Tag Archives: Delta State

15 May

the roads taken

Both Mississippi College and Delta State are in Florida for regional play today, but the last leg of the journey was quite different for the two old rivals. Both are in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament as at-large teams. MC (32-21), back in the NCAAs for the first time in seven years, has won seven of it last nine games, going 2-2 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament after sweeping DSU three straight to finish the regular season. DSU (32-18) won the GSC regular season title but actually faded down the stretch, losing seven of 10, including a 2-and-out (with another loss to the Choctaws) in the GSC Tournament. If momentum really is a thing, their opening-round games might be a tell. MC, the 4-seed, will play Lynn (Fla.) at Tampa, Fla., on one side of the eight-team regional. Delta State, seeded sixth, will play West Florida at Lakeland, Fla., in the other four-team bracket. Tampa (43-7), in MC’s bracket, is the No. 1 team in the nation in D-II and the top seed in the regional. The only way MC and DSU could meet is in the best-of-3 regional finals. Here are some players to watch in today’s openers: For MC, Jordan Evans (.351, 12 homers, 47 RBIs, 73 runs and 24 steals). For Lynn, Cole Fowler (.435, .810 slug, 18 homers, 62 RBIs). For DSU, Dylan Coleman (.359, 13 homers, 46 RBIs). For West Florida, Brett Rowell (.345, eight homers, 46 RBIs). P.S. It’s closing time for the state’s Big 4 D-I schools, each of which has a winning record and NCAA Tournament aspirations entering the regular season’s end. Ole Miss, No. 22 in the Baseball America poll, hosts No.2 Auburn (coached by Aberdeen native Butch Thompson); No. 24 Southern Miss is at No. 14 Troy; Mississippi State travels to Missouri; and Jackson State hosts Southern University. Ole Miss and USM are projected as 2-seeds in the NCAAs by d1baseball.com, and State is a 3-seed. JSU’s path to a regional berth is via winning the SWAC Tournament. … Pushed back a day, Pearl River Community College and East Central CC, both ranked in the top five nationally, are slated to play Game 1 of their NJCAA D-II Region 23 Tournament finals today at Poplarville. … Worth noting: Ti’Quan Forbes, the former Mr. Baseball from Columbia High in his 11th pro season, hit the first home run in Mississippi Mud Monsters history on Wednesday night. The independent club, now 1-2, lost to Gateway 9-8 in 10 innings at Pearl’s Trustmark Park.

12 May

smalls world

Seeking a third straight trip to the NAIA World Series, William Carey University takes on Indiana Southeast today at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. British Columbia plays Oklahoma Wesleyan in the other Opening Round game in this four-team, double-elimination regional. The Crusaders, who won the regular season title in the SSAC, are 38-12 and ranked 10th in the nation. Carey won an NAIA national title in 1969. It’s a busy week for Mississippi’s small schools: Delta State and Mississippi College each received at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament; Millsaps and Belhaven made the NCAA D-III field as at-large teams; and Pearl River Community College and East Central CC will face off in a best-of-3 series for the NJCAA D-II Region 23 championship. … Delta State (32-18), regular season champion in the Gulf South, will play West Florida on Thursday at Lakeland, Fla., in a four-team bracket in the South Region. MC (33-21), which last made the NCAA field in 2018, is in the other South Region bracket at Tampa, Fla., and will play Lynn on Thursday. Tampa is the No. 1 seed in the region, MC No. 4 and DSU No. 6. … Millsaps (29-13), regular season champ in the Southern Athletic Association, heads for the East Texas Baptist Regional at Marshall, Texas, to play the host school in the first round. Belhaven (31-13) plays Rhodes in the Webster (Mo.) Regional. Only 23 at-large bids are awarded in the 64-team D-III Tournament. … On Wednesday at Poplarville, juco juggernauts Pearl River, ranked No. 2, and East Central, ranked seventh, will clash for a trip to the NJCAA World Series in Enid, Okla. PRCC, regular season champ in the MACCC, is 48-7, and ECCC is 41-12. Both have been ranked No. 1 in the country this season. ECCC went to the World Series in 2023 and ’24. PRCC won the national title in 2022. They split their regular season meeting this spring. P.S. It already has been a banner year for the state’s small schools. Along with the three conference titles, three coaches won coach of the year awards: Bobby Halford at Carey, Rodney Batts at DSU and Jim Page at Millsaps. Carey’s Josh Alexander was named the SSAC player of the year; DSU’s Drake Fontenot won GSC pitcher of the year honors; and Millsaps’ Bradley Pelle (player) and Nick Tarantino (pitcher) swept the SAA’s top awards. In addition, MC had four GSC first-team picks, and Belhaven had four named in the Collegiate Conference of the South. Carey had three All-SSAC picks in addition to Alexander, and DSU’s Brett Burrell made All-GSC along with Fontenot.

