looking ahead

Mississippi College and Millsaps College are slated to meet today at the Majors’ Twenty Field in a Maloney Trophy Series game. But pardon the two NCAA Division III rivals if they are a tad distracted. Conference play is winding down, and both have big series coming up. Millsaps, 22-8 with 10 wins in its last 11 games, is 12-3 in the Southern Athletic Association. First-place Birmingham-Southern (14-1) comes to Jackson for a three-game set starting Friday. The SAA doesn’t have an automatic D-III Tournament bid, making this series a possible key to the at-large hopes of both schools. MC, meanwhile, is wobbling along at 14-17 and 4-8 in the American Southwest Conference. The Choctaws are sixth in the ASC East and visit fifth-place East Texas Baptist (6-6) this weekend. Only the top four teams in each division get into the league’s postseason tournament. Time grows short for MC to make a move. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves starter Paul Clemens was called up to the big leagues by Houston on Monday. Clemens, who went 6-5 for the 2011 M-Braves before being dealt away in the Michael Bourn trade, is the 70th alum to reach The Show. … Former M-Braves standout Mauro Gomez was claimed by Toronto on waivers from Boston and sent to Triple-A.