aces are wild

Potent pitching performances popped up all over the place in the opening round of the MACJC postseason as the top four seeds survived and advanced. Third-ranked Hinds Community College, the regular season champion, swept Southwest Mississippi to earn the host role for the four-team state tournament that begins Thursday at Moss Field in Raymond. The Eagles’ Randy Bell moved to 10-0 on the year with a complete-game (seven innings) effort in a 14-3 win in Game 1 on Friday. Houston Case (7-1) allowed just one hit in four innings of a 13-3 win in Game 2 on Saturday. East Mississippi completed a sweep of Mississippi Delta behind Andrew Crane’s four-hitter in a 4-0 victory. Austin Towles buoyed Northwest with seven strong innings in the 7-3 clincher in Game 2 against Jones County. And in the only series that went the full three games, Meridian’s Austin Harrison allowed one run in seven innings as the Eagles run-ruled East Central 11-1 in the decisive contest. The bracket for the double-elimination state tournament has yet to be set, though it figures that Hinds will open with 4-seed Meridian and EMCC would play Northwest. P.S. Former Mississippi Gulf Coast CC standout Joey Butler was called up to the big leagues today by Tampa Bay, replacing injured Desmond Jennings, an Itawamba CC alum, on the active roster.