02 May

racking up wins

William Carey University moved to 2-0 in pool play in the SSAC Tournament with an 8-4 win Thursday over in-state rival Blue Mountain Christian at Jackson, Tenn. The victory was especially significant for Carey coach Bobby Halford, who moved past Ron Polk on the career wins list with No. 1,374, according to a school release. “It’s great for our program and our university. I’ve been very blessed to be able to do this all of these years and I owe my family a big thank you for all of their support,” Halford, in his 40th season, said in the release. Halford ranks in the top 20 for all-time wins at any college level. In Thursday’s victory, Bridley Thomas drove in three runs and Bobby Magee threw seven solid innings for his seventh W as the Crusaders, ranked 10th in NAIA, improved to 37-11. (The current record includes two forfeits from Faulkner.) Carey plays Middle Georgia State today. BMC, 0-2 in the tournament, fell to 27-24. P.S. Belhaven also got a big win Thursday, crushing Piedmont (Ga.) 9-1 to move to 2-0 in the CCS Tournament at Maryville, Tenn. Nick Thornton drove in four runs with three doubles and Sylvester Colton and Lane Alack combined on a five-hitter. The Blazers are 30-11 and riding a seven-game win streak. They’ll play a semifinal game today. … Rust (22-28) bowed out of the HBCUAC Tournament with a pair of losses at North Little Rock, Ark. … The GSC Tournament starts today with Delta State, the top seed, facing Montevallo (Ala.) and 4-seed Mississippi College meeting West Alabama at Oxford, Ala.

28 Apr

watch list

Delta State, which has never had a Ferriss Trophy winner, has produced quite a few viable candidates over the years. The Statesmen have another solid one in 2025. Right-hander Drake Fontenot is 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA, a .208 batting average against, 78 strikeouts and 19 walks in 91 2/3 innings for the Gulf South Conference regular season champion. Fontenot’s only loss came on Friday at Mississippi College in his worst outing of the season (seven runs in six innings). The Ferriss Trophy — named in honor of Delta State coaching legend Boo Ferriss — will be awarded to the best college player in the state for the 21st time on May 19 by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The finalists, who will attend the ceremony, have not yet been named. As usual, there are a bunch of players around the state who have put up mighty impressive numbers. Throwing out a few more names: Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton, regarded as a top pro prospect, is 8-1 with a 1.92 ERA for the Golden Eagles. Teammate Nick Monistere, on a recent tear, has 16 homers, 56 RBIs, 42 runs and a .335 average for 31-13 USM. Ole Miss’ Luke Hill is batting .352 with 51 runs for the nationally ranked Rebels (31-13). Mississippi State’s Ace Reese has 16 bombs and 53 RBIs. Jackson State’s Jordan McCladdie is hitting .381 with 51 runs and 33 steals. Millsaps’ Gray Berry (.426, 61 runs) and Nick Tarantino (9-1, 2.74) have been stellar for a 28-11 conference championship club. MC’s Korey Cooper is a .376 hitter with 12 homers, 55 RBIs and 52 runs. At William Carey, also a conference champ, Rigoberto Hernandez is batting .386 with 12 homers, 51 RBIs, 63 runs and 17 bags for a 33-13 team. Blue Mountain Christian’s Hayden Redding has 46 steals and a .339 average. P.S. Mississippi College’s stunning blowout of Delta State in Clinton last weekend was the first-ever three-game sweep for the Choctaws over their longtime rival. MC (31-19, 21-12 GSC) outscored the Statesmen 40-7 and will go into the GSC Tournament next weekend as the No. 4 seed. DSU (32-16, 23-10) is the top seed, having gotten some help elsewhere over the weekend to win the regular season title. … Ole Miss jumped to No. 13 (from 22) in the new Baseball America Top 25 after taking two of three from then-No.8 Vanderbilt last week.

