By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
Whether or not Darrell Blevins wins any more games as the head baseball coach at Jefferson Davis Community College remains to be seen.
The Warhawks did make one thing certain in Sunday's season opener against the Shorter College (Ga.) Hawks.
The Warhawks made sure of that when they won the first game of a doubleheader 5-1. JDCC made the day even better when it swept the back end of the twinbill 8-5.
The Warhawks rode the combined three-hit pitching of Adam Reed, Jonathan Milling and Bubba Mack in the first game win. In game two, it was JDCC's 10-hit attack that paved the way to victory.
Adam Reed, a freshman righthander from Pensacola (Fla.), threw five stellar innings in the game one victory. Reed allowed just two hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts. His only real mistake came in the top of the second inning when Shorter's Tyler Hammontree touched him for a solo homerun that gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
That lead lasted only until JDCC batted in the bottom of the second when Kenny McDonald singled, went to second on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by Jake Bonds.
The Warhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Bonds started the rally with a single. One batter later J.J. Cutler doubled him home with a hit into the left-centerfield gap.
JDCC got some breathing room in the bottom of the fifth inning when it scored its final three runs, all of which came after two were out. Mack hit a single and Tyler Rollan reached on an infield error. McDonald clubbed an RBI double that made it 3-1. Two more runs scored when a ball hit by Nathan Hughes was misplayed for an error.
In game two, the Warhawks scored at least once in their first five trips to the plate.
An unearned run gave Shorter a 1-0 lead in the top of the first against JDCC starter Michael Maraldo, but the Warhawks got that run back in the bottom half of the inning in similar fashion when Jesse Edwards reached on an error, moved up a base on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by David Hand.
JDCC moved in front 2-1 in the second inning when Jamar Bryant singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Jeremy White.
The Hawks tied the game in the top of the third in relatively easy fashion when Dustin Little walked, went to second on an errant pickoff attempt, went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
A key three-run rally in the bottom of the third inning not only put the Warhawks up 5-2, but it was a lead they would not relinquish. After McDonald singled and stole second and Bonds was hit by a pitch, Milling lined an RBI single to make it 3-2. Bryant followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 4-2. The most exciting play of
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the inning and perhaps the entire day game when JDCC pulled off a successful double steal. David Washington, who had walked, stole second on the back end. Meanwhile on the front end Milling stole home to make it 5-2.
A double by White and an RBI single by McDonald made it 6-2 in the fourth, while a single by Bonds and a two-run homer by Milling took the lead up to 8-2 in the fifth.
That was enough to make a winner of Maraldo, who went the first four innings for the win. Maraldo allowed two hits and a walk to go along with four strikeouts.
Reliever Trim Horne threw two scoreless innings before he ran into trouble in the top of the seventh inning.
A walk, a single and a hit batter produced one Shorter run and prompted Blevins o bring in Ronnie Baker to shut the door. Baker did, but not before an error and an RBI single sent two more runs in to make it 8-5.
JDCC gets an early season stiff test Friday when it hosts Wallace State-Hanceville in a 12 noon doubleheader. Wallace State-Hanceville was ranked third in the nation at the end of last season.
Game one
Shorter 010 000 0 – 1 3 3
JDCC 010 130 X – 5 8 1
Game two
Shorter 101 000 3 – 5 7 2
JDCC 113 120 X – 8 10 3