By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
Each day somebody different seems to step up as the hero for the Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawks baseball team.
It was sophomore shortstop Charles Conklin's turn to step to the forefrontSunday, as the Warhawks downed visiting St. Charles (Mo.) College 5-4 and 11-5. Conklin muscled up for five hits, four singles, a three-run homer and four total RBIs.
"It seems like we're always having somebody different step up. This time it was Charles and he had a great day for us," Warhawks coach Jim Morrill said.
JDCC (13-4) had to overcome early one-run deficits in both contests. In the opener after St. Charles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, the Warhawks plated the tying marker in the bottom of the third. Conklin singled, went to second on a passed ball, moved over to third base on Rusty Harris' sacrifice and scored when R.J. Thompson's hit ball was misplayed by the shortstop for an error.
The Warhawks took the lead for good in the fifth inning when a double by Robert Brown and RBI doubles by Harris
and Brian Hannah put JDCC in front 3-1. The Warhawks doubled that lead to 5-1 in the sixth inning when walks to Charlie Sutton and Chris Good set up RBI singles by Brown and Conklin.
That looked like that would be more than enough for starter Nick Porter, who allowed just one run and two hits to go along with five strikeouts. It took three JDCC relievers to shut the door in the top of the seventh inning, as two walks, a hit batter, an outfield error and a
single turned into three runs and cut the Warhawks' lead to just 5-4. Kyle Reed was finally able to extinguish the St. Charles uprising with the lead still intact.
In game two, JDCC was able to wipe out a 1-0 St. Charles lead with a three-run rally in the bottom of the second inning. A single by Conklin, a walk to Micah Leopard and a single by Harris set up a two-run
single by Thompson and a run-scoring error on a ball hit by Hannah.
St. Charles got those two runs back in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3, but
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an RBI single by Harris and a sacrifice fly by Hannah in the bottom half of the fourth inning put JDCC back in front 5-3.
The visitors chased JDCC starter Rieko Moyer with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning that deadlocked the game again at 5-5.
The Warhawks got the runs they would need to win the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning a single by Sutton, a double by Kyle McPherson and a hit batter (Brown) preceded a two-run single by Leopard that put JDCC up 7-5.
The Warhawks added some icing to the cake in the bottom of the sixth when an
RBI single by Brown preceded a three-run homer by Conklin.
Kyle Reed worked two-thirds of an inning of relief to get the win, while
Jimbo Bunch retired the final five St. Charles batters for a save.
The Warhawks will host Hibbings today for a 12 noon doubleheader and then return to Alabama Community College Conference action Thursday with a 1 p.m. home date against Faulkner State.
Game one
St. Charles 010 000 3 – 4 3 2
JDCC 001 021 X – 5 7 2
Game two
St. Charles 010 220 0 – 5 6 1
JDCC 030 224 X – 11 11 3