21 Apr

who’s in first?

As the college season roars down the home stretch, three Mississippi schools are cruising in first place in their respective conferences. Delta State leads the Gulf South Conference standings, William Carey the Southern States Athletic Conference and Millsaps the Southern Athletic Association. All three are nationally ranked in their divisions, as well. Powering this run by the Statesmen — 31-13 overall, 23-7 GSC — is senior right-hander Drake Fotentot, who is 9-0 with a 1.37 ERA and seemingly bound for NCAA Division II All-America honors. Brett Burrell tops DSU hitters with a .401 average. Carey is back in the chase for another NAIA World Series berth, with a 32-11 record, 21-6 SSAC, despite losing a series at Blue Mountain Christian over the weekend. (BMC is 23-23, 12-15). The Crusaders’ 2025 charge has been led by DeeJay Booth (.429) and Josh Alexander (14 homers). On the bump, Matthew Davis is 5-1, 2.72 ERA. Millsaps, on a roll in D-III, is 27-11, 13-5 SAA, fueled by Nick Tarantino (9-1, 2.78) and Gray Berry (.424, 61 runs). Worth noting: Belhaven sits second in the D-III Collegiate Conference of the South standings with a 13-5 mark (27-11 overall), and Southern Miss is tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference race at 12-6 (27-13 overall). Also worth noting: USM’s Ben Higdon hit a school record-tying three homers in Saturday’s win over Georgia State. … In the state juco ranks, Pearl River Community College has a solid lead in the MACCC at 20-2; the NJCAA Division II No. 2 Wildcats are 40-6 overall. Jacob Johnson, who is 9-1, 1.95, and K.K. Clark, 7-2, 1.64, have been driving forces for The River. … In the high school ranks, Magnolia Heights, at 26-4, tops the latest (April 17) MaxPreps Mississippi Top 25 poll, with Hartfield (22-3) at No. 2 and Purvis (19-6) No. 3. P.S. In MLB, Toronto has put ex-USM star Nick Sandlin on the injured list, where he joins fellow Mississippians Justin Steele, Matt Wallner, Nick Fortes, Brandon Woodruff, Kendall Graveman, J.P. France and James McArthur. Ouch.

08 Apr

long shots

This seems like an apropos note for 715 Day: They say records are meant to be broken, but there is one mark in the Magnolia State that will be especially tough to top. In 2018, Zack Shannon of Delta State blasted 31 home runs, breaking a single-season record for state college players that had stood for 34 years. (The previous record of 29 had been set by Mississippi State’s Bruce Castoria in 1982, then tied by the Bulldogs’ Rafael Palmeiro in 1984.) But there are some players producing big pop around the state this year — even without torpedo bats. The leader of the pack as of April 7 is Josh Alexander of William Carey University. The Louisiana native, who previously played at Louisiana-Lafayette, has 14 homers. Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Mississippi College’s Bryce LaRocca are hot on Alexander’s heels with 11 homers each. There is a large contingent at 10: Ole Miss’ Judd Utermark; Southern Miss’ Carson Paetow; Mississippi College’s J.T. Vance and Korey Cooper; and Carey’s Preston Ratliff and Rigoberto Hernandez. The junior college leaders are Dom Jackson of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Holmes CC’s Hunter Azemar, both with 10. Delta State’s Dylan Coleman, who has nine bombs, has the distinction of hitting three in a game twice. MC’s Vance also has managed a three-homer game, along with Carey’s Jayden Mark, who has only four total. P.S. In keeping with the home run theme, on this date in 1986, Will Clark famously homered in his first career MLB at-bat — against Nolan Ryan, no less. After an All-America career at MSU, Clark was the No. 2 overall draft pick by San Francisco in 1985. His debut homer was one of six he would hit off Hall of Famer Ryan, and it helped the Giants beat Houston 8-3 at the Astrodome.

