the pearl jam

Mason Robbins has had a sensational freshman campaign for Southern Miss, batting a team-best .352 heading into tonight’s contest against Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl. MSU’s offensive ills have been well-chronicled, but Adam Frazier has been largely immune to that malaise. The sophomore is batting .342. Those hot hitters aside, the most interesting aspect of the game might be the pitching matchup between USM’s Boomer Scarborough, a sophomore out of St. Stanislaus, and State’s Brandon Woodruff, a freshman from Wheeler. They are potential future aces for these clubs. Scarborough, who pitched well against the Bulldogs in this game last year, is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Woodruff, who hasn’t gotten as much work as his Golden Eagles counterpart this year, is 0-1, 4.76 but was a centerpiece in the 2012 recruiting class. Both teams are playing well. The Bulldogs come in 24-16, the Eagles 23-16. State leads the all-time series 76-36 and won last year’s Atlanta Regional matchup, but USM has gained ground in this rivalry in recent years. A good game is in the offing. P.S. Ran across a list of the attendees at the recent Fenway Park 100th anniversary celebration. Among the 200-plus ex-Boston players to show up were Mississippians Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Wes Chamberlain, Steve Dillard, Jerry Moses and Bill Selby.