Tag Archives: Blue Mountain Christian

21 Apr

numbers of note

1,000 — Career wins for Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco, who has notched 900 of those W’s with the Rebels. The milestone came in Game 2 of a Saturday doubleheader at Georgia, which the Rebels won 3-2 to salvage a game in the SEC series. Ethan Lege homered and Brayden Jones delivered some clutch relief work for UM (21-8, 6-12).
20 — Wins for Belhaven University in coach Andrew Gipson’s first season. The Blazers split a CCS twinbill at Huntingdon (Ala.) on Saturday, getting win No. 20 in Game 1 behind the pitching of Colton Sylvester, who is 6-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 14 games. Staff ace Brett Sanchez (5-2, 2.86) won the series opener on Friday for BU (20-14, 9-5).
1 — All-time series wins for Blue Mountain Christian against SSAC rival William Carey University. After pounding the 25th-ranked Crusaders 19-5 in Friday’s series opener in Hattiesburg, the Toppers rallied to win Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader 11-9. Ammon Murphy threw 5 1/3 innings of stellar relief for BMC (27-18, 11-16). Carey (27-14, 17-10) won the series finale 10-7 and leads the all-time series 33-8.
13 — Losses in the last 14 games for Millsaps College, which was swept in three games this weekend at Birmingham-Southern in its last SAA series of the season. Millsaps (14-24, 4-17) has one regular season game left — at home Tuesday vs. LeTourneau — before meeting top-seeded Centre next weekend in the opening round of the SAA playoffs. Centre swept the Majors in a three-game set last weekend at Twenty Field.
32 — Runs allowed by Delta State pitching in a three-game sweep at the hands of conference foe Lee University (Tenn.). The Statesmen are 25-19, 16-11 Gulf South, despite a negative run differential (286 scored, 292 allowed). The team’s staff ERA is 5.83, which actually ranks middle-of-the-pack in the heavy-hitting GSC.

20 Apr

big numbers

Behind Gabe Broadus and Davis Gillespie, Southern Miss rode a 10-run third inning to a 14-3, run-rule win Friday against Louisiana-Monroe at Taylor Park. But hold on. A few miles down the road in Hattiesburg, Blue Mountain Christian put up an even bigger number, stunning William Carey 19-5 at Wheeler Field. Carey entered the game in third place in the SSAC with a 16-8 record and is ranked No. 25 in NAIA. BMC came in with a 9-15 mark in eighth place. Carey led 32-6 in the all-time series in this burgeoning rivalry. But the Toppers went off Friday, grabbing the lead with a four-run fifth and scoring eight times in the eighth to add insult to injury. BMC had 16 hits and drew 11 walks plus two HBPs. Carey used six pitchers and all of them gave up runs. The Toppers’ big bopper, Arderrius Townsend, wasn’t a factor, going 0-for-2 before being ejected in the fifth inning. Stepping up, Carson Gault went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs; Josiah Rivera was 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs; and Hayden Redding went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. A doubleheader is slated for today. P.S. Props to Spencer Turnbull, the Madison Central High product who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Philadelphia beat the punchless Chicago White Sox (and Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet) 7-0 in the big leagues. … Ex-Mississippi State star Brent Rooker came off the injured list Friday and homered — his third — for Oakland, but the A’s lost to Cleveland 10-2.

16 Apr

dynamic duo

A new version of “Thunder and Lightning” has emerged at Blue Mountain Christian, where Arderrius Townsend is providing the former and Hayden Redding the latter. Unlike the old Clark and Palmeiro duo, the sluggers at Mississippi State 40 years ago, the BMC pair are doing their thing a little differently. Townsend, a 6-foot, 230-pound junior from Pontotoc, has 22 home runs, ranking third in NAIA heading into a game today against Bethel. Redding, 6-2, 175, a junior from Mobile, Ala., is among the national leaders in stolen bases with 39. While those two have certainly carried their weight, the Toppers actually could use a little more power and speed. They are 24-17 overall but just 9-15 in the SSAC, with a big conference series at William Carey looming this weekend. Townsend, aka “Peeko,” who played at Northwest Mississippi Community College before a brief stop at Jackson State, is batting a robust .400 and slugging .952 with 138 total bases. His 70 RBIs ranks third in NAIA. Redding, who has been caught stealing just three times, is batting .364 with a .449 on-base percentage.

