Tag Archives: SWAC

18 Apr

whirlwind weekend

The weekend started with a bang Thursday night in Oxford, where LSU beat Ole Miss 4-3 in 13 innings in a collision of top 10 teams. More fireworks are sure to follow. Mississippi State is at Missouri for a three-game SEC set, and Southern Miss is hosting Louisiana Tech in a three-game C-USA series. But the more compelling games may involve the smaller schools. To wit: Jackson State vs. Mississippi Valley State in Moorhead. JSU, the defending SWAC champ, sits in third place in the SWAC East at 6-9 (23-17 overall). Time to get healthy in this three-game set with 1-28 Valley. Player to watch: JSU’s Tilur Smith, who has picked up the slack for slumping Charles Tillery (.224) and is batting .347. Delta State at Shorter. The Statesmen are in the midst of playing 10 straight road games, but they are 15-5 away from Cleveland’s Ferriss Field, so no worries there. In fact, DSU seemingly has few worries at all. The Mean Green is 28-8, 19-4 Gulf South Conference and ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division II. Player to watch: Landon Thibodeaux, hitting .351 with five homers and 25 RBIs. Mississippi College vs. Howard Payne in Clinton. The Choctaws are 15-15 after dropping Thursday’s series opener 6-3. They are chasing a bid to the National Christian College Athletic Association regionals, and they need more wins. Player to watch: Blake Mcilwain, (5-1, 2.91 ERA) who threw a no-hitter last weekend and is slated for one of today’s two games. Millsaps at Oglethorpe. The Majors, ranked in NCAA Division III in preseason, are 19-16 and 9-8 (fifth) in the Southern Athletic Association. They need to build some momentum for league tournament play, which starts next weekend. Player to watch: Keith Shumaker, rocking along with a .340 batting average and a 4-1, 1.56 pitching ledger. Belhaven vs. Bethel in Jackson. The Blazers (34-14) have been guaranteed an NAIA postseason berth as host of a regional, but they certainly don’t want to limp through the last two weekends of the regular season. They’re just 14-10 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Player to watch: Reagan Rutledge, who is batting .313 and has 51 stolen bases in 55 attempts. William Carey vs. Auburn-Montgomery in Hattiesburg. The Crusaders began the year ranked in the NAIA poll but are just 27-22 and 13-11 in the SSAC, fighting for one of the eight tournament berths. A 13-15 record at Wheeler Field is hard to figure. Player to watch: Jeremy Ferguson, who has a .423 on-base percentage and a team-best 32 runs.

21 Mar

two teams, one win

Coming this weekend: the battle at the bottom in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Mississippi Valley State, 0-18 and 0-7 in the league, visits Alcorn State, 1-19 and 1-5, for a pair of games Saturday and a solo Sunday at Rat McGowan Stadium in Lorman. Who knows what might happen? Valley coach Doug Shanks and Alcorn’s Barret Rey have had success with their programs in the recent past, but things have gone off the rails in 2014. Valley is hitting .197 (last in the league) and has an 8.24 ERA (ninth of 10) and a .938 fielding percentage (also ninth) with 41 errors. Alcorn is hitting .242 (tied for seventh) but is averaging just three runs a game with an ERA of 8.98 (last) and a fielding percentage of .932 (last) with 50 errors. The winner of this series will feel a little better about itself. Not sure what the loser might feel … . P.S. Also scuffling this year is Blue Mountain, 2-18 and 1-14 in its first year in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Last weekend, the Toppers lost a home series to William Carey by the scores of 12-2, 7-1 and 11-1.

07 Mar

drought in itta bena

On the bright side, Arrington Smith is hitting .391, near the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference leaders list, and has six doubles. Aside from that, it has been a gloomy season so far for Mississippi Valley State. Doug Shanks’ Delta Devils, two years removed from playing for the conference tournament championship, are 0-12. They started their season by losing a series at Dallas Baptist by the scores of 19-0, 19-3 and 14-2. They’ve also lost to Ball State 12-1, Northwestern 12-2 and Kansas 11-1. They’re 0-4 in the SWAC, having scored just 10 runs in that series against Alabama State and twice getting shut out. Valley isn’t playing any games in Itta Bena this season because of campus construction; the Devils are using Mississippi Delta Community College’s ballpark in Moorhead for “home” games. It’ll be interesting to see how long the winless drought lingers. Valley takes on Alabama tonight in Tuscaloosa. Don’t see it ending there.