Tag Archives: MACJC

03 May

rise and shine

Jackson State needed a hero on Friday. Desmond Russell came through. The Bahamas native threw a complete game, with 14 strikeouts, and went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Tigers beat Alcorn State 9-3 at Braddy Field. Russell is 7-4 for JSU, now 27-21 overall and 9-13 in the SWAC East, in a virtual tie for third with the Braves (8-12). JSU, the defending league champ, has lost five straight SWAC series, including a rather embarrassing pratfall against hapless Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers need to get it in gear with the SWAC Tournament approaching. Other stars from a fun-filled Friday: Westin Stringer won his 10th game as No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College beat Holmes 12-2 in the MACJC playoffs. … Chance Whitten delivered a decisive two-run double as East Central upset North Division champion East Mississippi 4-3 in the opener of that three-game series. LaDarious Clark homered for the Lions. … Jonathan Andrews drove in four runs to lead Delta State past Christian Brothers 15-2 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. … Chris Ellis improved to 7-0 as Ole Miss beat Arkansas 3-2. … Conor Fisk won his fifth game and Connor Barron homered as Southern Miss topped Tulane 4-2. … C.T. Bradford hit his first homer and Jonathan Holder notched his sixth save as Mississippi State beat Auburn 3-0. … In MLB, former MSU and Meridian CC star Tyler Moore hit his second homer — off former MCC standout Cliff Lee — to help Washington beat Philadelphia 5-3. … Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings belted his third homer and stole two bases as Tampa Bay knocked off the New York Yankees 10-5 in 14 innings.

27 Apr

juco postseason glance

The junior college postseason qualifiers appear to be set. The unofficial matchups: Holmes at Jones County; Northwest at Hinds; East Central at East Mississippi; and Pearl River at Northeast. JCJC, ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II, won the South Division and East Mississippi, ranked seventh, won the North (for the first time since 1998). The best-of-3 series begin Friday. The four winners move on to the double-elimination state tournament May 8-10 at a site to be determined.

25 Apr

juco madness

Division titles — and more — will be determined on Saturday as the MACJC regular season concludes. East Mississippi Community College, ranked seventh in NJCAA Division II, hosts Northeast in a doubleheader showdown for the North crown. The Lions are 17-5, the Tigers 16-6. No. 1-ranked Jones County JC (17-5) will try to wrap up the South championship when it visits last-place Copiah-Lincoln (7-13). Hinds is 16-6, a game back of JCJC, heading into a twinbill against visiting East Central (9-13). Mississippi Gulf Coast, behind James Land’s monster day (8-for-9, two homers, six RBIs), split with Jones on Wednesday to stay in contention for a playoff berth in the South. Gulf Coast is 9-13 with Pearl River (11-11) coming to Perkinston on Saturday. Elsewhere, Holmes (10-12 North) hosts Coahoma (0-22) and Northwest (14-8 North) hosts Itawamba (9-13). Southwest (9-15 South) and Delta (12-12 North) have finished division play. The juco postseason is a long and winding road. The top four teams in each division begin the postseason on May 2-3 with a best-of-3 series (North 1 hosts South 4, etc.). The four series winners advance to the state tournament (May 8-10). The NJCAA Region 23 Tournament is May 15-18. The winner there goes to the D-II World Series.

19 Apr

juco showdowns

A lot happened but nothing changed at Moss Field in Raymond on Friday. A 10-run inning and a complete game from Chase Hensley enabled No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College to beat host Hinds Community College 13-2 in Game 1 of their doubleheader. Hinds then won Game 2 by a 4-2 count. JCJC (36-6) is 16-4 in the MACJC South Division and maintains its 1 game lead over Hinds (25-14, 15-5) with one week left in the regular season. Hensley, now 5-0 for the Bobcats, also drove in two runs in the opener. In the Eagles’ win, Toler Robinson homered and Casey Sutton worked six strong innings. … At Poole Field in Scooba on Friday, East Mississippi, ranked fifth in NJCAA Division II, split with Northwest and kept a 1 game lead over Northeast in the North Division. EMCC is 28-10 and 15-5. Northwest slipped to 26-14 and 14-8, 2 games back. Taylor King’s 10th-inning homer propelled the Rangers to a 4-2 victory in Game 1. The Lions roared back with an 8-2 win in Game 2 behind the pitching of J’Daylin Jackson (7-1) and Conner Burton.

