Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawk head baseball coach Darrell Blevins and his Warhawks will take to the diamond for their first game of the 2013 season Tuesday.
JDCC will play at home against Pensacola State College. The game will be a nine-inning game and is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
The schedule shows 31 games with 15 being home and 16 away. Of the 31 games, 17 games will be doubleheaders with 10 home doubleheaders scheduled and seven away.
JDCC’s first five game are at home before hitting the road for their first away game on Thursday, Feb. 14 at Marion Military Institute. The game will be a nine-inning game and will begin at noon.
JDCC will play against six conference teams—Faulkner State, Bishop State, Enterprise, LBW, Alabama Southern, and Wallace Dothan.
JDCC’s roster shows four local players. Hunter Bonds from Flomaton is on the roster for the Warhawks followed by former W.S. Neal Eagle Reid Johnson. Brothers Caleb and Wes Dickey represent T.R. Miller on the 2013 Warhawk team.
The Warhawks return nine sophomore players from last year’s team, which finished with a record of 27 wins and 26 losses. The team will once again be led by sophomore shortstop Andrew Tindell. Tindell led last season’s team in offense compiling a 0.364 batting average over 165 at bats while playing in 48 games on the season. Tindell is the first of this group of sophomores to commit to play baseball next year as he has chosen to attend the University of South Alabama.
Dillan Schaniel returns at third base for the Warhawks. In 2012, Schaniel was third on the team in offense as he posted a 0.352 batting average with 159 at bats on the season while participating in 51 games on the year.
Other returners for JDCC on the infield include second basemen Mark Humphreys and Trae Walsingham and first baseman Kyle Freeman. Each of these individuals saw extensive playing time as freshmen at their respective positions. Humphreys may see considerable time as one of the Warhawk outfielders in 2013 as he proved himself very capable in that position as well as at second base.
Brandon Ray returns as the only outfielder from the 2012 season. Ray, when he was not penciled in as on of the starting outfielders also served as the designated hitter for JDCC in 2012. In 155 at bats last year, Ray achieved a 0.303 batting average while hitting in the middle of the lineup.
On the pitching mound, the Warhawks return starting pitchers Michael Yarborough and John Williams. Yarborough was the ace of the staff in 2012 as a freshman logging 78 innings on the year and securing a 3.69 earned run average. Williams pitched extremely well for the Warhawks in the second half of 2012, according to Blevins, and is expected to provide increased consistency over a year ago. Tyler Howell will also see action on the mound for JDCC. As a freshman, Howell was a mainstay out of the bullpen for the Warhawks. In 2013, Howell will transition to a starter role.
Joining the returners from 2012, the freshmen class brings a world of talent, athleticism, and energy to the stage. Many of these are expected to gain considerable amounts of playing time during the 2013 campaign.
On the pitching mound, Joey Scapecchi, Tyler Murphy, Tyler Henry, Brandon Passalacqua, Mitchell Peterson and Scott Robertson will all contribute to the staff in the roles of starter, reliever, and closer.
Freshmen infielders will include third basemen Reid Johnson, Caleb Dickey and Paul Schrier; short stops Michael Fox and Hunter Bonds; and second baseman Matthew Holmes.
Outfielders for the Warhawks include Wes Dickey, Logan Hill, Hunter Myrick, and Daniel Dunnam. Each of these individuals will see playing time in various capacities in making an effort for the next win.
Catchers for the 2013 Warhawks will be freshmen Alex Jones and Brandon Trawick.
Blevins feels that this team should be a very exciting team to witness.
“With the experience and competitive nature of the group of sophomores along with the talent and sheer skills of many of the freshmen, this team could prove itself favorable, Blevins said.
“These guys had a really good fall preparatory season where they played a lot of baseball, each receiving many individual repetitions and at-bats, and they had a taste of success,” he said. “They finished strong by playing very consistently for a long period of time and gaining some impressive wins over some quality opponents. They witnessed first hand what they are capable of if they approach each day with the right amount of focus and determination to be good at their task. I am extremely pleased with this group of young men. They have represented our institution very well thus far both on the field and also in the classroom and in our community. This is a solid group of individuals who care about each other, who care about how they perform, and consistently show the internal drive to be successful. I am confident that they will be even more fun to watch perform this spring than they were this past fall. Should be very exciting.” Here is the complete schedule for 2013 for the Warhawks:
• Tuesday, Jan. 29, Pensacola State College, 9 Inn., Brewton, 1 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 1, Lawson State C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Tuesday, Feb. 5, Marion Military Institute, 9 Inn., Brewton, noon
• Saturday, Feb. 9, Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Sunday, Feb. 10, Wabash C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Thursday, Feb. 14, Marion Military Institute, 9 Inn., Marion, noon
• Saturday, Feb. 16, S.E. Iowa C.C., 7 Inn., Ellisville (Mississippi), 11 a.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 16, Jones C.C., 7 Inn., Ellisville (Mississippi), 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 19, Pensacola State College, 9 Inn., Pensacola, 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 21, Spring Hill College, DH, Brewton, noon
• Tuesday, Feb. 26, Faulkner State C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Friday, March 3, Bishop State C.C., DH, Mobile, noon
• Tuesday, March 5, Enterprise State C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Saturday, March 9, Lurleen B. Wallace C.C., DH, Andalusia, noon
• Tuesday, March 12, Alabama Southern C.C., DH, Brewton, noon
• Saturday, March 16, Wallace-Dothan C.C., DH, Dothan, noon
• Monday, March 18, Huntingdon College., DH, Montgomery, 4 p.m.
• Thursday, March 21, Faulkner State C.C., 9 Inn., Bay Minnette, 2 p.m.
• Saturday, March 23, Faulkner State C.C., DH 9 and 7 Inn., Bay Minnette, 1 p.m.
• Thursday, March 28, Bishop State C.C., 9 Inn., Brewton, 1 p.m.
• Saturday, March 30, Bishop State C.C., DH 9 and 7 Inn., Brewton, noon
• Thursday, April 4, Enterprise State C.C., 9 Inn., Enterprise, 1 p.m.
• Saturday, April 6, Enterprise State C. C., DH 9 and 7 Inn., Enterprise, noon
• Thursday, April 11, Lurleen B. Wallace C.C., 9 Inn., Brewton, 1 p.m.
• Saturday, April 13, Lurleen B. Wallace C.C , DH 9 and 7 Inn., Brewton, noon
• Tuesday, April 16, Lawson State C. C., 9 Inn., Birmingham, 1 p.m.
• Friday, April 19, Alabama Southern C. C., 9 Inn., Monroeville, 2 p.m.
• Saturday, April 20, Alabama Southern C. C., DH 9 and 7 Inn., Monroeville, noon
• Thursday, April 25, Wallace – Dothan C. C., 9 Inn. Brewton, 2 p.m.
• Saturday, April 2, Wallace – Dothan C. C., DH 9 and 7 Inn., Brewton, noon
• Friday, May 3, Shelton-State C. C., 9 Inn. Montgomery, noon