home sweet home

Jones County Junior College lost its debut in its new home last week, but that doesn’t appear to have been an omen. The Bobcats have won four straight since at the $2.8 million Community Bank Park in Ellisville. And there seemed to be some home-field magic at work on Tuesday, when JCJC beat Faulkner (Ala.) State with a run in the bottom of the ninth (extra innings) in Game 1 and with a run in the bottom of the seventh in Game 2. Jones went 38-12 last season and won the MACJC South Division while playing essentially nothing but road games. With a brand new house to protect, expect the Bobcats to be a factor in the MACJC again this spring.
P.S. Hinds CC and Pearl River CC opened the season with doubleheader sweeps on Tuesday. Nationally ranked Hinds got solid pitching from Division I transfers Chase Wroten (Southern Miss) and Cullen Babin (Nicholls State) in beating Baton Rouge. Josh Hoffpauir, a former Southern Miss and Jackson Senators standout, got a nice launch to his coaching career at Pearl River as the Wildcats took two from Bishop (Ala.) State.