can’t hold these tigers

So many hot spots for state college baseball this weekend it’s hard to decide where to focus. Starkville, Oxford, Hattiesburg? How ’bout Lorman, where old rivals Jackson State and Alcorn State collide in a SWAC series? The Tigers (26-11, 16-2) already have clinched a share of the East Division title with four series left before next month’s SWAC Tournament in Baton Rouge, La. JSU has one of the Magnolia State’s top hitters in Kendall Logan (.353, 10 homers, 42 RBIs), but it’s the Tigers’ pitching that truly sets them apart. “That’s how we’ve survived the whole year,” said JSU coach Omar Johnson. “Our weekend guys have given us an opportunity to win almost every time out.” The weekend rotation features Desmond Russell (7-2, 2.53, six complete games), Quintavious Drains (8-3, 2.82, six CGs) and Jose Garcia (4-1, 4.68). The Tigers do have three regulars other than Ferriss Trophy candidate Logan batting .300: Charles Epperson, Glenn Walker (who has 23 steals) and Frank Solis. Alcorn is the defending SWAC champ, and the Braves would like nothing better than to recapture some of that swagger this weekend. P.S. NAIA leviathan Lee (Tenn.) University comes to Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium for a Southern States Athletic Conference showdown with Belhaven. They’ll play a twinbill today (4 p.m.) and a solo game Saturday (1 p.m.). Lee is 43-8-1 and 23-4 in the conference. The Flames roll out a lineup that includes SSAC batting leader Blake Barber (.450) and homer and RBI leader Roberto Reyes (13, 72). Top starter Kris Hall is 8-0 with a 1.47 ERA, and Patrick Merkling and Jose Samoyoa are a combined 14-1. Anthony Doss and his fellow Blazers have their work cut out. BU (32-19, 14-12) is currently fifth in SSAC standings. Lee is second. … Mississippi College, still fighting for a spot in the American Southwest Conference postseason, heads to Ozarks for a huge series. The Choctaws (16-20) are currently third in the ASC East at 7-8; the top four make the playoffs. … Millsaps ends its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season with a trip to Birmingham Southern, which leads the league with a 12-0 mark. The Majors (24-12) are second in the East Division at 8-3. The SCAC Tournament, the last for Millsaps and several other departing league members, is next week in Millington, Tenn. … Caleb Baucum hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning in Game 1 on Thursday to propel Hinds Community College to a 7-6 victory over Southwest. The Eagles (29-9, 13-6 MACJC South) won Game 2 8-1 behind a complete game performance from Carey Taylor, now 9-0.