08 Apr

bird watching

Seemingly wherever you look, Eagles are taking off. Southern Miss’ Golden Eagles have won eight of 10 games and take a 19-14 record into tonight’s rivalry game with Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Matt Durst has been carrying the Eagles’ attack with a .318 average, four home runs and 22 RBIs. Hinds Community College’s Eagles also have won eight of 10 and have surged to the top of MACJC South Division standings with an 11-3 mark, just ahead of Jones County JC at 9-3. Hinds (21-12) has gotten outstanding production from freshman Chase Lunceford, a former Clinton High star who is batting .318 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. Yet another flock of Eagles, the ones at Meridian Community College, has moved to the top of the Miss-Lou Conference standings with a 3-2 record. MCC (20-16) split a doubleheader on Saturday at Scaggs Field with Delgado (La.), the No. 2-ranked team in NJCAA Division I. Scott Votaw homered, Grant Hill drove in a pair of runs and Jake Smith pitched four strong innings in the Eagles’ 7-6 win in Game 2 of that twinbill.

26 Mar

juco watch

Two big doubleheaders today in the MACJC: Hinds Community College at No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College and Northeast Mississippi CC at Mississippi Delta CC. Hinds and Jones (24-2 overall) are tied atop the South Division standings at 5-1. Delta, 16-8 and freshly ranked 10th in NJCAA Division II, is a surprising 7-1 in the North, leading 5th-ranked East Mississippi (5-1) and Northeast (4-2). The Trojans, coming off sweeps last week of Northwest and Itawamba, have been led by Jacob Shempert (.339, four homers, 17 RBIs) and Danny Springer (.315, five homers, 17 RBIs). P.S. Hinds’ Randy Bell, a freshman out of Centreville Academy, earned MACJC pitcher of the week honors after posting a win and a save in three appearances, striking out 13 with one walk in nine innings of work.

12 Mar

top of the world

Jones County Junior College takes the field in Ellisville today with a target on its back. The Bobcats are, for the first time in school history, the No. 1-ranked team in NJCAA Division II. The 17-1 Bobcats tangle today with Itawamba Community College in a twinbill at Community Bank Park and open MACJC South Division play on Saturday at Pearl River. JCJC coach Christian Ostrander appears to have a well-balanced club: Four regulars are batting above .350 and three frontline pitchers have ERAs under 1.40. Trent Giambrone leads the JCJC attack with a .452 average and 21 RBIs. Chase Hensley is hitting .375, Joshua Pankratz (from Taylorsville) .362 and Alex Shermer (Northwest Rankin) .352. Chris Morgan (Madison Central) has 22 runs and eight steals. Former Terry High star Wes Stringer is the Bobcats’ ace, with a 5-0 record and a 0.26 ERA. Lane Ratliff (Purvis) is 3-0, 1.35 and Hensley is 3-0, 1.38. P.S. Three other state schools are ranked in the latest juco D-II poll. East Mississippi is No. 6, Northwest (the only team to beat JCJC) is 13th and Northeast is 19th. … DeSoto Central High is No. 19 in Baseball America’s first in-season prep poll. Clay Casey, an Ole Miss commit, is 7-for-19 with seven RBIs for the Jaguars (5-2).

07 Feb

party on

Delta State, which hasn’t played a game yet, is already in a celebratory mood. This season marks the 10th anniversary of the Statesmen’s NCAA Division II national championship campaign. Of course, DSU may have plenty of other things to celebrate. The Statesmen, who open Friday at Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm Beach, Fla., are a consensus top 10 team in the D-II preseason polls. Coach Mike Kinnison (747 wins in 17 years) has five preseason All-Gulf South Conference players on his roster. That group includes preseason All-Americans Jordan Chovenac (.333, 64 runs, 20 stolen bases) and Michael Manley (9-0, 1.93 ERA). Also back are pitchers Ricky Winters (5-0, 3.93) and Taylor Stark (3-0, five saves) and second baseman Kasey Hinton (.331). DSU went 44-11-1 in 2013, won the GSC regular season title and made the NCAAs. This team appears capable of similar accomplishments, and that 10th anniversary buzz certainly won’t hurt. P.S. The state’s junior colleges also start this weekend, with defending MACJC champion East Central Community College opening Saturday against Pensacola JC in Decatur. The Warriors went 32-21 last year but lost star shortstop Tim Anderson to the MLB draft. Two Mississippi schools are ranked in the NJCAA Division II preseason Top 20: Northwest (31-18) at No. 14 and Northeast (30-18) at No. 20. Defending South Division champion Pearl River, 41-14 in 2013, didn’t make the poll. … The best player in the league might be East Mississippi sophomore outfielder LeDarious Clark, a former two-sport (baseball/football) star at Southeast Lauderdale High. Clark is rated the No. 40 juco draft prospect by Sporting News. Also on that chart is former Northwest Rankin outfielder Daniel Sweet, No. 27, now playing at Polk State JC in Florida.