June 8, 2021 - All Mississippi Baseball

piling up points

If DraftKings daily fantasy points had been a thing in 1940, Harry Craft would have piled up a whopping 53 on June 8 of that year. The folks on MLB Network’s Quick Pitch show would have been fawning all over Craft’s performance. The Ellisville native, who played six big league seasons, hit for the cycle on June 8, 1940, starring for Cincinnati against visiting Brooklyn at Crosley Field. In the Reds’ 23-2 win, Craft – the team’s 7-hole hitter – went 5-for-5 with a walk, an HBP, six RBIs and four runs. The only fantasy column he didn’t tally in was stolen bases. Best known as a standout defensive center fielder, Craft hit .253 that season and won a World Series ring though he only had one at-bat in the series. A Mississippi College alum who garnered two nicknames during his career – “Wildfire” and “Popeye” – Craft played only two more years after 1940, joining the Navy in 1942. He later managed the Kansas City A’s and Houston Colt .45s.

name-dropping

These names you know: Tim Elko, Doug Nikhazy and Taylor Broadway – heroes for Ole Miss in their regional title game victory over Southern Miss – and Kamren James, Logan Tanner and Landon Sims – stars for Mississippi State in their regional clincher against Campbell. Here’s a couple of names you need to know looking ahead to this weekend’s super regionals: Niko Kavadas and Garrett Irvin. Kavadas was the South Bend Regional MVP for Notre Dame, which comes to Dudy Noble Field for its first super regional appearance in 19 years. Kavadas, 6 feet 1, 235 pounds, went 6-for-11 with six walks and belted five home runs for Fighting Irish (33-11) in their regional sweep. Kavadas, a lefty hitter, is batting .309 with 21 homers and 62 RBIs on the year. Irvin was the Tucson Regional MVP for Arizona, which will host Ole Miss in the super regional at Hi Corbett Field. Irvin threw a three-hit shutout (no walks, 10 strikeouts) against UC Santa Barbara in the regional, registering his sixth win in his last seven decisions. The left-hander, who also beat NCAA tourney participants Stanford and Oregon down the stretch, has a 3.51 ERA on the season for the 43-15 Wildcats, the No. 5 national seed. … Only two Magnolia State schools are still standing in what has been another banner year for baseball in the state. USM gave Ole Miss all it could handle in the Oxford Regional final and finishes 40-21. Jackson State went undefeated in the SWAC regular season and suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in the tournament title game. Delta State made it to the finals of the GSC Tournament and advanced to the Division II South Region tourney before bowing out. William Carey won the SSAC Tournament title and went to an NAIA regional, ending its season at 36-12. East Central Community College made the final game of the NJCAA Division II Region 23 tourney, handing eventual national champ LSU-Eunice one of just seven losses it suffered all year.