Tag Archives: NJCAA Region 23

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.

11 May

three stars

Ryan McPherson: The Mississippi State freshman right-hander entered Saturday’s game in the ninth inning with the tying and go-ahead runs on base, got a double-play ball and another ground-ball out to preserve the Bulldogs’ 6-5 win over Ole Miss in the rubber game of the series in Starkville. It was the second save of the season for McPherson. State (31-20, 12-15 SEC) improved to 6-1 under interim coach Justin Parker. Nationally ranked Ole Miss is 34-17, 14-13.
Drey Barrett: The Southern Miss freshman third baseman doubled, tripled and drove in four runs as the Golden Eagles won their 11th straight game, whipping Louisiana-Lafayette 15-5 in Hattiesburg. Barrett is hitting .261 with 27 RBIs on the season for USM (37-13, 20-6 Sun Belt)
Jacob Keys: The Pearl River Community College sophomore catcher, from Brandon via USM, hit a grand slam and knocked in five runs all told as the Wildcats (48-7) routed Northeast 17-2 in the Poplarville bracket and advanced to the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Championship Series against East Central.
Worth noting: Ole Miss product Tim Elko became the fifth Mississippian (native or school alum) to debut in the big leagues this season. The Chicago White Sox broadcasting crew sung the praises of Elko’s storybook career in Oxford, interviewed his parents in the Rate Field seats and played a video clip of his Triple-A manager, a very emotional Sergio Santos, informing Elko of his call-up. He played first base and went 0-for-3 in a 3-1 loss to Miami. … Ex-State standout Brent Rooker hit his 10th homer of the year — 89th career — as the A’s took down the New York Yankees 11-7. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, the switch-pitcher out of MSU, won his second straight start for High-Class A Everett (Seattle system), allowing one run in five innings vs. Tri-City. … Former Mississippi Braves star C.J. Alexander hit for the cycle, including his eighth homer, for Triple-A Las Vegas (A’s system). … Rhodes was declared the Southern Athletic Association Tournament champion as rain washed out Saturday’s schedule at Millsaps’ Twenty Field. Rhodes went 2-0 with wins over Millsaps and Centre, who were set to play a losers bracket game. Millsaps, SAA regular season champion, is hopeful of an NCAA Division III regional bid.

09 May

here and there

Announcing their presence with authority, as the line goes, the Mississippi Mud Monsters opened their inaugural season Thursday night with a 13-2 beatdown of Florence at Trustmark Park. An announced crowd of 4,552 saw the new Frontier League club blow the game open in a seven-run sixth inning, aided by some shoddy defense from the visiting Y’alls. Brayland Skinner, Mississippi State alum from Lake Cormorant, had two hits and scored two runs and Travis Holt went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the Mud-sters’ 16-hit attack. Starting pitcher James Boeree, the 7-foot-2 Aussie, threw four hitless (with four walks) innings before yielding to four relievers. Game 2 of the season is tonight in Pearl. … At Twenty Field in Jackson, top-seeded Millsaps College won its SAA Tournament opener 5-2 against Berry and will play Rhodes today in the winners bracket. Bradley Pelle homered to back the excellent pitching of Nick Tarantino, who notched his 10th win. … In Decatur, East Central Community College won its NJCAA Region 23 bracket, whipping Copiah-Lincoln CC 10-0 as Chris Bilingsley threw a one-hitter and Brady McAbee drove in four runs. At Poplarville, Pearl River, riding homers from Jackson Hood and Carlton Thompson, beat Mississippi Gulf Coast 10-1 to advance in the winners bracket. The host Wildcats will play the winner of today’s Gulf Coast-Northeast game for the sub-regional title. PRCC is ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, East Central No. 7. The winners of the two brackets will play a best-of-3 for the region championship. … The five finalists for the Ferriss Trophy have been named: Southern Miss’ Nick Monistere and J.B. Middleton, Ole Miss’ Luke Hill, Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Delta State’s Drake Fontenot. The winner of the award for the state’s best college player will be announced May 19. … The MHSAA playoffs are finally down to the final 28. Four teams in each of the seven classes. In Class 7A, the North championship will be settled between Madison Central and Tupelo, the South between Brandon and Oak Grove. Oak Grove is ranked No. 2 in the state, per MaxPreps, behind MAIS member Magnolia Heights. The MHSAA state finals begin May 19 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. The 6A semifinals match Saltillo and Warren Central, Pearl River Central and George County. In 4A, there’s an intriguing matchup in the South between No. 3 Purvis and No. 4 Sumrall. Purvis features the Parker twins, JoJo and Jacob, both pro prospects. Sumrall counters with Landon Hawkins and Leo Odom. No. 7 West Lauderdale is in the 4A North finals. In 2A, fifth-ranked East Union and ace Landon Harmon meet Hamilton for the North title. … Condolences go out to Ripley High and the family and friends of Joel Gafford, who recently passed away at age 40. He won over 250 games in 15 years at Ripley and took the team to the state finals last year. … On Thursday, Jackson native and former big league star Chet Lemon died at age 70. Lemon was a three-time All-Star and a World Series champion during his 16-year career. Regarded as one of the best defensive center fielders of his era (1975-90), Lemon’s career WAR of 55.6 is the best among all Mississippi natives in the big leagues. Roy Oswalt is second with a 50.0 WAR.

