of note

Jackson State’s Desmond Russell had a game to write home about on Saturday. The Bahamas native, a freshman at JSU, picked up his third win of the year with a seven-inning, eight-strikeout performance against Alabama A&M; and also hit a grand slam, his second home run of the season. Quick now, name two other players from the Bahamas. How about ex-Big Red Machine outfielder Ed Armbrister and 2010 Mississippi Braves outfielder Antoan Richardson. … On the day when coach Mike Kinnison set what is probably an unbreakable record for career victories at Delta State (641), senior outfielder Michael Niemann set the career stolen base record, now 73. Niemann, from Washington state, is having a bounce-back year after a sub-par 2010. He’s hitting .356 with 16 steals and 39 runs in 27 games. Oh yeah, and the Statesmen are 5-0 in the Gulf South Conference heading into today’s series finale at Southern Arkansas. … Belhaven has a pretty potent 1-2 punch in its rotation: Alan McHenry is 6-0 and Brett Blaise 5-1 for the 24-10 club. And then there’s closer Josh Clarke, who has five saves and a 3-1 record, the loss coming in Saturday’s rain-interrupted second game at Auburn-Montgomery. BU also has welcomed the return to the lineup of outfielder Anthony Doss, the Southern Miss transfer who was out for an extended period with a wrist injury. Doss is hitting .359 in 18 games, second on the team to Tyler Wrinkle at .369.