two weeks notice

The college season in Mississippi starts on Feb. 1, when Blue Mountain College takes on Christian Brothers at BNA Bank Park in New Albany. (The inaugural game at the new BMC SportsPlex on campus is set for March 10.) Hard to believe the Toppers are entering their eighth season. BMC went 23-32 in 2016, 7-19 in the Southern States Athletic Conference, one of NAIA’s best leagues. Curt Fowler, the only coach BMC has had, welcomes back hitters Caleb Leach (.343, six homers), Peyton Callahan (.336) and Miciah Heard (.314, 31 steals) and hurlers David Torres and Christian Dale, both 5-game winners. … On Feb. 3, Mississippi College will host Florida Tech, NAIA nationally ranked William Carey hosts Shawnee State (as part of the WCU Invitational) and Millsaps plays at Huntingdon in Alabama. Delta State opens on Feb. 4 at home against Harding. Belhaven University’s first game is Feb. 10 at home against Berry, and Tougaloo will launch that same day at Loyola of New Orleans. Rust’s schedule has not been posted. Most of the junior colleges play the second weekend of February, and the NCAA Division I start date is Feb. 17. … For the record, MUW – and recently named coach Matt Wolfenbarger — will start play in 2018 as a Division III program.