just a frantic friday

So much to keep up with on an action-packed Friday … . Start in San Antonio, where sizzling Southern Miss hit nine home runs and scored 30 times to sweep a doubleheader from Texas-San Antonio. The Golden Eagles are 44-12 with 14 straight wins headed into the Conference USA Tournament, which will be played at MGM Park in Biloxi next week. … Mississippi State and Ole Miss suffered crushing defeats. The Bulldogs, whose pitching issues are beginning to cost them, fell to LSU 11-5 and then had to watch the Tigers celebrate an SEC West championship at Dudy Noble Field. Ole Miss fell to Auburn 9-1, the seventh loss in nine games for the Rebels, whose NCAA Tournament hopes are fading. SEC Network analyst Gabe Gross said it’s “panic button time” for the Rebels. … Jackson State’s tremendous season is very likely over. The Tigers were eliminated by Texas Southern in the SWAC Tournament, going down 11-2. JSU apparently ran out of pitching in its fourth tourney game, though it’s worth noting that the Tigers’ vaunted attack managed just four hits. Even at 38-17-1, it’s highly unlikely JSU will get an at-large NCAA bid. … Delta State opened NCAA Division II South Region play with a 9-7 win over Florida Southern at Ferriss Field in Cleveland. Seth Birdsong had a rare rough start for DSU, but home runs from Zack Shannon, Emil Ellis and Brian Lane fueled the victory. … In the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in Ellisville, it’ll be top-ranked Jones County Junior College against Hinds Community College for the championship and a berth in the Division II World Series. Hinds, 3-0 in the tournament, pounded Pearl River 11-3, while Jones took down No. 2-ranked LSU-Eunice 10-2. Erick Hoard hit a grand slam, Fred Franklin added another homer and Mason Strickland threw a complete game for the Bobcats; all three are USM signees, by the way. Jones, the defending national champion, will have to beat Hinds twice to make a return trip to Enid, Okla. … In MLB, former Petal High star Anthony Alford went 0-for-2 in his big league debut for Toronto. He also lost track of the outs after catching a fly ball early in the game – no harm done – but later redeemed himself with a nice catch against the wall in Baltimore. And Mitch Moreland hit his fourth homer of the year for Boston, going yard against fellow Mississippi State alum Kendall Graveman of Oakland. The A’s would win the game 3-2. … Take a deep breath. There’s more to come today.