30 Apr

brought low

In need of a big hit in a clutch spot, Nathaniel Lowe delivered a huge one for Washington on Tuesday night. A short time later, his star turn was upstaged by a Philadelphia rally, Lowe brought low. The Phillies beat the visiting Nationals 7-6 in a wild affair at Citizens Bank Park. Lowe, the Mississippi State alum in his first season with the Nationals, was in a 2-for-27 funk when he blasted a two-strike, two-out, go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth against Philly closer Orion Kerkering. In the bottom half, the Phillies rallied for two runs and the win against Nats closer Kyle Finnegan. The winning run crossed on a wild pitch. “That’s the roller coaster that we sign up for,” Lowe said in an mlb.com article. Washington traded for Lowe in the off-season, hoping his power bat — 78 bombs in four years with Texas — would boost a team that had posted four straight losing seasons. He has had some big knocks. The lefty-hitting first baseman is batting .245 with six homers and a team-best 23 RBIs — and the 2025 Nats (13-17) have been more competitive, Tuesday’s gut-punch notwithstanding. P.S. Former Southern Miss star Dustin Dickerson is hitting .353 in 10 games for Triple-A Omaha since Kansas City promoted the shortstop in his third pro season. … Braden Montgomery went 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and a run in his first game with High-Class A Winston-Salem in the Chicago White Sox system. The ex-Madison Central High standout, a first-round draftee in 2024, was hitting .304 with three homers and 19 RBIs at Low-A Kannapolis. … The fields are set for next week’s NJCAA Division II Region 23 sub-regionals. Pearl River Community College, the MACCC champ, will host Mississippi Gulf Coast, Northeast, Meridian and Northwest, with state runner-up East Central hosting Jones, Copiah-Lincoln, Holmes and Southwest. Meridian and Northwest will meet in a play-in game at Poplarville, and Holmes and Southwest will do the same in Decatur.

20 May

enid-bound

How do you get to Enid, Okla.? Practice, yes, but there is a little more to it. In East Central Community College’s case, to get to Enid and the NJCAA Division II World Series, you had to win the Region 23 Tournament against a field that included the No. 1 team in the country, the defending national champion and two other ranked teams. The Warriors pulled it off, beating top-ranked LSU-Eunice 8-2 in a winner-take-all game at Eunice on Friday. Under coach Neal Holliman, in his 17th season, the Warriors have won four state titles, including this year’s. This is their first region title and first World Series berth. Eli Collins, a Southern Miss signee, went 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs to power the ECCC offense on Friday. Five pitchers combined on a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts. From unranked in the preseason, the now No. 8 Warriors (37-17) will head to Enid as one of the 10 regional champions. The brackets will be announced Tuesday, and the double-elimination tournament begins May 27 at Allen Memorial Ballpark. Pearl River won the national title in 2022 and Jones College did it in 2016.

