseball head coach Randy Putman said. "We accomplished a lot this
season, and the guys really played hard. They want another shot at the
national championship."



Wallace ended the regular season in first place overall in the division
and in a tie for first in the conference with Shelton State and
Northwest Shoals. Shelton and Shoals owned tiebreakers over the Lions
due to their games earlier in the season, so Wallace will enter the
tournament with the number three seed. The tournament will feature the
12 best teams in the state.



Putman feels his team is ready to begin the tournament. "We have really
come together this season and it shows in our regular season
performance. We finished the season with the most regular season wins
(40), highest batting average (.357) and most home runs (60) in my 18
years as the coach here. It has been a tremendous season, and I think
the guys are prepared for the challenges they face in the tournament."



The Lions will be defending their title for the third year, as they
have taken the state championship the past two years. They have been
consistent over the years, winning six of the last 10 championships.


The Wallace State Lions celebrate a victory


"We're excited about playing. They guys are ready to defend their title
and want to make it back to the national tournament. Our goal at the
beginning of the season was to make it to the World Series again. We
have accomplished what needed to be done to make it this far, and now we
have to finish the tournament out so we can make it back to Grand
Junction," Putman said.



"We have to continue to play one game at a time. We're ready and
prepared to go, so now we just have to play our game," Putman added.



The Lions will face Chattahoochee Valley this Saturday, May 12 at 12
p.m. The winner of the ACCC state tournament compete in Grand Junction,
Colo. for the NJCAA World Series starting May 26.



The Lions have made six trips the World Series where they have finished
third three times, including each of the last two years



For more information about the ACCC Baseball Tournament, directions and
tournament brackets, www.acccsports.org. For more information about
Wallace State baseball, visit www.wallacestate.edu or www.acccsports.org.

  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