juco madness

Division titles — and more — will be determined on Saturday as the MACJC regular season concludes. East Mississippi Community College, ranked seventh in NJCAA Division II, hosts Northeast in a doubleheader showdown for the North crown. The Lions are 17-5, the Tigers 16-6. No. 1-ranked Jones County JC (17-5) will try to wrap up the South championship when it visits last-place Copiah-Lincoln (7-13). Hinds is 16-6, a game back of JCJC, heading into a twinbill against visiting East Central (9-13). Mississippi Gulf Coast, behind James Land’s monster day (8-for-9, two homers, six RBIs), split with Jones on Wednesday to stay in contention for a playoff berth in the South. Gulf Coast is 9-13 with Pearl River (11-11) coming to Perkinston on Saturday. Elsewhere, Holmes (10-12 North) hosts Coahoma (0-22) and Northwest (14-8 North) hosts Itawamba (9-13). Southwest (9-15 South) and Delta (12-12 North) have finished division play. The juco postseason is a long and winding road. The top four teams in each division begin the postseason on May 2-3 with a best-of-3 series (North 1 hosts South 4, etc.). The four series winners advance to the state tournament (May 8-10). The NJCAA Region 23 Tournament is May 15-18. The winner there goes to the D-II World Series.