29 Mar

ring ’em up

For those aficionados of the game who consider a punchout by a pitcher as cool as a home run, Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton produced a toast-worthy performance Friday. The junior right-hander struck out 12 batters over eight shutout innings in an 8-2 win against South Alabama at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. It was the most strikeouts in a game for USM since the much-decorated Tanner Hall punched out 12 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in 2023. Middleton, out of tiny Benton Academy, allowed just one hit and one walk against the Jaguars. He is 5-1 with a 2.20 ERA for the nationally ranked Golden Eagles (19-7, 6-1 Sun Belt). Middleton had a 4.34 ERA working mostly as a reliever in 2024. … Jackson State pitchers also enjoyed some K-rations, striking out 28 Grambling State batters in a doubleheader split at Braddy Field. Eric Elliott fanned 13 in six innings and Erick Gonzalez K’d four more in 1 2/3 in relief in the Tigers’ 6-3 win in Game 2. Elliott, who walked seven, is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings for JSU (15-10, 3-5 SWAC). JSU’s staff ERA is 5.72. … At Trustmark Park in Pearl, Belhaven got a dominant effort from Colton Sylvester in a 4-0 win that completed a twinbill sweep over Covenant College (Ga.). Sylvester punched out eight in six innings as he improved to 4-1, 2.79, for BU (16-9, 5-3 CCS). … Delta State relied on the home run to batter visiting Alabama-Huntsville twice at Ferriss Field in Cleveland, blasting seven long balls all told in winning 10-8 and 12-7. Dylan Coleman, from Madison via Hinds Community College, hit three out in Game 1, including a walk-off shot in the ninth. Coleman leads the NCAA Division II nationally ranked Statesmen (24-8, 17-3 Gulf South) with nine homers. Drew Capobianco, from Guntown via Itawamba CC, hit a three-run bomb in an eight-run sixth inning that decided Game 2.

23 Mar

runs-apalooza

It’s officially spring, and runs are in bloom in college ballparks all over the place. At Columbia, Mo., Ole Miss belted six homers Saturday to overpower Missouri 17-10 in Game 2 of their SEC series. The Rebels (17-5, 3-2) have 46 homers on the season; seven players have four or more, led by Judd Utermark with nine. … At Wilberforce, Ohio, Rust College’s Shamaar Stapleton, an Olive Branch native, had a day: 5-for-6 with nine RBIs in a 27-7 win Saturday that completed a three-game sweep of the HBCUAC series. … In Hattiesburg, William Carey’s array of mashers put up 57 runs in a three-game sweep of Mobile. Josh Alexander drove in 11 runs and Rigoberto Hernandez 10 for the NAIA No. 8 Crusaders, 26-4 (16-2 SSAC) with 12 straight wins. … At Clinton, Mississippi College scored 37 times in a series sweep of Trevecca Nazarene. J.T. Vance went 6-for-13 with a homer, five RBIs and four runs on the weekend for the Choctaws (21-9, 13-5 GSC). Of note: MC coach Jeremy Haworth notched his 300th career victory. … In Jackson, Millsaps (16-5, 4-2 SAA) clinched its series victory over Hendrix with a five-run sixth inning in an 11-10, seven-inning win in Game 2 of a Saturday twinbill. E.J. Ousley drove in three runs and scored the go-ahead tally in that rubber game. … Mississippi State (15-8, 1-4 SEC) was on the short end of a 13-11 game at Oklahoma; the Bulldogs got two homers from Ace Reese and another from Hunter Hines (No. 58 career) but couldn’t hold a late lead. … At Goodman, No. 1-ranked Pearl River Community College swept No. 24 Holmes CC 16-1 and 10-3 in a big juco showdown. The Wildcats (25-5, 5-1 MACCC) blasted four homers on the day, and Jaxon Milam went 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and five runs. P.S. Something completely different: Run prevention was the story for Delta State, which swept a Gulf South series at West Alabama, getting shutouts from the amazing Drake Fontenot (7-0, 0.64) and Logan Eldridge (3-2, 5.88) in Games 1 and 3. The Statesmen, ranked 10th in NCAA Division II, are 22-7 and 15-3 GSC.

