Tag Archives: Millsaps

27 Mar

small things

Neither Mississippi College nor Millsaps seemed particularly impressed that Belhaven University broke into the NAIA top 10 this week. No. 8 Belhaven, which has announced its intention to move to NCAA Division III, lost to both the current D-III schools, falling to 26-9. On Tuesday night at Frierson Field in Clinton, MC — which is in the process of returning to NCAA Division II, by the way — beat BU on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth after squandering a 7-4 lead in the seventh. Blake Mcilwain, now 3-1, earned the win for 9-11 MC with two scoreless innings. On Wednesday afternoon at Millsaps’ Twenty Field, the Majors erupted for eight runs in the third inning and whipped the Blazers 12-5. Keith Shumaker had a three-run homer and Stephen Gates a three-run double in that pivotal third for the Majors (13-11). Millsaps is now 3-0 in the Maloney Trophy Series, with BU 1-2 and MC 1-3. Millsaps and Belhaven hook up Monday at Smith-Wills Stadium. … Delta State, nationally ranked in D-II, is heating up, having stretched its win streak to eight after beating Ouachita Baptist twice in Cleveland this week. Ben Pickard, a sophomore from Biloxi, went 7-for-7 with five RBIs and five runs in the two games against Ouachita. DSU is 18-6 overall and takes a 14-3 Gulf South Conference record into a weekend series at West Georgia.

17 Mar

going strong

Millsaps College swept a doubleheader at Centre over the weekend — the third game was rained out on Sunday — to climb to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Athletic Association. While the team’s season has been defined by fits and spurts, sophomore outfielder Isaac Glenn has been a steady force. The former Madison Central High two-sport star (baseball/football) is batting .426 with eight doubles, 11 RBIs, 13 runs and five stolen bases. Glenn plays center field and usually hits third for the Majors. As a freshman, he batted .299 with 20 RBIs and 28 runs in 30 games. The Majors are at home on Tuesday for a non-conference game against Huntingdon. … Jones County Junior College, the No. 1 team in NJCAA Division II, opened its MACJC South Division schedule with a doubleheader sweep at Pearl River on Saturday. JCJC coach Christian Ostrander notched his 199th and 200th career wins. The Bobcats are 21-1 heading into a South twinbill on Tuesday at East Central, the defending state champion. PRCC, which started 11-3, has dropped eight in a row and is 0-4 in the division. … Ti’Quan Forbes, the highly rated draft prospect at Columbia High, is hitting .389 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games. Columbia is 8-3.

09 Mar

sunday munchies

Mississippi Valley State, still winless through 14 games, was no-hit by Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. It was the Crimson Tide’s first nine-inning no-hitter since 1942. … Ross Mitchell, Mississippi State’s crafty lefty, suffered the first loss of his college career on Saturday as the Bulldogs fell to UC-Santa Barbara 7-6 in the Hi Corbett Classic in Tucson, Ariz. Mitchell had won his first 18 decisions. The Bulldogs are 0-3 in the desert tournament (11-7 overall) and face Arizona today. … Belhaven University won its 20th game on Saturday. The Blazers (20-4) swept Blue Mountain in a Friday-Saturday series at Smith-Wills Stadium and are now 7-2 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. BMC, in its first year in the tough NAIA league, fell to 2-14, 1-11. The Blazers have stolen 83 bags, led by Reagan Rutledge with 24, Paul Pickerrell with 15 (in 15 attempts) and Emilio DeSilva with 14. … Mississippi College took two of three from East Texas Baptist in Clinton this weekend to improve to 4-8 overall and 4-5 in the American Southwest Conference. Robbie Jernigan and Colton Mears combined for five RBIs in the Choctaws’ 7-2 win in Saturday’s rubber game. … Millsaps, behind a complete-game effort from Keith Shumaker in Game 2, split a twinbill at Birmingham-Southern on Saturday in its first Southern Athletic Association games of the season. The Majors (9-6) and the Panthers (10-2) play their rubber game today.

