Over the past two winters, the National Hockey League has held to outdoor games at baseball parks, notably Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston.
For a few moments on Monday, a spectator could be forgiven if they thought the Mortimer Jordan baseball field was about to play host to another NHL Winter Classic.
Brittle cold weather and snow showers aside, the Blue Devils and Oak Grove opened their 2010 seasons by splitting a President’s Day doubleheader, with the Tigers edging out a 10-9 win in the first game and Jordan taking the second by a 14-7 score.
The shivering temperatures were not enough to cool off Devils’ first baseman Jamey Hammock, who knocked a single, a double and a towering two-run home run in the opener.
“That was the first home run I’ve hit that I had no doubt about it when it left the bat,” Hammock said.
The fifth-inning blast over the 315-foot marker down the left field line nearly hit a pickup truck, where a spectator had settled in to watch the game from outside the fences.
The Tigers did most of their damage in the second inning, in which they hit for a “team cycle” — a single (actually two), a double, a triple by pitcher Justin Bartley and a homer by left fielder Sam Ledbetter.
Jordan had taken an early lead with a three-run first inning, led off by a double by center fielder Justin Grooms, who was 3-for-5 for the game.
Hammock’s two-run homer cut the Tiger lead to 9-7 after five, but Oak Grove scored a single run when Bartley singled, stole second base and came home on a Ledbetter single.
That run proved to be the difference, as Jordan go to a tiring Bartley with three walks and two hits. But with two outs and two men on, the rally came up short when a simple grounder to second was handled cleanly for the final out.
Starting pitcher Austin Nabers was knocked out after allowing seven runs in two innings, and was tagged with the loss.
In the nightcap, the Devils survived a six-run fifth inning by Oak Grove with four runs each in the fifth and sixth, propelling them to a 14-7 victory.
Jordan got only 11 base hits behind those 14 runs, benefitting from three Tiger errors and ten bases on balls.
Skylar Myrick had a double and drew three walks, and scored every time he reached base. Jesse Stanley drove in four runs. Junior catcher Braden Glass was 2-for-3 and had 3 RBIs.
Stanley got the win with a two-inning stint in relief of freshman starter Orion Recke, who was bounced during the Tigers’ six-run rally.
The doubleheader begins a busy two weeks for Jordan. They have three straight doubleheaders starting Thursday at Curry, followed by Cleveland on Friday and Oneonta Saturday at home. They open the Jefferson County Tournament on Monday by hosting arch-rival Gardendale, the first of five games on consecutive days.
Local Sports
Mortimer Jordan 9-14, Oak Grove 10-7: Base-brrr - Devils brave chill to open season
- Local Sports
-
-
Mortimer Jordan Wrestling Invitational: Southside edges Arab for team title
The defending Class 5A state wrestling champions were edged out in the late going of Saturday’s Mortimer Jordan Wrestling Invitational.
-
ArDarius Stewart commits early to Alabama
You won’t see ArDarius Stewart on ESPN this time next year, sitting behind a row of college baseball caps with a rapt audience waiting to see which one he picks.
-
Morgan Estell on All-SEC softball pre-season team
Just as Mortimer Jordan’s softball teams made a big impact on the state in the past four years, one of its best players is making a name for herself at the major-college level.
-
SLIDESHOW: Sports figures react to Joe Paterno's death
Players, coaches and sports journalists took to Twitter on Sunday morning to react to the death of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno.
-
Robert Carter: This wasn’t the way that ‘Joe Pa’ should have gone
Legends aren’t supposed to leave us this way.
- Basketball Roundup: Hayden wins in Blount tourney; Torches victorious in Georgia
-
Yellow Jackets come up short in JeffCo Tournament small-school title game
Corner had its chance. Down by two points to Hueytown in the waning seconds, the Yellow Jackets were driving down court with a chance to tie or win the game.
-
ArDarius Stewart named 2A Back of the Year
In a room filled with high school seniors, ArDarius Stewart was the only junior.
-
Robert Carter: UAB Blazers lose their founding father
In all the ruckus over the Crimson Tide’s latest national championship, something got lost that happened about that same time: the passing of Gene Bartow, the founding father of UAB sports.
-
Fultondale's ArDarius Stewart named Class 2A Back of the Year
He rushed for more than 2,000 yards and passed for more than 1,400, both school records.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-






