Monthly Archives: February 2013

It didn’t take Millsaps long to get in the swing of things with its bats. The Majors scored 20 runs in their first two games. But they went just 1-1 last Saturday in their own Millsaps Invitational. They allowed 19 runs and committed seven errors. So, there is obvious room for improvement when Millsaps takes on Belhaven today (4 p.m.) at Smith-Wills Stadium in the first game of the Maloney Trophy Series. The NCAA Division III Majors, coached by 24-year veteran Jim Page, went 28-16 in 2012. He says “doing the little things will be critical for this team.” Wes Perkins is capable of doing some big things; he batted .379 with seven home runs and 51 RBIs last year and is 4-for-8 to start this year. Stephen Gates, who hit .400 in 2012, is 6-for-10, and Keith Shumaker (.307 last year) is 4-for-9 with a homer and four RBIs. They’ll face a Belhaven pitching staff that has posted a 3.00 ERA through 10 games, and they’ll face it in a pitcher’s park. The NAIA Blazers are 6-4, averaging a not-too-shabby 5.2 runs per game. Bud Britt, a senior from Brookhaven via Copiah-Lincoln Community College, is batting .424 with a homer and 11 RBIs. Kyle Wheeler’s at .395, Jason Hicks .382 and Reagan Rutledge .333 (with nine steals). P.S. On this date in 1974, the incredible Cool Papa Bell was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Starkville native was the fifth Negro Leagues player to earn that honor. Bell’s speed is the stuff of legend. He also batted a reported .341 over a 25-year pro career, all in black baseball during the days of segregation. He was the center fielder on three of the most-storied Negro League clubs: the St. Louis Stars, Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays. … Former Mississippi State catcher Craig Tatum was released by the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, apparently due to physical issues. Tatum signed a minor league deal with Miami in the off-season.

After missing the NCAAs for three straight years, Delta State got back on the postseason track in 2012 and rode it all the way to the Division II national title game. Along the way, coach Mike Kinnison topped 700 career wins in the green and white. That momentum appears to still be with the Statesmen, who are ranked as high as No. 1 in the various preseason polls. DSU opens its new campaign today against Montevallo at Ferriss Field in Cleveland. The 2004 national champs, who went 49-15 last year, return six starting position players and a couple of big arms, which is always key. Josh Branstetter (7-3, 3.01 ERA) and Colton Mitchell (8-2, 3.50) lead the rotation. Jordan Chovanec (.351, 57 runs) and Michael Vinson (.342, five home runs, 53 RBIs) carry big sticks. Is another D-II World Series trip in the cards for DSU? Don’t bet against the Fighting Okra. P.S. Mississippi College, coming off a tough (21-24) season, also opens today, playing Birmingham-Southern in the Millsaps Invitational. The Choctaws will play BSC again in Clinton on Saturday. … Belhaven, off to a 5-2 start, hosts nationally ranked Missouri Baptist in a three-game set starting today at Smith-Wills Stadium. Bud Britt is hitting a stout .435 with eight RBIs for BU, and newcomer Chris Good is 2-0, 0.00 in two starts.

William Carey University took on a challenge to start its 2013 season, and the Crusaders came through quite nicely. Carey took two of three from NAIA No. 2 LSU-Shreveport over the weekend at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Cullin Babin worked seven strong innings in the series opener and Scott Fabre drove in four runs and notched the save in a 10-3 win. An eight-run third inning propelled Carey to a 9-8 victory in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. LSU-S bounced back with a 12-1 win in the finale, but the Crusaders had to come away encouraged. Mitch Bohon, from West Point, had five hits and three RBIs in the series, and Sean Hodges, from Vancleave, contributed four hits, three RBIs and three runs.

To use the well-worn cliché, Brian Dozier came in with a bang last season and went out with a whimper. The former Itawamba AHS and Southern Miss standout generated much fanfare when he debuted with Minnesota on May 7. But in mid-August, with his average down to .234 and his defense slipping, the Twins sent the shortstop down, where he finished the campaign. Dozier heads into spring training with a battle on his hands for the big-league shortstop job. Dozier is a .298 career hitter in the minors and he’s got more power than his rivals, Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar. Both of them have good defensive skills but questionable bats. Florimon, who replaced Dozier last summer, hit .219. Escobar, acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade with the Chicago White Sox, batted .227 for the Twins in limited at-bats after hitting .207 for the ChiSox. Odds are Dozier will emerge as the regular, but he’ll be watching his back. P.S. Dozier is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at USM’s Dugout Club Banquet in Hattiesburg on Saturday.