14 Mar

hot spots

Big weekend in the Magnolia State. Where to start? Conference play begins for the NCAA Division I schools, and there are Top 25 SEC matchups in Oxford (Arkansas at Ole Miss) and Starkville (Texas at Mississippi State). In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss, also nationally ranked in various polls, welcomes Old Dominion to launch Sun Belt play. Not to be overlooked by any means is Valdosta State-Delta State in Cleveland. DSU, 17-5 and ranked 12th nationally in Division II, leads the Gulf South Conference with a 10-2 mark, and the visiting Blazers are a tick behind at 9-2. Senior right-hander Drake Fontenot, the Statesmen’s No. 1 starter, has not allowed a run in his last four starts. The reigning D-II South Region and GSC pitcher of the week, the 6-foot-5 Louisiana native is 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA, 46 strikeouts and seven walks in 39 2/3 innings. He’ll face a Valdosta lineup that includes the GSC’s leading hitter, Marcus Sevillano (.466), and top RBI man, Orlando Pena (32 with seven homers). Brett Burrell paces the Statesmen’s attack at .465 with five homers and 30 RBIs. DSU is unbeaten (10-0) at Ferriss Field. Of note: Mississippi College, which has won eight straight and climbed into the D-II South Region rankings at No. 8, travels to Cleveland, Tenn., to meet Lee University in a GSC series. MC is 15-8, 8-4 in the league. P.S. In the jucos, Holmes Community College, Jones College and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC all opened MACCC play this week with doubleheader sweeps. Holmes, ranked No. 24 in NJCAA D-II, is 19-4 overall and 16-1 in Goodman. The Bulldogs travel to Copiah-Lincoln (17-10, 1-1) today. Former Brandon High star Xavier Myles has sparked Holmes at the plate, batting .389 with five homers, 29 RBIs and seven steals — top 10 in the MACCC in each category. … No. 2-ranked Pearl River (20-4 with eight straight wins) opens league play Sunday vs. Northwest in Poplarville.

12 Mar

crooked numbers

Here’s a cool statistical oddity from Tuesday night on the Mississippi college scene: Delta State pounded Arkansas-Monticello 20-11 as three different players — Brett Burrell, Bo Rock and Brendan McCauley — got three hits with a home run and drove in five runs. The Statesmen, ranked 13th in the latest NCBWA NCAA Division II poll, improved to 17-5. … DSU put up an eight-run inning, but Jackson State did the Statesmen one better, scoring nine in the first inning of a 15-3 win against visiting Tougaloo. Arjun Huerta drove in three of the nine runs. JSU, heading into SWAC play this weekend, moved to 11-3 with a twinbill sweep of the Bulldogs. … Mississippi State (12-4), ranked No. 22 by Baseball America, beat Old Dominion 9-4 at Biloxi’s Keesler Federal Park. The Bulldogs hit six doubles, drew six walks and used six pitchers to overthrow the Monarchs. State will play Nicholls State in Biloxi today, then welcomes No. 9 Texas to Starkville to begin SEC play this weekend. … Mississippi College (14-8) won its seventh straight game, beating Ouachita Baptist 10-0 on the road. The Choctaws, who had a seven-run inning, were sparked by Korey Cooper, who drove in four runs, and got a combo four-hitter from five pitchers. … Belhaven University rallied from 4-1 down to beat MUW 5-4 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Trey Fletterich drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth for the Blazers (10-5). MUW slipped to 3-9. … Josh Alexander doubled and tripled and knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as William Carey University won at West Alabama 4-2. Carey, ranked 12th in NAIA, is 19-4.