30 Apr

what’s in a game

For the second straight year — and fifth time overall — Pearl River Community College owns the state championship. The Wildcats, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, clinched the MACCC crown with a 12-3 whipping of Northeast on Friday in Poplarville. The pitching of Dakota Lee and two homers from Alex Perry were key for PRCC, which will host the Region 23 Tournament at Dub Herring Park starting May 16. PRCC finishes the regular season 34-10, 22-6 MACCC. Northeast, which won the second game Friday, heads into a best-of-3 series next week with a berth in the region tourney at stake. The Nos. 2-9 seeds in the league face off in the four best-of-3 series. … Millsaps College won for the second straight day in the Southern Athletic Association Tournament and plays Rhodes today for the championship of its pod. The Majors, 23-18 with six straight wins, need to win once to advance to the SAA title series. Sam Pitre was 5-for-6 with a homer and three RBIs in the Majors’ 16-10 win against Centre on Friday. … William Carey pounded out 32 runs in a twinbill sweep of overmatched Talladega and heads to next week’s Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament as the 3-seed with a 33-15 overall record. Jake Lycette drove in seven runs in the two games for the Crusaders. Also headed to the SSAC tourney in Columbus, Ga., is 7-seed Blue Mountain (27-24), which lost its regular season finale Friday at Mobile. … Belhaven split a doubleheader at UT-Dallas on Friday, winning Game 2 8-0 behind the pitching of ace Brett Sanchez, and clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s American Southwest Conference Tournament. The Blazers are 25-14, 18-11, heading into today’s season finale. … Most NCAA Division I Tournament projections don’t include Mississippi State or Ole Miss, but both helped their cause with wins on Friday. State (25-18) beat Missouri and Ole Miss (24-17) took down highly ranked Arkansas. Southern Miss, a favorite to host a regional at this stage, saw its 15-game win streak end at UAB. The Golden Eagles, a consensus top 10 team, are 33-9. Jackson State, coming off a disheartening 21-3 loss to Alabama State at home last Sunday, beat Alabama A&M 3-2 on Friday on a walk-off balk at Braddy Field. It was win No. 501 for coach Omar Johnson, whose erratic Tigers are 20-21, 8-11 SWAC. … Mississippi College (13-33, 7-21 Gulf South) stumbled to its eighth straight loss, 12-1 vs. Union. The Choctaws are going to miss the GSC Tournament; Delta State (27-13, 17-7), which didn’t play Friday, is vying for the No. 1 seed.

21 May

nothing like it

Jackson State’s mettle was tested on Thursday. The Tigers passed. JSU blew a 13-1 lead against Grambling State in the second round of the SWAC Tournament at Madison, Ala., but won 14-13 on a walk-off hit by Jatavious Melton in the bottom of the ninth inning. Ah, there’s nothing like tournament baseball. Melton’s third hit and third RBI of the game scored Omar Gomez and kept the Tigers in the winners’ bracket of a tourney they must win to get an NCAA regional bid. JSU, which went 24-0 in the SWAC this season, is 33-8 overall heading into play today. Alcorn State stayed alive with a 3-2 win over Alabama State in an elimination game. … Elsewhere: Delta State fell to West Florida 11-4 in the deciding game of the Gulf South Conference championship series at Pensacola. All-tournament selection Jake Barlow went 4-for-4 but DSU could not overcome UWF’s seven-run first inning. The Statesmen (28-18) await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. … SSAC champion William Carey bowed out of NAIA regional play with a 7-2 loss to Central Methodist in the title round of the O’Fallon (Mo.) Opening Round. Carey finished 36-12. … MACCC champion Pearl River Community College’s season ended with a 5-2 loss to second-ranked LSU-Eunice in the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament at Poplarville. The third-ranked Wildcats finish 36-9. East Central, behind the pitching of Jeremy Martin, KO’d Hinds and will meet LSU-E for the berth in the juco D-II World Series. No. 15 ECCC (29-18) must beat LSU-E twice to advance. … MUW finished third in the USCAA World Series in Pennsylvania. Damain Benefield and Trey Petite were named first-team All-Americans for the Owls, who closed at 21-13 in their fourth year of competition.

