poll power

Itawamba Community College is ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll, giving Mississippi a pair of jucos ranked in the top 10 in the national polls. Hinds, the 2010 state champ, is slotted eighth in the Collegiate Baseball poll. ICC, coached by Rick Collier, features a pair of top-notch pitchers: Ole Miss signee John Gatlin and Dylan Earnest, a freshman from Hamilton who has three perfect games on his ledger. The Indians open Feb. 12, Hinds on Feb. 15.
P.S. There are no NCAA Division I Mississippi schools in the preseason Top 25 of either the Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball polls. That’s unusual. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one cracking one of those polls early in the year.