bring ’em on

Hinds Community College’s first-round foe in the NJCAA Division II World Series will be Lincoln Land CC of Illinois. The Loggers are 44-15 and ranked 11th in the nation. Forgive the Eagles if they shrugged at those numbers. After all, Hinds had to get through the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the nation just to get to the 10-team national tournament, which begins Saturday in Enid, Okla. Hinds (35-19) beat top-ranked Jones County JC in the Region 23 title game at Ellisville last Saturday. Sam Temple’s Eagles, who also beat No. 2 LSU-Eunice (twice) in the regional, are in the Juco World Series for the fifth time but for the first time since 1999. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hinds’ first World Series trip (see previous post). Casey Sutton, who beat Jones in the region finale to move to 8-2 for the year, is the Eagles’ likely starter in the opener. Austin Sanders notched his eighth save in the title game, and the Eagles got big hits from Casey Echols (son of former Mississippi State star Tracy Echols), Luke Reynolds and Caleb Upton.