smith-wills revisited

Made it out to old Smith-Wills Stadium on Tuesday night for the first time in a couple of years. The 34-year-old park is showing some signs of age, though nothing that a fresh coat of paint here and there wouldn’t salve. The artificial turf field has held up well. Belhaven battered Mississippi College 12-2 in a Maloney Trophy Series game before a rainy night crowd of about 50. The Blazers have some good hitters, most notably, of course, big Craig Westcott. MC’s Bo Bell also swung the bat well. The best part of the visit was doing some reminiscing with a couple of old Smith-Wills regulars. The memories at that park are so vibrant. The names Lance Berkman, Scott Little, Darryl Strawberry, Randy Milligan, Billy Beane and Bobby Abreu, among others, popped up in conversation. They’ll always be a part of Smith-Wills.
P.S. The Baltimore Orioles demoted former Southern Miss pitcher Bob McCrory and ex-Mississippi Brave Chris Waters to their minor league camp today, and the New York Mets shipped out ex-Jackson General Freddy Garcia. In case you missed it late Monday, Florida optioned Vicksburg’s Taylor Tankersley to Triple-A, and Cincinnati released former General Daryle Ward. Ward’s left-handed power should make him attractive to some team, possibly in the American League, where he could DH. Remember the ball he hit through the wall at Smith-Wills? Another great memory.