Tag Archives: Rust

26 Apr

collision course

If momentum means anything, Mississippi College might have an edge against Delta State when the NCAA Division II rivals hook up in Cleveland this weekend (today-Saturday). The Choctaws (20-22, 10-17 Gulf South) are coming off a walk-off win — courtesy of a Caleb Reese home run — and have won four of their last six. Delta State (25-20, 16-11) has lost five in a row and six of seven, though the Statesmen have clinched a berth in the GSC Tournament while MC is on the outside looking in. MC has some power bats — Reese and J.T. Vance have 14 homers each and Wesley Sides has 12 — and some speed — 80 steals, 15 by Cole Drake — but has been dragged down by its pitching. The staff ERA is 6.46 and no pitcher has more than three wins. Cooper Gadman is 3-1 with a 3.92, and reliever Michael Sutton has a 3.86 and two saves. Dylan Coleman has been the offensive bell cow for DSU, batting .364 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs. Brett Burrell is at .346. No. 1 starter Drake Fontenot is 6-3 despite a 5.66 ERA, while reliever Josh Hill is 4-0 with six saves and a 3.79. If history means anything, DSU might be favored to take the three-game series at Ferriss Field. The Statesmen lead all-time 50-14 according to DSU records, 46-14 per MC’s. Of course, it’ll probably come down to which pitching staff can get the clutch outs. P.S. In the GCAC Tournament at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium, Rust beat top-seeded Wiley (Texas) on Thursday and is 2-0 heading into a winners bracket game today against Talladega (Ala.) at 5:30 p.m. Tougaloo stayed alive Thursday by beating Oakwood (Ala.) and meets Wiley in an elimination game today at 2 p.m.

23 Apr

attention, please

Jordan Westburg might not be the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of the star-studded Baltimore Orioles lineup, but the former Mississippi State standout certainly grabbed some attention last week. Westburg batted .478 with two doubles, a triple, two homers and eight RBIs in the week that ended Saturday and was named the American League’s Player of the Week on Monday. The second-year big leaguer, who has started at three different positions this season, is batting .320 with five homers, 18 RBIs and 14 runs in 21 games for the O’s, who lead the AL East with a 15-7 record. He even got some MVP votes in an mlb.com poll announced Monday. Westburg saw a nine-game hit streak end on Monday, when he went 0-for-3 with a walk in a 4-2 victory at the Los Angeles Angels. He had five multi-hit games during that hit streak. A first-round pick in 2020, Westburg batted .260 with three homers and 23 RBIs in 68 games after a midseason call-up in 2023. P.S. The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, featuring Rust and Tougaloo, begins with four games Wednesday at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. Fifth-seeded Rust opens the double-elimination event against Southern-New Orleans at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Tougaloo, the 6-seed, opens against Dillard (Fla.) at 4 p.m. The top seed is Wiley (Texas), which went 18-3 in the NAIA league. Second-seeded Talladega (Ala.) finished 17-3. Third-seeded Dillard enters the tourney with a 10-game win streak.

12 Apr

the other rivalry

You’ve heard about the rivalry series coming up this weekend. No, not that SEC skirmish in Oxford. The other one. Gulf Coast Athletic Conference rivals Rust and Tougaloo, jockeying for position in the conference tournament later this month, meet in a three-game set (Saturday-Sunday) at the Bulldogs’ Sanders Field (named for coach and ex-Jackson State star Earl Sanders). Rust, led by hot-hitting, base-swiping Malik Berrien, is 7-7 in the GCAC, in fourth place. Tougaloo, led by the sizzling bat of Khilan Magee, is 7-8. Tougaloo has lost 12 straight to Rust, last winning one in 2021. The GCAC now includes eight teams for baseball, with newcomer Southern-New Orleans joining Wiley (Texas), Talladega (Ala.), Dillard (La.), Philander Smith (Ark.) and Oakwood (Ala.) this year. Wiley leads the league with a 13-2 record. More expansion is on the horizon for the NAIA league, which will become the HBCU Athletic Conference in July. The GCAC Tournament starts April 24 at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium.