The 2012-2013 Warhawk baseball team of Jefferson Davis Community College began its work in preparation for the 2013 baseball season with their official first day Friday— and it begane with a local flavor.
The Warhawks have three local players —two from T.R. Miller and one from W.S. Neal— that will see action on the diamond this year. Hunter Bonds from Flomaton High School will also be a local player for the Warhawks.
Wes Dickey, former standout at T.R. Miller High School, will return to Brewton and Jeff Davis after attending Jones Junior College over the past year. Joining Dickey at JDCC will be brother Caleb Dickey and Reid Johnson from W.S. Neal.
JDCC will be returning 10 players as well as plenty of experience from last year’s squad, which finished 27-26.
The Warhawk coaching staff comprised of head coach Darrell Blevins and assistant coach Adam Reed said they are excited to see what this team can accomplish.
“We will be returning three Southern League second team selections from last year including shortstop Andrew Tindell from Escambia (Florida) High School, third-baseman Dillan Schaniel from Daphne High School and starting right-handed pitcher Michael Yarborough from Pensacola’s Catholic High School,” Blevins said. “Tindell, who lead the team in hitting a year ago, batted .364 for the Warhawks and played in 48 games at shortstop. Schaniel is another big bat that the Warhawks are happy to have back as he compiled a .352 batting average as a freshman and proved himself to be their everyday third baseman. Michael Yarborough is the front-runner to be the ace of the staff this year as he is coming back after tying the school record a year ago with 14 starts on the mound.”
Other returners from last year’s squad include infielders Mark Humphreys from West Florida Technical High School, who is coming off a good year hitting .319, primarily from the top of the batting order as a freshman. Trae Walsingham from Milton High School and Kyle Freeman also from West Florida Technical High School are also back.
“They gained tremendous experience last year as freshmen as they compiled a large number of innings played at second base and first base respectively,” Blevins said. “Both Walsingham and Freeman also had substantial numbers of at-bats for the Warhawks.”
In the outfield, the Warhawks only have one returning player in Brandon Ray from Wetumpka High School. Ray, who served as an outfielder and designated hitter last year, batted .303 with 155 at-bats on the season.
On the mound, the Warhawks return right-handed starting pitcher John Williams from Theodore High School and left-hander Tyler Howell from Tate High School. Williams pitched 49 innings as a freshman and Howell logged 37 innings as a freshman.
“Both will both compete for one of the four starting pitcher spots in the rotation along with a few of the incoming freshman pitchers,” Blevins said.
The incoming class of freshman pitchers includes Angus Anderson (Walton High), Tyler Henry (Pensacola Catholic), Tyler Murphy (West Florida Technical High), Brandon Passalacqua (Navarre High), and Joey Scappechi (Escambia High).
“Anderson is expected to be a dual roll guy for us as he will be competing for a position at first base as well as being an option out of the bullpen,” Blevins said. “Henry is a submarine style pitcher who is coming to Jeff Davis after winning a state championship at Pensacola Catholic. At Pensacola Catholic, Henry was the closer and is expected to compete for the same position as a Warhawk. Passalacqua is a left-handed pitcher that the Warhawk coaching staff thinks has tremendous upside in his future. With a little more experience, Passalacqua could prove to be a big key to the success of the pitching staff this upcoming year. Scappechi is coming to Jeff Davis after a very successful senior season at Escambia High School in Pensacola where he beat some of the best teams in the area and pitched a lot of innings.”
With only one returning outfielder from a year ago the Warhawk coaching staff made sure to bring in some speedy outfielders to come in and make an impact right away.
Daniel Dunnam from Theodore High School and Hunter Myrick from Stanhope Elmore High School both run the 60-yard dash in below 6.6 seconds and have outstanding arm strength suitable for right-field play, Blevins said.
“Logan Hill, transferring in from Northwest Florida State College will bring a consistent and powerful bat to our lineup,” Blevins said. “Hill should factor in as one who hits in the middle of the line-up providing RBI production for the speed at the top of the order. Wes Dickey will return to us and he will also push for playing time among the outfield positions. Wes played middle infielder at T.R. Miller at second base and brings a potential left-handed hitting threat option to the offensive capabilities.”
Other freshman infielders for the Warhawks include Paul Schrier from Atlantic Coast High School and Caleb Dickey.
Caleb is expected to compete with sophomore Dillan Schaniel at third base while Cody Greene, also from Atlantic Coast High School, will compete with sophomore Kyle Freeman and freshman Angus Anderson for playing time at first-base. Competition at shortstop is expected to be extra heavy as Reid Johnson, Michael Fox from Charles Henderson High School, and Hunter Bonds from Flomaton High School will all try to better sophomore Andrew Tindell for this middle infield position. Matthew Holmes from Brantley High School will battle sophomores Mark Humphreys and Trae Walsingham for the second-base position.
“Paul Schrier is a big hitting corner infielder and expects him to be a big power threat that the team really didn’t have a year ago,” Blevins said. “Greene is also a corner infielder who has some pop as he and Schrier are both coming from the same high school in Jacksonville, Florida. Michael Fox is coming in off a big senior year where he really blossomed at shortstop and at the plate and is versatile enough to play some outfield as well as pitch out of the bullpen if needed. Holmes is a left hitting second baseman who has good bat and is expected to compete for a spot in the lineup.”
Behind the plate at the position of catcher for JDCC will be Danny Sellers from Satsuma High School.
“Danny returns for his sophomore year after limited playing time as a freshman,” Blevins said. “He will compete with freshmen Alex Jones from West Florida Technical High School and Brandon Trawick from Saraland High School. Jones is a year removed from high school after a shoulder injury prevented him from playing at Northwest Florida State College. His bat is expected to be a big addition to the lineup. Trawick is a hard-nosed left-handed hitting catcher who possesses good speed and plays the game extremely hard and is expected to bring a lot of energy to the team.”
Sophomore Jacob Hedden from Tate High School and entering freshman Dillon Bush from T.R. Miller High School will conduct managerial duties for the program.