As Bayshore Christian prepares to take on perennial power G.W. Long this weekend in the second round of the Class 2A baseball playoffs, Jack Malone’s devastating injury during football season seems like a distant memory.

“He’s a competitor,” Bayshore Christian baseball coach Jeff Hauge said. “I’ve told him numerous times that he’s one of my favorite players that I’ve ever coached, and I’ve been doing this 18 or 19 years.”

Malone and the Eagles (14-12) will travel to Skipperville on Friday for a best-of-3 series against No. 2-ranked G.W. Long (18-9). The doubleheader is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday. An “if” game would be at 1 p.m. Saturday.

RELATED: Week 2 baseball pairings

Malone, a catcher by trade, has pitched more this year and played some first base as he recovers from the broken leg he suffered in Bayshore’s first ever junior varsity football game at Mobile Christian last September.

“He had to basically – not necessarily learn how to walk again – but go through all the rehab to get to this point, and he’s just continued to play well,” Hauge said. “He came out on Day 1 of practice ready to go. He was still hobbling a bit, but it seems like a distant memory now.”

Malone had never played football before when he joined Bayshore’s first football team under Hall of Fame coach Phil Lazenby.

“I never played, but I know I’m pretty big and fast and thought I could make an impact,” Malone said last summer.

He did indeed.

In Bayshore’s first football game of any kind, Malone ran for a pair of touchdowns in a win at Mobile Christian. However, as the Eagles were running out the clock in the final minutes of the game, Malone was tackled and his leg went the wrong way.

He was taken off the field by ambulance.

“As soon as I went outside, I tried to cut up and my leg just gave out,” he said.

Surgery followed quickly.

“They cut open the top of my knee and slid a rod in through my kneecap and screwed it into my ankle,” he said.

Lazenby remembers sitting with Malone’s parents at the hospital that night.

“We were just all so thankful that medicine has come as far as it has,” he said. “Back in my day, I would have been out all year. I might not have been able to play maybe until the next year. Jack was actually straight-line jogging in a matter of six or seven weeks. It was unbelievable how he recovered. He did everything the doctors asked him to do. He’s quite an athlete.”

As one would expect, Malone said his recovery wasn’t always easy.

“I lost all my muscle,” he said. “It felt like I was learning how to do things all over again. It was tough. The first few days especially were pretty terrible. I couldn’t sleep very well, but I battled through it.”

Even Hauge admitted he had his doubts about whether one of his top baseball players would be able to be on the field this spring.

“When I first saw the injury, yes,” he said. “Once the surgery happened and the doctor gave him his rehab time and it looked like he was going to be ready by Christmas or close to it, I knew he would be ready on Day 1 and be ready come game time.”

Malone said he started the baseball season at about 90 percent but has continued to get stronger. Hauge adjusted his lineup to help in Malone’s recovery.

“We’ve played him a lot at first base this year to save his arm and save his legs a little,” he said. “We don’t want to have him pitch and then go catch and all that. It’s tough because you have one of the toughest and best catchers in Mobile and Baldwin County, and we don’t get to use him at that spot all the time.”

The changing positions clearly haven’t affected Malone’s production. The junior is hitting .305 entering the weekend with a .424 on-base percentage. He has four doubles, three triples, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

On the mound, he’s 6-2 with a 1.45 ERA in 57.2 innings. He has 43 strikeouts and has saved one game. Malone said he never doubted he would be ready for baseball season.

“I feel great,” he said.

The question now is will he be back on the football field as Bayshore fields its first varsity team this fall.

“I would love to have him back at running back because he is a difference maker, I mean a real difference maker,” Lazenby said.

Malone, smiling, said, “We’ll see.”

CLASS 2A

Second-Round

SOUTH

Pike Liberal Arts (25-5) at Cottonwood (16-13), Fri., Apr. 26, 4 & 6 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, 1 p.m., if needed)

Bayshore Christian (14-12) at G.W. Long (18-9), Fri., Apr. 26, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, 1 p.m., if needed)

Reeltown (21-9) at Washington County (15-18), Fri., Apr. 26, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, 1 p.m., if needed)

Wicksburg (20-4) at Ariton (22-7-1), Today, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Game 3, Fri., Apr. 26, 5 p.m., if needed)

NORTH

Collinsville (25-5) at Mars Hill Bible (20-8), Fri., Apr. 26, 4 & 6:30 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, noon, if needed)

Vincent (26-4) at Fyffe (22-11), Fri., Apr. 26, 4:30 & 6:30 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, 1 p.m., if needed)

Whitesburg Christian (18-6) at Donoho (13-12), Today, Apr. 25, 4 & 6:30 p.m. (Game 3, Fri., Apr. 26, 5 p.m., if needed)

North Sand Mountain (23-9) at Red Bay (17-6), Fri., Apr. 26, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Game 3, Sat., Apr. 27, 1 p.m., if needed)