Pirates sweep weekend series against Pearl River

Robert Klawitter-The Corsair

The PJC Pirates baseball team heated up this past weekend, despite Pensacola seeing snow for the first time in years.   The Pirates swept a four game series, which included doubleheaders on Feb. 6 and 7, from Pearl River Community College.

PJC won the first game 6-3, behind “very competitive,” pitching from sophomore Paul Davis, Head Coach Bill Hamilton said.  Davis pitched seven strong innings, totaling 11 strikeouts, while giving up a single run in the second, fifth, and sixth innings.

“I was happy with my performance, but wish I could have finished stronger,” Davis said.

Davis’ teammates made it easier on him, scoring three early runs in the first inning.  Sophomore Tyson Workman scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on a walk then stealing second.  Freshman Shawn McDorman and sophomore Steven Groves both reached base with singles, and were driven in by freshman Josh Doyle’s two-out double.

In the third inning McDorman and sophomore Saxon Butler hit back-to-back solo homeruns to power the Pirates to a 5-1 lead. 

Pearl River answered back with a run in both the fifth and sixth, but was shut down by Davis in the seventh, the final inning in the scheduled seven-inning doubleheaders over the weekend.

The Pirates took the second game 14-4, but despite winning in the sixth by the 10 run rule, the game provided some early challenges for the Pirates.  Starting pitcher, freshman JJ McClaughlin was pulled in the first inning after giving up five consecutive hits which included a two-run homer before recording a single out. 

Sophomore pitcher Wes Winters took over in the first inning, inheriting the bases loaded with Pearl River Wildcats.  Winters got a strikeout from the first hitter he faced, and limited the damage by only allowing one more run to score on a sacrifice fly.

PJC chipped away by scoring two runs off shaky pitching, reaching base on walks four times in the bottom of the first.

Pearl River added a solo homerun off Winters in the second, but it wasn’t enough as freshman Blake Brown blasted a two-run and a three-run homer to power PJC past Pearl River. 

“I just ran into two of them out there,” Brown said.  “The wind helped me out too.”

Winters, “a one to two inning thrower,” Assistant Head Coach Keith Little said, would finish the game pitching four consecutive scoreless innings, totaling five strikeouts on just over 60 pitches. 

“We didn’t expect him to go the distance,” Little Said.  “His performance was big for the bullpen.”

PJC won the second doubleheader 5-2 and 4-0, finishing the weekend series sweep behind freshman Josh Tankski’s complete game shutout in the final game of the series on Sunday.

Pirates manage home opener win

Robert Klawitter-The Corsair

Freshmen were key in PJC Pirates baseball team pulling out narrow 5-4 victory over Southern Alabama Community College, at home opener Feb.  2.  It was a “good gut check,” for the team, Coach Bill Hamilton said. 

Freshman Josh Tanski, from Apopka, played a huge role, hitting in the leadoff spot and as a relief pitcher in his debut at Pirate Field.  Tanski went 2-3 from the plate, with two singles, a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI.  He also pitched two shutout innings to close out the game after the Pirates grabbed their final lead in the seventh inning.  Tanski was a unanimous choice for player of the game by his teammates, and received the lineup card, which is given out after each game by Hamilton, to the player that had the biggest impact on the game. 

Why the lineup card?

“I told these guys to keep a scrapbook, these are times they will always remember and cherish,” Hamilton said.

Starting sophomore pitcher Charles Basford, from Tallahassee, started shaky in the first inning, hitting a batter that eventually scored on an error.  After the Pirates tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, Basford settled down, retiring the next six hitters he faced.  He also made a great defensive play, fielding a weak ground ball between the mound and first base, then sliding to the bag to beat out the runner to first.

PJC gained its first lead of the game in the bottom of the second, when sophomore Steven Groves, from Cantonment, hit a solo home run over the left-center-field wall.  “Groves’ home run was big,” Hamilton said. “It gave us the lead.”

Sophomore pitcher, Ryan Sorce, from Pace, retired the first three batters he faced when he came in for relief in the top of the fourth.  The game plan coming in was “patchwork pitching,” Hamilton said, due to multiple pitchers being used in double-header games the previous weekend.

In the bottom of the fourth, freshman third baseman, Blake Brown, from Semmes, Ala., led off with a single, followed by Groves reaching on a walk.  Groves eventually scored on a two-out double by freshman outfielder, Josh Doyle, from Hartselle, Ala.  Tanski drove in Doyle with a clutch single, the second two-out RBI base hit for the Pirates in the inning.  

Southern tied the game 4-4 off a two-run double in the top of the sixth, but freshman pitcher, J.J. McLaughlin, from Clermont, ended the rally with a strikeout for the third out, leaving two Southern runners on base.

“We thought it would be more of an offensive game, but we battled back today,” assistant head coach Keith Little said

PJC grabbed the late lead in the bottom of the seventh after Tanski led off the inning with a single, and came around to score what turned out to be the game winning run, but only after he shutout Southern from the mound in the eighth and ninth innings.

After all his contributions, Tanski said, “It was an overall team effort today.”

Hamilton looks forward to working on improvements, even after the win. 

“We have to get better defensively, and improve on driving in runners from third,” Coach Hamilton said.  “Our guys looking forward to doing what it takes at practice to get better and this win will give them an extra pep in their step tomorrow.”

 

Humble your Heartbeat

By: Samantha Meyers

As the sun beats hot on their backs, the soft, calm wind gives a breath of cool refreshment to the men playing on the diamond.  They enjoy either playing under the vivid sun or the brilliant, park lights.  They are the guys that bring home their men.  The PJC men’s baseball team is causing whispers around campus; yes a new season of baseball has arrived. 

 

 The rush of the new 2009 season has already passed for the PJC baseball team.  They have 13 games under their belt, with a record of 11-2. 

Head Coach Bill Hamilton says one of his main goals for the season is to get higher than last year.  The team was ranked third in state and first in the national polls.  “We just want to get better every day, and we are stubborn at that sometimes,” said Coach Hamilton.

Hamilton believes this team possesses a high maturity level and knows what it takes to be winners.  There are eight returning players with experience, along with great support and knowledge from the coaching staff. 

With one of the best records in the state, Hamilton still sees much room for improvement.  He states, “We have made a few elementary mistakes that we’ve got to quit. We physically have some very talented players, it’s just a matter of playing the game right.”

Several players are already committed to playing at the university level.  Robert Beary is going to play for South Carolina next year; while Nicholls State, Troy University, and the University of Central Florida have a hold on some PJC players.

The baseball team has many rivals, but their main target is to improve each game and eliminate mistakes.  They are focusing on not making the same mistake twice.  “The conference is full of rivals, but our rival is always the next team.  We handle the schedule in small bites, so we don’t let a team slip up on us,” said Hamilton.

Besides being Head Coach, Hamilton is the Athletic Director at PJC and has been for the past nine years, which is about half the time he has been a part of the staff for PJC.  His favorite thing about being a coach is the relationships he has made with people over the years.  HE is passionate for the sport, “Baseball is one of those games that can humble your heartbeat,” said Hamilton.

This 2009 baseball team deserves some smiling students in the stands to cheer them on.  There are 20 more home games to go; so grab a baseball cap and a hotdog from the concession stand to enjoy an ultimate baseball experience.