20 May

on the docket

Delta State plays West Florida in a winner-take-all game tonight for the Gulf South Conference Tournament championship at Pensacola, Fla. The Statesmen (28-17) lost Game 2 5-2 on Wednesday.
William Carey needs two wins today against Central Methodist to win the O’Fallon Opening Round (regional) and advance to the NAIA World Series. The Crusaders (36-11) lost to host Central Methodist on Wednesday before beating McPherson in an elimination game.
Jackson State (32-8), which won its opener in the SWAC Tournament, takes on Grambling State today in Madison, Ala., in a winners’ bracket game. Alcorn State lost its first-round game and plays an elimination game today vs. Alabama State.
Pearl River Community College and Meridian CC meet today for the right to play unbeaten LSU-Eunice in the NJCAA Division II Region 23 tourney at Poplarville. East Central and Hinds play in another elimination game.
The Mississippi Braves host a Double-A South doubleheader tonight against Chattanooga at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The M-Braves are 5-8 on the season after winning the six-game series opener on Wednesday night.

17 May

six will enter

If there is a karma factor in the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament, it might belong to Hinds Community College. This could be a sentimental journey for Eagles coach Sam Temple, who is leaving for the Clinton High job after 16 very successful years in Raymond. He has taken two teams to the juco World Series in his previous 15 years. Hinds is the only unranked team in the six-team regional at Poplarville, but between the white lines that means nothing. Stuff happens in the postseason when the games mean more. Pablo Lanzarote, a Purdue signee, leads the HCC attack with a .325 average, 13 homers and 15 RBIs. Matt Corder is hitting .445 with 17 steals. Brooks Auger is 6-1 with a 3.38 ERA, Bryce Brock 5-4, 2.23. Pearl River, which plays Hinds in the first round, is the top seed and enjoys home field advantage (17-1 record) at Herring Park. Led by Tate Parker (.396, 17 homers, 63 RBIs) and Landon Gartman (8-0, 1.83), the Wildcats are among the nation’s leaders in both home runs and ERA, a pretty potent combination. Lurking in the field as the No. 3 seed is LSU-Eunice, ranked second in the nation and boasting of six national titles. The Bengals’ lineup features two .400-hitting regulars: Jack Merrifield (.441) and Scott Jones (.401). Two relief pitchers have ERAs of 1.13 and 0.65. Some other star may emerge, like, perhaps, Meridian’s Banks Tolley (.416, 13 homers, 14 steals), Itawamba’s Lane Domino (.788 slug) or East Central’s Walker Johnson (2.08 ERA, 15 strikeouts per nine innings). Whichever team makes it through to Enid, Okla., for the D-II World Series will have earned the ticket.

14 May

coming events

The road to Lewiston, Idaho, will start in O’Fallon, Mo., for William Carey University, which has been assigned to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round hosted by fourth-ranked Central Methodist. Carey, champion of the SSAC Tournament, draws 19th-ranked Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) to begin on May 17. The winner of the regional advances to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston. Tenth-ranked Loyola (New Orleans) is also hosting an Opening Round tourney, but Carey won’t get to make that short trip. Carey, as a 5-seed, beat the top-seeded Wolf Pack twice in the SSAC Tournament. Carey won the NAIA national title in 1969, one of only two championships by Mississippi four-year schools. (Delta State won the other.) The Crusaders’ Blake Freeman was named SSAC Tournament MVP after batting .474 with two homers (both in the title clincher) and was joined on the all-tournament team by pitcher Jorge Ramos and two-way star Sloan Dieter. … Jackson State, 24-0 and top seed from the East Division, will open SWAC Tournament play against West 4-seed Texas Southern on May 19 at Madison, Ala. Alcorn State, East 4-seed, gets West No. 1 Prairie View that same day. … Delta State heads to Pensacola, Fla., for the best-of-3 GSC Championship Series against West Florida starting on May 18. … MUW takes on Bryant & Stratton College-Albany (N.Y.) on May 17 in the first round of USCAA Small College World Series at DuBois, Pa. … And at Herring Park in Poplarville, the NJCAA D-II Region 23 Tournament, stacked with nationally ranked teams, begins May 17 with three games: Pearl River Community College vs. Hinds; Meridian vs. Itawamba; and LSU-Eunice vs. East Central.