By BY BRUCE HIXON
sports editor
The start was definitely a lot better than the finish, but overall the Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawks baseball team opened its season with some solid building blocks.
Most of those building blocks came Saturday when JDCC swept a pair from visiting Lawson State by scores of 5-1 in the opener and 3-0 in the nightcap. The Warhawks came up short in their bid for a perfect first weekend, as they dropped an 8-1 decision to the visiting Gulf Coast, Fla., Commodores Sunday.
The Warhawks gave starting pitcher Harrison Szuch all the offensive support he needed in Saturday's opener in the first inning with a four-run uprising.
Andrew Sawyer and Steven Bingert both singled and Kyle Snedeker walked to fill the bases. Ryan Gray walked to force in one run and Jeremy White followed with the game's biggest hit, a two-run double that made it 3-0. Later in the frame back-to-back walks to Daniel Hodge and Jake Bonds forced in another run that made it 4-0.
The Warhawks stretched that lead to 5-0 in the third when Sawyer walked and scored on an RBI double by Gray.
Szuch scattered seven hits and allowed one run in five innings of work to get the win before Michael Maraldo and Hunter Brown each tossed a scoreless frame in relief.
The Warhawks got a dominating performance from Joshua Presley in the nightcap. Presley allowed just one hit and struck out five in six shutout innings. Justin Bailey protected the one-hitter and the shutout with a scoreless and hitless inning of relief.
JDCC got the only runs it needed in the bottom of the third when David Washington singled and scored on an RBI triple by Bingert. Gray picked up his third RBI of the day when he plated Bingert with a sacrifice fly.
The Warhawks made it 3-0 in the sixth. White was hit by a pitch. Pinchrunner George Cook moved up to second on a sacrifice by Hodge and to third when Bonds reached on an error. Cook scored when J.J. Cutler reached on a fielder's choice.
JDCC was unable to solve Gulf Coast pitcher Kyle Mitchell Sunday, as he blanked the Warhawks for seven innings on four hits.
The Commodores touched JDCC starting hurler Tim Horne for a pair of runs in the top of the third inning on RBI singles by Mason Meredeth and Scott Beckwith.
The biggest frame though was the sixth when Gulf Coast plated five runs against three JDCC relievers and made it 7-0. The biggest play came when two Commodores scored when the Warhawks dropped the ball at second base on a potential forceout.
The lone run for JDCC did not come until the bottom of the eighth when Ben Green doubled, went to third on a single by Ryan Kelley and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kenny McDonald.
JDCC's lone action over the next 13 days is Thursday's doubleheader at LaGrange (Ga.). Game time is 2 p.m.
Saturday's game one
Lawson State 000 010 0 - 1 8 2
JDCC 401 000 X - 5 6 3
Game two
Lawson State 000 000 0 - 0 1 2
JDCC 002 001 X - 3 6 3
Sunday's game
Gulf Coast 002 005 001 - 8 16 0
JDCC 000 000 010 - 1 6 2