BUTLER, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It was one of the more miserable weather days that Dawson Wallace has ever spent on a baseball field.
Upper 30s. Wind whipping the spitting, cold rain into his face while on the mound at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park.
While the elements were dreadful, the outcome for Wallace and the Moniteau baseball team certainly was not.
(Pictured above, Dawson Wallace)
The Warriors jumped all over Union/A-C Valley with six runs in the first against Falcon Knights’ ace Bailey Crissman. By the bottom of the fourth, the lead had swelled to 15-0 on the way to a 19-1, five-inning victory on Tuesday night.
“We went into the game looking at the numbers — I mean, numbers don’t mean everything — but we thought it was going to be a tight game,” Wallace said. “I think this was really big for the team, just to show us what we’re capable of against a really good arm on the mound. It shows us we can really do some damage in the league.”
Wallace has done some damage on the mound of late.
He did so again against Union/A-C Valley.
Staked to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a two-run triple to cavernous center field at Pullman by Keagan Book and some defensive miscues, Wallace attacked the strike zone with his plus-fastball and off-speed stuff.
He had a no-hitter through three innings with six strikeouts.
Union/A-C Valley (6-5) got to him for a run in the bottom of the fourth, but by that point it was 15-0 and did little but extend the game another inning.
Wallace went 3⅔ innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out eight. He didn’t walk a batter again.
This season, Wallace has issued just three walks in 30⅔ innings while striking out 40. He picked up his first victory of the season against Union/A-C Valley and has a 3.59 ERA.
But the right-hander has performed on a different plane in his last two starts, striking out 19, walking no one and giving up just one run on four hits in 10⅔ innings.
An up-tick in velocity and his ability to locate has made all the difference for the junior.
“I put on some weight, being in the weight room every day,” Wallace said. “I went and saw a pitching coach three days a week. All that hard work, I think it just all came together.”
Last year, Wallace’s fastball was sitting in the mid-70s. By December, he touched 80 for the first time. Now he is regularly hitting 85.
The extra life to his two- and four-seam fastball has made his curveball and change up that much more effective.
“I’m in and around the zone a lot,” Wallace said. “I can hit my spots pretty well. Once I got my fastball velocity up, all my off-speed stuff became better.”
With Wallace cruising on the mound, Moniteau mashed at the plate.
Leadoff man Connor Ealy was 3 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs; Wallace helped himself at the plate with a 3 for 4 day, including a double; Book added a double to his triple and drove in three; Freshman Dawson Cook also had three hits, including a double, and drove home three.
Moniteau rapped out 19 hits against four Union/A-C Valley pitchers.
It’s been a big turnaround for the Warriors, who started the season in fine, but went into a deep slump in mid-April, dropping five in a row.
Since back-to-back shutout losses against Clarion and Johnsonburg, the Warriors (6-7) have won three consecutive games.
“We’ve just been having fun and playing as a team,” Wallace said. “I mean, obviously, you’re gonna have more fun when you’re playing better, so it really helps. When one guy has success and then it spreads around the whole team, that turned it around. We knew what we could do.”
The day was extra miserable for Union/A-C Valley.
Before the loss to Moniteau, the Falcon Knights took a 7-3 setback against Jamestown at Pullman Park.
Union/A-C Valley trailed 4-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but scored twice to draw to a run behind.
Jamestown countered with three in the top of the sixth to regain a comfortable advantage.
Trey Fleming drove in two runs for the Falcon Knights.
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