crash landings

A feel-good story involving a couple of Mississippi homeboys seemed to be developing on a sunny Sunday at Trustmark Park. Then the Montgomery Biscuits cruelly flipped the script, handing the Mississippi Braves a 13-5 defeat and putting a cap on their 1-5 homestand. Brandon Parker, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College slugger from Saucier, and Landon Harper, the ex-Southern Miss pitcher from Meridian, played starring roles as the M-Braves took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning. Parker hit two home runs, a solo shot in the second inning and then a three-run blast in the sixth that put the M-Braves ahead. Harper, making his first home appearance, came on in relief in the fifth and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out three. But Montgomery, the first-place club in the Southern League South, piled up six runs in the seventh to take command, and the M-Braves went quietly from there. Both Parker and Harper were unlikely heroes. Parker, who doesn’t play regularly, entered the game batting .160 with one homer. Harper, recently called up from A-ball, allowed three runs in three innings in his first Double-A appearance last week. They did their part on Sunday, but little else went right for the M-Braves, who entered this homestand last Monday riding a seven-game win streak. They leave on a four-game slide and with a 23-28 record, 7 games behind the Biscuits. P.S. The college season in Mississippi came to a close on Sunday night with both Southern Miss and Mississippi State losing in their respective NCAA regionals. Both won elimination games earlier Sunday but basically ran out of pitching in the nightcaps, falling to the top seeds, USM to Tennessee, State to Virginia. The Golden Eagles finish 43-20, the Bulldogs 40-23.