noteworthy

William Carey had quite the day at the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament in Columbus, Ga. The Crusaders won twice Tuesday in do-or-die circumstances to advance to the championship game today against old rival Belhaven. Quin Stokes, who has swung a big bat for Carey all season, hit a grand slam that propelled the Crusaders to a 9-6 win over Shorter and Daniel Hall beat Brewton-Parker 8-2 with a gutsy 148-pitch complete game. … The MACJC first-round playoff matchups are set for this weekend: South Division champ Jones County Junior College will host East Mississippi; North champ Holmes hosts Pearl River; Itawamba is at Gulf Coast; and East Central goes to Northwest. All the best-of-3 series start Friday; the four winners advance to the state tournament, a double-elimination affair. … Former Ole Miss star Matt Tolbert had an assist and two putouts in the ninth inning, including snagging the final out off the bat of Adam Dunn, as Minnesota ace Francisco Liriano threw the big leagues’ first no-hitter on Tuesday night, beating Chicago 1-0. … Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and East Central CC alum, went on the disabled list for the Los Angeles Dodgers with a quad strain. He could be out until mid-June. The power the Dodgers were hoping to get from the free agent signee hasn’t been there. And now he’s been shut down.