summer spotlight

After winning Gulf South Conference Tournament MVP honors and leading Mississippi College to an NCAA Division II regional, Blaine Crim did not head for the beaches of Mobile, Ala., his hometown. He headed to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, where he has continued to shine. Crim, a rising senior first baseman, is batting .395 with seven homers and 46 RBIs for the Southern Ohio Copperheads. He also started and won a game as a pitcher. Crim hit .383 with 13 homers and 66 RBIs for the 2018 Choctaws, who went 36-17 and won the GSC Tournament title. He was an academic All-American as well as an All-South Region and second-team All-GSC pick. … Matt Wallner, currently playing in the Cape Cod League, is the most celebrated returnee at Southern Miss, but don’t overlook Gabe Montenegro, the 5-foot-7 Guatemala native who earned freshman All-America honors in 2018. Montenegro backed up his strong season with a good showing in the Valley Baseball League. In 22 games, he hit .311 with 14 runs, 10 RBIs and five steals. As USM’s leadoff batter, he hit .295 with 49 runs and 38 RBIs in 59 games. … Mississippi State’s Peyton Plumlee, who missed the 2018 season under NCAA suspension, went 4-0 with a 2.32 ERA in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Plumlee, who transferred to State from Northwest Mississippi Community College, posted a 4.01 ERA for the Bulldogs in 2017. … Finishing with five straight wins, the Tupelo Thunder claimed the regular season title in the Cotton States League with a 15-5 record. The North Delta Dealers dropped their last two games to finish 14-6 in the wood-bat college summer league. Both earned berths in the playoff semifinals, set for Saturday in New Albany. Trey Jolly, a onetime Mississippi State player, leads the Thunder with a .529 average and 16 RBIs, and Northeast Mississippi CC alum Anthony Lipsey is at .354. On the mound, Kyle Raburn is 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA. John Wesley Ray, a former Ole Miss and Delta State player, was a two-way standout for the Dealers, batting .328 with 16 RBIs and posting a 5-1, 2.06 pitching ledger. Northwest CC product Reed Logsdon is 4-1, 2.40.