Former Silverdale Baptist Academy middle infielder Jordan Delashmitt, a key cog in the Seahawks’ drive to the 2013 Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association state baseball championship game, has decided to attend Covenant and play for coach Doug Simons’ Scots.
The Scots won the USA South Conference title and made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2014. The Division III program, however, does not offer athletic scholarships. Delashmitt will receive several academic and school grants.
Delashmitt also considered Lee University and Bryan College.
“I performed well at Covenant’s showcase, the coaches were nice and I just felt good about the school,” Delashmitt said.
“It’s DIII baseball, but it’s a great school. I’ve been looking toward playing college baseball since I was young.”
Delashmitt was a team captain and earned all-district honors in his junior and senior seasons with the Seahawks. In 2014, Delashmitt batted .417, scored 42 runs and stole 20 bases.
No statistics were available for his senior year.
As a sophomore, Delashmitt helped the Seahawks make a strong Class A championship run in the TSSAA state tourney.
The Seahawks advanced to the title game at Middle Tennessee State University and faced Friendship Christian, which posted a 4-0 victory. Silverdale was held to seven hits and Delashmitt went 2-for-3 as coach Jonathan Adcock’s squad finished the season with a 29-4 record.
“That was my favorite season,” Delashmitt said. “I started as second base and shortstop and getting to the championship game was a big deal for us. It was really cool and a great privilege.”
Simons will be entering his 10th season at Covenant in the spring. He restarted the Scots’ baseball program in 2005. Simons played major league baseball with the New York Mets in 1991 and Montreal Expos in 1992.
Most of his professional career was spent in the minor leagues and was a three-time all-star in three different leagues: California (1989), Southern (1990) and Texas (1995).
“Coach Simons is a great guy and has a lot of baseball experience,” Delashmitt said. “It’s going to be great playing for him.”
Delashmitt also played basketball and football at Silverdale.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)