By By SCOTT COOPER – Sports Writer
With a March 29 double-header split at home against a strong Wallace-Selma Community College squad, the Jefferson Davis Warhawks continue to show they are a maturing team as well as a force to be respected within the conference.
By taking advantage of a big late-inning offensive surge in the opener, Wallace-Selma turned a tight game into a comfortable victory. However, the Warhawks came back in the nightcap and served notice to the visitors that they would not accept a sweep. Getting a masterful performance from the mound to go along with consistent production at the plate, JDCC turned back Wallace-Selma in the second game to exit the twin bill with a split.
As they head into the meat of their conference schedule, the Warhawks' season record stands at 12-16 while their record within the conference is 4-3.
Wallace-Selma 12
Warhawks 5
In the opening game, the Warhawks systematically built a lead that looked promising until the visitors went wild on the offensive end late in the contest.
By scoring a run in each of the second, third and sixth innings, JDCC remained ahead by a 3-2 margin as Wallace-Selma came to bat in the top of the seventh.
The Warhawks' control of the game, however, ended at that point. With seven base hits, including a home run, in a seventh-inning offensive frenzy, Wallace-Selma moved 10 runs across the plate and skyrocketed to a 12-3 lead.
Jack Schwartz produced a two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 12-5, but that was as close as the Warhawks would get in the opening-game loss.
JDDC leaders at the plate were Jack Schwartz, 2-for-3 with two RBIs; Dustin Holtzclaw, 1-for-2 and Bo Keahey, 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Warhawks 4
Wallace-Selma 1
Wallace-Selma most likely entered the nightcap smelling a sweep, but JDCC starting pitcher Raphael Kyles' mastery of the visitors paved the way for an impressive Warhawks' victory.
While Kyles was tossing a no-hitter through three innings, the JDCC offense was manufacturing a couple of runs that proved to be enough to retain the lead to the end.
In the first inning, the Warhawks grabbed a 1-0 lead on a Jack Schwartz sacrifice fly. Then, Clint Howard tripled in the second inning to begin a rally before coming home on Eli Himes' squeeze bunt that upped the advantage to 2-0.
Not content to sit on the lead, JDCC added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning. Following singles by Josh Hasty and Leon Brasington, Schwartz padded the cushion to 4-0 with a two-RBI single.
Kyles allowed a lone Wallace-Selma run before putting the finishing touches on the win by closing out the visitors in the top of the seventh inning.
In the complete game win, Kyles surrendered only three hits and struck-out five.
Pacing the Warhawks offensively were Josh Hasty, 2-for-2; Leon Brasington, 2-for-3; Jack Schwartz, 1-for-2 with three RBIs and Clint Howard, 1-for-3.