SAA Tournament Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

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.

in the spotlight

Millsaps College, regular season champion of the Southern Athletic Association, hosts the league tournament beginning today at Twenty Field in Jackson. The Majors (28-12) play Berry at 1 p.m., followed by Centre vs. Rhodes at 5. It is a double-elimination format. The Majors went 3-0 against Berry this season, 2-1 vs. Centre and 1-2 vs. longtime rival Rhodes. Millsaps, 18-6 at home in 2025, last won the SAA Tournament 12 years ago, also advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series that year. Under coach Jim Page, who has 800-plus wins in 36 seasons, the Majors have been to eight D-III regionals all told. Gray Berry leads Millsaps in hitting with a .418 average. Bradley Pelle is at .394 with 13 homers and 56 RBIs. The Majors led the SAA in home runs. Nick Tarantino is the staff ace, going 9-1 with a 3.03 ERA. P.S. Braden Montgomery, the Madison Central High product now in the Chicago White Sox system, hit a three-run walk-off homer Wednesday for Winston-Salem, beating Bowling Green 7-6. Montgomery, who hit two homers on Tuesday, is batting .367 with three bombs and nine RBIs in eight games at the High-Class A level. … In MLB on Wednesday, Boston’s Aroldis Chapman threw a 103.8 mph pitch — fastest in MLB this season — and ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim fouled it off. Crim, still seeking his first hit since his call-up by Texas last week, struck out on the next pitch, a 95 mph splitter, to end the game, a 6-4 Red Sox win.