18 Mar

hot spots

As the junior college season begins to warm, the hot spots for today are Poplarville and Perkinston. Pearl River Community College, tied for second in this week’s NJCAA Division II poll, hosts Mississippi Delta in a doubleheader showdown of 3-1 conference teams. PRCC, ranked No. 1 in preseason, is 22-4 and 10-2 at home. The visiting Trojans are 7-12-1 overall but have beaten Mississippi Gulf Coast and East Mississippi (twice) in league play. Gulf Coast, 2-2 in the MACCC, welcomes Itawamba (3-1) in another key matchup. No. 6 Meridian, also 3-1, hosts 0-4 Holmes and 13th-ranked Jones (3-1) is at East Mississippi (1-3). Hinds, 2-2 in conference and ranked 17th, visits 0-4 Coahoma. Northeast and East Central are also off to 3-1 starts. The Tigers are at Southwest (1-3) and the Warriors are at Baton Rouge. … Individual standouts include ICC’s Matthew Martinolich, batting .486; Gulf Coast’s Charlie Keller (12 home runs); Hinds’ Connor Chisolm (34 runs); Meridian’s Dalton McIntyre (18 steals); PRCC’s Cooper Cooksey (5-0, 0.83 ERA); MCC’s Cole Boswell (5-0, 0.96); and Northwest’s Brayden Sanders (4 saves, 0.00 ERA).

04 Dec

totally random

Today’s subject: Bobby Etheridge. Etheridge’s first start in the big leagues came on July 17, 1967, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco — and it was one to write home about. Batting second for the Giants – behind Southern Miss alum Jim Davenport – Greenville native Etheridge went 2-for-5, including a two-run ninth-inning triple in a 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Etheridge didn’t play a lot that year (40 games) on a team that included Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry, but he made enough of an impression that his 1968 Topps card included one of those sweet All-Star Rookie gold trophies. Etheridge played a year at Mississippi State and another at Mississippi Delta Junior College (where he helped win a state title) before entering pro ball in 1964. He played his last MLB game in 1969, finishing with a .244 career average. Etheridge played four more years in the minors, finishing up with Double-A Memphis in 1973. He spent the rest of his days back in Greenville, where he worked for Mississippi Marine. He died in 2015; the obit described him as “humble,” “a man of integrity” and “an avid hunter.” He could also play a little ball.

06 Mar

in a groove

Tre Hobbs didn’t arrive at Delta State without credentials. He was an All-Stater at Riverside High in Greenville in 2013 and an All-MACJC pick at Mississippi Delta Community College last year. But did anyone really expect the 5-foot-10, 160-pound left-hander to get off to this kind of start for the Statesmen? Hobbs improved to 5-0 for 10-7 DSU with a 5-3 win against Union on Saturday. Trailing 3-2 entering the seventh (two of Union’s runs were unearned), Hobbs benefited from a three-run rally fueled by a Colton Welch home run. Hobbs then finished off a complete game seven-hitter. For the year, Hobbs has a 1.62 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 10 walks in 33 1/3 innings. He was 5-4 with a 4.12 ERA for a 20-27 Delta CC team last year. While Hobbs has a much better supporting cast at DSU, he also appears to have risen to the challenge of tougher competition in NCAA Division II.

13 Jul

cotton pickin’

With about two weeks left in the season, the Tippah Tribe has emerged as the best team in the Cotton States League. The Tribe is 12-3 with five straight wins in the New Albany-based college summer league. Luke Stanley, a Delta State alum, went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run and a steal to spark the Tribe to a 6-5 win over Tallahatchie on Sunday. Tallahatchie, 9-7 and tops in the Delta Division, gets another crack at the Deep South Division-leading Tribe on Tuesday. The Tribe’s Jerry Tatum has a 0.86 ERA and two saves over 21 innings. The Rascals’ Zach Phillips leads the CSBL in homers (four) and RBIs (20), and Payton Cain is 4-1. In other games on Sunday: Tyler Dowdy and Drew Carter combined on a one-hitter to lead Hill Country past Tupelo 1-0. Dowdy, a Mississippi Delta Community College product, earned his third win, Carter – an Itawamba CC alum — the save. Jordan Lambert, batting .524, scored the game’s only run. And Jon Marc Girardeau and Zachary Quillian combined for six hits, six RBIs and four runs to pace Golden Triangle over North Delta 13-1. Matthew Mills notched his fourth win for the Jets, who are 9-8 in the Delta Division.