and they’re off

In what might have been a good omen for the 2022 season, William Carey University rallied for four runs in the ninth inning to beat Lindsey Wilson 6-5 Friday in a frigid opener at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Sophomore Caleb Laird got the walk-off knock, and Chris Williams, a transfer from Chipola Junior College in Florida, went 2-for-5 with a homer for the Crusaders, slated to play Lindsey Wilson again today in a doubleheader. Mississippi College launched its season with a 12-4 loss to North Greenville in the cold at Frierson Field in Clinton. The Choctaws were out-hit 15-4. The teams meet again today for a pair. Delta State’s slated opener was pushed back to today at Hot Springs, Ark., where the Statesmen will take on Harding in a three-day tournament. Millsaps, Blue Mountain and Tougaloo are scheduled to open today. P.S. Props to former Mississippi State star Will Clark, whose No. 22 will be retired by the San Francisco Giants on July 30 at Oracle Park, and to Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco, who has been named the head coach of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team for this summer. … Congrats to Piney Woods; the school’s baseball field will be renovated through the Atlanta Braves Foundation’s Henry Louis Aaron Fund.