the horror

Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Morale-crushing. Take your pick. Delta State’s loss to Valdosta State late Monday night in the Gulf South Conference Tournament may have been all of those. And the worst part is, they’ve seen this type of thing so many times before during this uneven season. In case you missed it, here’s the recap: Bottom of the ninth. Two-run lead. Unbeaten pitcher on the mound. Playing in front of the home crowd. Valdosta gets a leadoff hit. Then an out. Then an error. Yikes. An RBI double. One-run lead. Intentional walk. A force out at the plate. Maybe … no, a wild pitch. Tie score. A base hit. Game over. DSU, which really needs a good showing in the tourney to make a Division II regional, faces an elimination game at 1 p.m. today against Alabama-Huntsville. Can the Statesmen get up for it?
P.S. Catching up: Pearl River Community College whipped Mississippi Gulf Coast CC 14-6 Monday to earn the 4-seed in the MACJC South and a trip to Itawamba on Friday in the best-of-3 round of the postseason. … Former Mississippi Brave Brandon Jones, who cleared waivers, went 0-for-2 Monday in his first game back with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A Indianapolis club. … The current M-Braves lost shortstop Luis Bolivar to Triple-A Gwinnett — which may send Brandon Hicks to the big leagues today — and added journeyman shortstop Amadeo Zazueta, a .190 hitter at Class A Myrtle Beach who played independent ball last year. … The Boston Red Sox hit four home runs in a breakout game Monday; included was Nettleton native Bill Hall’s first of the year. He’s up to .250. … Former Jackson General Billy Wagner, now with Atlanta, announced he’ll retire after this season. That news might put a bounce in the step of the closer-in-waiting, Craig Kimbrel, the ex-M-Brave now at Gwinnett.