02 Mar

road trippin’

If you had the means, which is to say a lot of free time, some disposable income and a dependable car (or, better yet, a helicopter), you could see some pretty good baseball (teams and/or players) around the state this week. … Start today in Hattiesburg, where Southern Miss is hosting Troy. The Golden Eagles are scuffling along at 5-6, but Mason Robbins is swinging a hot bat at .304 with a homer and 10 RBIs. On Monday, zip up to Jackson and catch Belhaven-Millsaps in a Maloney Trophy Series game at Twenty Field. The Blazers are 15-4, led by Paul Pickerrell, who’s hitting .373 with 15 RBIs and 16 runs. The Majors are 7-5, and their lineup features the red-hot Isaac Glenn (.455). Head for Cleveland on Tuesday for Delta State’s game against Harding. The Statesmen are 6-5 as of today, and Dex Herrington is rocking along with a .381 average. On Wednesday, in Starkville, surging Mississippi State (9-4 with five straight wins as of Sunday morning) takes on South Alabama. Wes Rea has been a power source for the Bulldogs, with three homers and 19 RBIs. Wheel over to Senatobia on Thursday to see nationally ranked Northwest Mississippi Community College (8-4 heading into a Wednesday doubleheader with unbeaten Jones County JC) play Arkansas Baptist CC. Luke Latham has belted five homers for the Rangers. Over in Oxford on Friday, Ole Miss hosts Arkansas-Little Rock. As of Sunday a.m., the Rebels were 10-1 with four straight one-run wins, all walk-offs. Luke Allen (.391, three homers, 17 RBIs) was responsible for two of those. Wind up the whirlwind week on Saturday in Clinton, where Mississippi College plays American Southwest Conference foe East Texas Baptist in a twinbill. The Choctaws were 2-6 at the start of the week, though Mississippi Gulf Coast CC transfer Marty Stringfellow has contributed a .462 average. … If you had the means, it would be a heckuva road trip.

26 Feb

small world

A showdown looms. Well, that might be a bit over the top, but Millsaps College and Belhaven University are both 1-0 in the Maloney Trophy Series headed into their makeup game on Monday at the Majors’ Twenty Field. Millsaps beat Mississippi College 5-2 on Tuesday, dropping the Choctaws to 0-2 in the round-robin series among the Jackson-area small colleges. MC, which got three hits from newcomer Marty Stringfellow, fell to 1-4 overall. The Majors, now 7-5, got three hits each from Isaac Glenn (.455) and Keith Shumaker (.388) and a sterling start from Smokey Ethridge (2-2). … Belhaven is 12-3 after a 5-1 win over Talladega on Tuesday. Ben Allison improved to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.47 in 19 innings. Tyler Akins, the former Madison Central and Hinds Community College standout, drove in three runs and now has 13 on the season. BU plays Talladega again today at Smith-Wills Stadium. … Delta State (5-4) is on the road today against Arkansas-Monticello’s Boll Weevils, against whom the Statesmen hold a 76-5 series lead. Dex Herrington, a senior from Senatobia and reigning Gulf South Conference player of the week, is leading DSU in hitting at .394. … Tougaloo, which started 0-5, is now 5-7. … Blue Mountain, which won its opener, is now 1-9.

24 Feb

more, more, more

Reports from Tampa Bay’s spring training camp indicate that the Rays believe former Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings, who had a fine 2013 season, is capable of more. More hits. More home runs. More stolen bases. For his part, Jennings is seeking more consistency in 2014. “I just want to be consistent and hit the ball well all year,” he told mlb.com. “Get on base and steal some bags.” Jennings — All Mississippi Baseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award winner — hit .252 last season with 14 homers and 20 steals. He was especially productive in September as the Rays made their playoff push. Jennings, the Rays’ center fielder, has shown up in camp reportedly looking bigger and stronger. P.S. Jackson State is off to a 5-2 start, and Desmond Russell, the diminutive Bahamas native, has been a big factor. He is batting .368 with eight RBIs and has a 2-1 record, two saves and a 1.08 ERA in five mound appearances. … Millsaps, nationally ranked in NCAA Division III in preseason, is 6-5. The Majors are batting .297 and have a staff ERA if 3.73. But, they’ve committed 26 errors that have led to 22 unearned runs. … Jones County Junior College improved to 10-0 over the weekend by sweeping road doubleheaders against Mississippi Delta and Meridian, all four W’s coming in just a little over 24 hours.

08 Feb

a major player

There is a spotlight on Millsaps College’s Keith Shumaker this season. The junior third baseman/pitcher from Brandon was the Southern Athletic Association player of the year in 2013 and was named a first-team preseason All-America this year by d3baseball.com. Shumaker, who also figures to be a prime contender for the 2014 Ferriss Trophy award, hit .376 with four homers, 52 RBIs and 63 runs AND went 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA on the mound. Obviously, he was a major cog in the Majors’ 38-14 campaign that ended in the NCAA Division III College World Series, the school’s first trip there. Well, if Shumaker is feeling any heat, it didn’t show in Millsaps’ opener on Friday. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run in a 4-1 win over Randolph-Macon at Huntingdon (Ala.) in Montgomery. The Majors have two more games slated in the Alabama event before their home opener on Tuesday against Belhaven.