A fairly strong defensive effort kept Wallace State-Selma close Friday in the first half of a double-header but Alabama Southern matched their defense.

Wallace scored two runs and fell by a count of 6-2 as they dropped the opener of a weekend four-game set.

The Wallace Patriots were able to get men on base, but were unable to string enough hits together to make a charge.

Akeem Rice went 2-for-3 with a triple and a single but couldn’t get home. He also reached on an error.

Eric Childs singled, walked twice and scored twice.

Eric Wilkinson added a single and a stolen base.

Matt Sievering singled, Garon Slaton walked and Zak Knight was plunked.

After sitting Southern down in order in the first, Wallace got off to a fast start.

Childs walked and Rice followed with a single.

Wilkinson grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that moved Childs to third.

Knight couldn’t come up with the two-out base knock and the teams went to the second inning.

A trio of singles and a plunked batter helped Southern get on the board in the top of the second as they took a 2-0 lead.

Selma didn’t respond until the top of the third when they struck with a two-out rally.

After a pair of strikeouts, Childs singled to right.

Rice followed with a run-scoring triple to left and the Pats had cut the lead in half.

Southern got the run back in the top of the fourth and added another in the fifth.

Childs walked with one out.

After a strikeout, Wilkinson singled and Childs managed to come home to cut the lead to 4-2. Southern added two more in the top of the seventh to provide the final score.