Blevins recaps JDCC season

Published 4:06 pm Sunday, May 20, 2012

After seeing their final regular season game with Shelton State in Montgomery last Friday get rained out and not rescheduled, the JDCC Warhawk baseball team saw their 2012 season come to an end.

With the cancelled game to end the season, the Warhawks ended their season with a 26-26 overall record and a 12-18 record in conference play.

JDCC head coach Darrell Blevins said he was pleased at the improvements that were made by this year’s squad.

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“They played the game the way it should be played all year long,” Blevins said. “Their effort, their focus on each game, their willingness to continue to do what they needed to do to get better, and their intensity on a daily basis was exactly what it should have been. It was a lot of fun being able to watch this squad play.”

Blevins said because of the approach to this season, his team was able to experience certain successes including winning nine more games than last year’s team.

“Of these nine wins, they also experienced five more conference wins,” Blevins said. “This included winning three of the six conference series late in the year. This allowed us to hang in the playoff race until the very last weekend of our conference play. These guys showed a lot of heart staying in the race as long as they did. Many teams would have cashed the season in after getting off to such a slow start at the beginning of conference play. This says much about the character of this team.”

Blevins also noted an encouraging fact about the team was that seven of the 10 Warhawk sophomores were given the opportunity to move forward to the next level at a four-year school to continue their playing careers.

“Three have actually signed early prior to the beginning of our spring season—Jeremy Barnes, Jordan Creel, and Corey Thompson,” Blevins said. “Brandon Blackwelder, Dustin Bickmeyer, and Nathan Edwards are finalizing their plans on where to attend school and play next year. Finally, Joey Hedden is currently considering an opportunity presented from Huntingdon College in Montgomery.”

Over the next week or so, Blevins said that freshman shortstop Andrew Tindell and freshman left-handed pitcher Tyler Howell will be considered for Academic All-American honors.

“These two guys not only had great years between the foul lines for us, but they really took care of their business in the classroom,” Blevins said.

Other honors for the JDCC baseball team that may be coming soon according to Blevins include All-Conference and All-Southern Division possibilities for Tindell, Dillan Schaniel, Corey Thompson, and Michael Yarborough.