campus notes

Impressive start for William Carey University on Thursday night. Displaced from their storm-damaged home field, the Crusaders took on Cumberland at Southern Miss’ Taylor Park and rolled to a 16-6 win. The Crusaders, ranked 23rd in the NAIA preseason poll, scored in each of the six innings they batted. Larson Barkurn went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, and James Land homered. Carey plays again today at Jones County Junior College’s field in Ellisville. … Mississippi College, starting year two under coach Jeremy Haworth, faces a challenging opening day today in Clinton. The Choctaws, 17-30 in 2016, play a doubleheader against Florida Tech, 32-14 last year. MC returns leading hitter Hunter Bolin (.380) and top pitcher Jake Fraze. … Millsaps, coming off a rare losing season (20-21) under Jim Page, goes on the road to start 2017, playing Huntingdon today in Montgomery, Ala. Having lost all-conference slugger Isaac Glenn to graduation, the Majors now look to Lee Ogletree (.310, three homers, 34 RBIs) to carry their offense. … Blue Mountain, which got the 2017 season started with an 8-3 win at Christian Brothers on Wednesday, is back in action today with a doubleheader against William Woods in New Albany. Peyton Callahan swung the big bat in the Toppers’ opener with three hits and two RBIs. … Name of note on Delta State’s roster: Clay Casey. The former DeSoto Central High and Northwest Mississippi Community College star transferred to DSU from Houston and could be a key figure on a rebuilding team. Casey hit five homers for the Cougars in 2016 and 12 for Northwest the year before. DSU opens Saturday at Harding in Searcy, Ark. … Mississippi State (10th), Ole Miss (18th) and Southern Miss (24th) finished in Baseball America’s final Top 25 in 2016, with all three making the NCAA Tournament. None of the Big 3 made BA’s 2017 preseason Top 25 (though Ole Miss does appear in a couple of other polls). There’s some motivation in there somewhere. D-I opening day is Feb. 17.