22 Mar

up and running

After stumbling out of the blocks this season, William Carey University may be hitting its stride. The Crusaders (15-9) have won five straight, including a conference sweep at Thomas University (Ga.) last weekend, and host sub-.500 SSAC foe Tennessee Southern this weekend (Saturday-Sunday) in Hattiesburg. Carey was ranked No. 4 in the NAIA preseason poll, coming off a World Series appearance, but lost its opener at home to 10th-ranked Missouri Baptist and wobbled through February. “It’s a long season and I think we’ll be fine,” longtime coach Bobby Halford said last month, acknowledging that some new faces would have to step up. The Crusaders are 7-3 in March. They fell out of the national rankings last week but appear poised to climb back in with a stretch of 10 straight games upcoming at Wheeler Field. Preseason NAIA All-America pick R.J. Stinson has played like one — batting .469 with four homers, 27 RBIs and 32 runs — and he has started to get some help from the rebuilt lineup. Bailee Hendon, a senior from Vancleave, is batting .299 with four homers and 27 RBIs, and Jerod Williams, junior from Gulfport via Southwest Mississippi Community College, is at .292 with 13 steals and 25 runs. Dario Herrera, a lefty from Panama, has posted a 4-1 record with a 4.46 ERA and 2023 ace Andrew Shirah is 3-2, 4.40. The glue of the pitching staff has been closer John Snyder, who has six saves and a 0.82 in 10 appearances. Carey is 7-5 in the SSAC. UT Southern is 5-7. P.S. Blue Mountain Christian’s Arderrius “Peeko” Townsend leads NAIA in homers (18) and RBIs (60) and ranks seventh in batting average (.484). The Toppers (20-8, 6-7) lost Game 1 today of an SSAC series against visiting Middle Georgia State. … Jackson State, coming off a rough loss at New Orleans on Wednesday, hosts rival Mississippi Valley State in a SWAC series this weekend. The Tigers are 16-5 and 2-0 in the league. … Alcorn State (1-13), which got its first win against Valley at Itta Bena on Wednesday, is playing a SWAC series vs. Southern University at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium. … The state’s Big 3 NCAA Division I schools are on the road for league series this weekend: Mississippi State lost to Texas A&M on Thursday night, while tonight Ole Miss opens at Tennessee and Southern Miss at Georgia Southern.

13 Mar

steal this base

There’s a whole lot of thievery going on in Mississippi. Jackson State, which stole six bases in a win over Grambling State on Tuesday, leads NCAA Division I in stolen bases with 59 (in 63 attempts) in its 17 games, of which the Tigers have won 13. Belhaven University has swiped 63 bags (in 16 games), which is second-most in NCAA Division III. Rust College has 86 steals, ranking No. 3 in NAIA, and Blue Mountain Christian has 79 bags, fifth in NAIA. (Not sure what this says about the quality of catching at the NAIA or D-III levels.) At JSU, there is a team-wide emphasis on stealing bags, with three regulars having nine or more and two others bagging four each. Jordan McCladdie leads the Tigers with 13, followed by Rodney Hibler Jr. with 12 and Joseph Eichelberger — the .483 hitter — with nine. Rust is running with even more abandon, having attempted 105 steals in 25 games (7-18 record). Malik Berrien ranks second in NAIA with 24. Hayden Redding has 17 and Bryland Skinner (used most often as a pinch runner) 14 for Blue Mountain, which has bolted to an 18-5 start. Cole Fletcher leads Belhaven with 12. At NAIA William Carey, which has swiped 37 bases, Jerod Williams has 11. … The state’s Big 3 D-I schools haven’t caught the running bug. Southern Miss has just 12 steals, Ole Miss 22 and Mississippi State 23. No individual has more than six bags at any of the three. P.S. Blue Mountain’s Arderrius “Peeko” Townsend has been named the NAIA national player of the week after batting .500 with five homers and 12 RBIs last week. Note: Townsend, more slugger (15 homers in 2024) than sprinter, has swiped eight bases for the Toppers.

