winning ways

There was joy in Hattiesburg last June when right-hander Todd McInnis announced he would reurn for his senior season at Southern Miss. “I know he has a lot more he wants to accomplish,” USM coach Scott Berry said at the time. On Friday, McInnis tied the school record for career wins, beating nationally ranked College of Charleston for his 29th victory, matching the total of a fellow Northwest Rankin High alum, Darrell Lindsey. McInnis is 4-1 this season for a 13-3 team. Barring a calamity, he’ll set a career victories mark at USM that’ll never be broken. McInnis arrived at USM in 2007 as a highly decorated high school player; he was The Clarion-Ledger newspaper’s Mr. Baseball in 2006. He won four of his first five decisions at USM before a back injury curtailed his freshman season. He received a medical redshirt, giving him four more years of eligibility. He went 6-3 with a 5.45 ERA as a redshirt freshman in 2008, then posted a 9-4, 3.37 mark in 2009, earning Conference USA pitcher of the year honors and leading the Golden Eagles to their first College World Series berth. He won six games last year and lowered his ERA to 3.31. The Eagles won the C-USA Tournament but fell short of a return trip to the CWS. Though being a school’s career wins leader is certainly special, individual records weren’t very high on McInnis’ wish list when he decided to turn down a shot at pro ball last summer. (He was drafted in the 32nd round by Oakland.) He said he was coming back in hopes of making another CWS trip. And if USM is to get back to Omaha, it’ll need another big year from the 6-foot-1, 160-pound McInnis, who was named C-USA preseason pitcher of the year by Baseball America magazine. The Eagles, projected as an NCAA Tournament team by Baseball America, begin C-USA play next weekend against Tulane at Taylor Park. Expect McInnis to be on the hill in the Friday opener. That career wins mark could be his alone very soon.
P.S. An early nominee for Game of the Year: Belhaven 1, Mobile 0 in 15 innings on Friday. The Blazers (21-6) won the Southern States Athletic Conference game on a walk-off HBP. Josh Clarke got the win, his third, with four innings of one-hit relief.