Wallace Serves Up Another Gem to Save Chatsworth

His delivery is as wiggly as a wet noodle. But it’s filled with about as much tension as one.

For the second time in as many days, Chatsworth High reliever Derek Wallace found himself smack in the middle of a seventh-inning soup consisting of a bases-loaded jam, no outs and a game on the line.

And, just as he did Wednesday against Winter Park, Fla., the slender right-hander pitched out of it, lifting Chatsworth into the championship game of the Colonial Baseball Classic with a 4-3 win over Saugus on Thursday at Colonial High.

Wallace struck out Joe Palomino and George Lopata--both on called third strikes--and retired Tom Dodson on a check-swing groundout to strand the tying and potential winning runs in what was probably the most dramatic finish in the 4-day-old tournament.

Chatsworth (9-1) plays Kaiser, Hawaii, a 12-3 winner Thursday over Boone, Fla., in Saturday’s championship game.

Leading, 4-2, entering the seventh, Wallace (3-0), who relieved Reed McMackin in the fourth, walked Tom Burges and Mike Osment to open the inning. He then surrendered a run-scoring single to Jason Tull. But when Darrell Davis singled to load the bases, Wallace bore down.

“I wasn’t missing by much,” Wallace said. “So I decided, ‘Hey, I loaded ‘em up and they’re not getting any more on.’ ”

Chatsworth Coach Bob Lofrano went to the mound when Wallace went to a 2-and-0 count on Osment. But after giving the ball a good rub, he handed it back.

“He has shown me in the past--heck, he showed me 24 hours ago--what great athletes are made of,” Lofrano said. “A lot of guys throw the ball well, but he shows what he’s like inside. Who else would I rather have in that situation?”

Saugus Coach Doug Worley will be talking about how Wallace rubbed out his team for a long time.

“I can’t believe the ending,” said Worley, whose team had its nine-game winning streak snapped. “Bases loaded, no outs and we don’t score. I may never have an answer for this one.”

This afternoon, Saugus will play the winner of a morning game between Columbus, Ga., and Lake Brantley, Fla.

Wallace’s heroics overshadowed a gutsy performance by Saugus right-hander Jeff Bodeau, who baffled the Chancellors with a variety of off-speed pitches. Bodeau pitched out of a jam in the fourth and struck out Joel Wolfe with runners on first and second to end a threat in the fifth.

Bodeau (4-2) finished with a four-hitter and six strikeouts, but three hits provided all the damage the Chancellors needed--Rex McMackin and John Haselbusch tagged Bodeau for back-to-back first-inning home runs, two rockets the likes of which Florida has not seen since the last moon shot.

Shortstop David Waco belted the game-winner in the sixth when he tucked a line drive just inside the left-field foul pole for a two-run home run.

Bodeau labeled the home run pitches mistakes.

“The first pitch, I goofed up on,” he said. “It was a fastball and I just said ‘Oh, no, I hope he takes it.’ ”

But McMackin, Haselbusch and Waco took him deep instead.

Saugus (9-3) scored a run in the third off Reed McMackin when Lopata singled to score Palomino from second.

With two out in the fourth, Burges reached second on a throwing error by Wolfe, the third baseman, and scored on a single by Osment. Wolfe, a high school All-American, made two errors.