22 Feb

here and there

Delta State, pegged for a sixth-place finish in the Gulf South Conference this season, opens league play this weekend with a 6-5 record. The Statesmen will take on Union University for a three-game set (Friday-Saturday). DSU was the preseason favorite in the league poll in 2023 and finished eighth before reaching the championship round in the league tournament. Go figure. DSU is batting .323 as a team with a staff ERA of 6.00. The Statesmen are led by Brett Burrell, batting .444 with 11 RBIs, and Brendan McCauley, .391 with a homer and seven RBIs. … Mississippi College (8-3, 2-1 GSC) plays on the road for the first time this weekend, visiting league foe Auburn-Montgomery. … Blue Mountain Christian (11-3) has 19 home runs, seven by Arderrius Townsend, a former Northwest Mississippi Community College star. … Belhaven University is 3-3 heading into its first home games, a three-game set this weekend against St. Thomas at Trustmark Park in Pearl. … Mississippi Valley State will play its first games under new coach C.J. Bilbrey when the Delta Devils meet Jackson State (4-1) in a non-conference series, games at Braddy Field on Friday and Sunday and one in Itta Bena on Saturday. Joseph Eichelberger is batting a crazy .714 for JSU. … Southern Miss’ Nick Monistere was 0-for-10 heading into Wednesday’s game at New Orleans, then put up a 3-for-4 with a homer, five RBIs, four runs and two walks in the 4-1 Golden Eagles’ 15-10 victory. … Mississippi State is 13th and Ole Miss 14th in the Nashville Tennessean‘s latest SEC power rankings — and that was before both lost midweek games. MSU is 2-2, UM 2-3. The Rebels are batting .181 and have a 5.23 ERA. P.S. Pencil former East Central CC standout Tim Anderson in as Miami’s starting shortstop. The former All-Star and batting champ reportedly has signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Marlins on the heels of a disappointing 2023 season (.245, one homer) with the Chicago White Sox. Jon Berti was in line for the Miami shortstop job.

15 Feb

a few small details

The “preseason” is over for William Carey University and Blue Mountain Christian, NAIA schools who are already heading into Southern States Athletic Conference play. Carey, ranked No. 4 in NAIA, takes a 5-2 record into a three-game series starting today at Point University in Georgia. The Crusaders are hitting just .227 as a team, though R.J. Stinson has come out hot, batting .409 with a homer, seven RBIs and five runs. BMC is 7-1 but will face tougher opposition in a three-game set beginning Friday at Brewton-Parker in Georgia. Brewton-Parker is 7-6 overall but 5-0 at home in Mt. Vernon. For the Toppers, Arderrius Townsend is raking at .577 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Townsend, from Pontotoc, is a Northwest Mississippi Community College alum who was on Jackson State’s roster in 2023. … East Central CC, defending state and region champ, is off to an 8-0 start. Led by slugger Mo Little — who hit a dramatic ninth-inning grand slam in an extra-inning win on Tuesday — the 10th-ranked Warriors have scored 92 runs. They play Southeastern (Iowa) and Kirkland (Mo.) on Saturday in Decatur. … Hinds CC is 7-2 with six straight victories heading into a pair of games today at Meridian; the Eagles will play Northwest Florida State and 13th-ranked MCC (4-4). Lincoln Sheffield, a sophomore out of Hartfield Academy, is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 innings for Hinds. … Belhaven University goes into a weekend series at Hardin-Simmons in Texas looking for new coach Andrew Gipson’s first win. The NCAA Division III Blazers went 0-3 in a round-robin event in Conway, Ark., last week.

01 Jan

here and there

One month from today, the college season gets under way in the Magnolia State when William Carey University hosts Missouri Baptist and Blue Mountain Christian welcomes Lane College. Carey went 49-11 in 2023 and reached the NAIA World Series. Crusaders coach Bobby Halford will begin his 39th season at the helm with 1,300 career victories. Blue Mountain finished 26-25 last season, qualifying for the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, where the 6-seed Toppers beat Carey before bowing out in a rematch. … Former big leaguer Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High slugger, finished 2023 with a bang, getting four hits including a home run on Saturday in the Mexican Pacific League. Bradley is batting .281 with three homers and 19 RBIs for Monterrey. He hit 30 bombs for Charleston in the independent Atlantic League last summer. Bradley played in 97 MLB games for Cleveland from 2019-22. … On the topic of slugging, DeSoto Central alum Austin Riley made mlb.com’s list of the 10 longest home runs in 2023. Riley tied for ninth with a 473-footer on April 3 at St. Louis; it was the first of his 37 homers on the year for Atlanta. The longest homer of 2023 was belted by — who else? — Shohei Ohtani, a 493-footer in June. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Chad Smith recently signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets; the right-hander posted a 6.59 ERA in 10 games for Oakland in 2023.