RAYMOND, Miss. - The Hinds Community College Baseball team returned to the diamond for the first time this season and picked up a pair of victories over John Melvin University JV on Tuesday. In the first game, the Eagles walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the 5-4 win, and they cruised to a 12-2 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. The Eagles moved to 2-0 overall after a sweep over John Melvin.  

Head Baseball Coach Dan Rives stated, "It's always nice to get two wins on Opening Day. We certainly didn't play our best and have a lot to clean up, but I did like our effort all day. Brady Boykin was fantastic for us out of the bullpen in game one and gave us a chance to come back and win. We also had some freshmen come through offensively in Ashton Johnson and Cameron Hill." 

GAME ONE 

In the season opener, the Eagles and Millers were off to a pitcher's duel in the first couple of innings. The Millers opened the scoring in the top of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead, but Hinds cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame to bring the score to 4-2. After a scoreless fourth inning for John Melvin, the Eagles tacked on two additional runs to even the contest to 4-4. 

The Eagles and Millers could not get anything going in the fifth and sixth innings. After back-to-back singles and with two outs Lincoln Sheffield walked it off in the bottom of the seventh that scored Clay Benson to secure the 5-4 victory for the Eagles.  

Offensively, the Eagles were led by freshmen Cameron Hill and Ashton Johnson tallying two hits apiece. Six additional players posted a hit in the contest.  

Connor Nation got the start on the mound for Hinds and tossed 2.1 innings and totaled three strikeouts. Brady Boykin came in relief for the Eagles and thew 3.2 innings and gave up only one hit. Matthew Azordegan got the win for the Eagles after 1.0 inning of work. As a team, the Eagles scored five runs, 10 hits, and one error to grab their first victory of the 2023 season 

GAME TWO 

Sophomore Mayson Shealy got the start on the mound for the Eagles and had an impressive outing going five complete innings, struck out six batters, and did not give up a hit in the first start of the 2023 season.  

"Mayson Shealy was outstanding in his first start and we defended really well behind him. Dylan Coleman's grand slam really broke the game open and gave us some cushion, and Dylan had a great second game in hitting for the cycle. We are looking forward to seeing if we can build off some momentum with a good St. Charles team coming in this weekend," said Head Baseball Coach Dan Rives.  

The Eagles' offense was a big part of the story in their second win of the doubleheader. Hinds scored the first two runs of the contest in the top of the first inning to give the Eagles the 2-0 lead. After a scoreless second inning, HCC added two more runs in the third inning to give the Eagles the 4-0 advantage. Shealy continued to dominate on the mound after a three up three down fourth inning.  

The Millers walked in a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead. Dylan Coleman really opened the score after he hit a grand slam to right center as Hinds took the commanding 9-0 advantage. The Eagles' bats could not be stopped tacking on three additional runs in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 12-0. John Melvin scored two runs in the sixth, but the Eagles earned the 12-2 win and a doubleheader sweep.  

Dylan Coleman led the Eagles offense going 4-for-4 at the plate and recorded the gram slam for the Eagles. Coleman, Clay, Benson, and Chisolm collected multiple hits in the contest. As a team, Hinds Baseball plated 12 runs, nine hits, and only had one error in the contest.  

UP NEXT

The Eagles will return to action on Friday, February 10 in a doubleheader against St. Charles Community College at Joe. G Moss Field. The first pitch of the double header is set for 1:00 p.m.