down the stretch

They’ve got the whips out in the MACJC races. Tuesday’s results, which included four notable sweeps, set up some major showdowns on Saturday, the regular season finish line for most of the schools. Jones County Junior College swept Hinds — despite another big day by Zach Polzin — to bolt into first place in the South at 15-7, a game ahead of HCC (14-8) and East Central (14-8). Jones and ECCC hook up in a Saturday twinbill at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. Hinds, meanwhile, will visit Gulf Coast (11-11). Pearl River (12-12) is still in the chase for the fourth and final division playoff spot after sweeping Southwest on Tuesday. In the North, the big move was made by Holmes, which took two Tuesday from faltering Northeast to move to 14-7, trailing only Itawamba (17-5). Holmes and ICC meet Saturday. Northeast (13-9 with four straight losses) plays Mississippi Delta (11-11) on Saturday, and Northwest (13-9) meets lowly Coahoma. Tiebreakers could be involved in deciding playoff berths and seedings, which is never a good thing. But the best-of-3 playoff series set for next weekend should be a lot of fun.
P.S. On the subject of jucos, how about that Rhyne Hughes? The former Pearl River star is hitting .385 with three RBIs in his first three big league games for Baltimore.