Ole Miss (41-19) made a valiant run in the SEC baseball tournament, winning three of five games before falling in the semifinals, 3-2, on Saturday to Arkansas. Mississippi State (40-15) lost both its games in the tournament. Both Ole Miss and MSU will host NCAA Regionals beginning this Friday. MSU will be hosting for the 15th time since the NCAA went to the regional format in 1975 while Ole Miss will be hosting for the 10th time. Each regional field features four teams, playing in a double elimination format.
Southern Mississippi (37-19) lost to Louisiana Tech twice last Saturday in the C-USA baseball tournament. USM finished 2-2 in C-USA tournament play and will have to travel to a regional.
Delta State (28-20) lost twice in the NCAA Division II South Region Baseball Tournament last weekend in Pensacola. DSU lost to Tampa and West Florida.
The MHSAA will host the state baseball championships this week in Pearl at Trustmark Park. The games will begin on Tuesday and run through Saturday.
The city of Pascagoula should be proud as two of their high schools in Pascagoula High School and Resurrection Catholic will be making the long trip to Pearl. Pascagoula will battle Saltillo in Class 5-A while Resurrection and Tupelo Christian will tangle in 1-A play. The rest of the field will have No. 1 Madison Central and Northwest Rankin meeting in 6-A play, Sumrall and West Lauderdale in 4-A play, Booneville and Magee in 3-A play and Taylorsville and East Union in 2-A play.
Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton hit his first 2 home runs of the season as the Chicago White Sox downed Baltimore last weekend. Hamilton also saved two runs from scoring with a diving catch in center field on Saturday. In the same contest, former Ole Miss pitcher Lance Lynn (6-1) pitched five scoreless innings to become only the fifth White Sox pitcher in history to record a 5-0 pitching mark in May.
Nation’s Best
The Ole Miss Lady Rebels golf team claimed the national championship with a 4-1 win over Oklahoma State in Scottsdale, Arizona, last week. It was the first national championship for Ole Miss since the 1962 football team title. The Women’s Golf Coaches Association named Lady Rebels golfer Julia Johnson first-team All-American.
Fulton native and former MSU golf star Ally Ewing won the LPGA Match Play this past weekend over Sophia Popov for her second tour win.
JUCO News
The Jones College softball team finished runner-up in the national tournament in Oxford, Alabama, last weekend. The Lady Bobcats (47-9) lost to Phoenix, 3-2, in the championship game. Jones finished, 4-2, in the tournament while Gulf Coast also recorded a 4-2 mark in the tournament to finish fourth.
Jones College’s men will take part in the National JUCO soccer tournament beginning Saturday in Wichita, Kansas. In the women’s national tournament, state champion Holmes Community College will be heading to Evans, Georgia, along with Jones, who received an at-large bid. Both teams will be in action on Thursday.
Outstanding Player Awards
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum announced the winners of the C Spire Outstanding Player Awards last week.
The Conerly Trophy was awarded to Ole Miss wide receiver Elijah Moore as he set several school records this past season.
The Howell Trophy for the best men’s basketball player was presented to Devontae Shuler of Ole Miss.
The Gillom Trophy for the best female basketball player was awarded to Shakira Austin of Ole Miss. The winners of these three awards were selected by statewide media, along with a fan vote conducted by C-Spire counting for 10% of the vote.
Mississippi State’s Tanner Allen was awarded the Ferris Trophy for the state’s best baseball player. Allen was also named the SEC Player of the Year. Professional baseball scouts and coaches, along with fan voting, determined the winner of the Ferris Award.
The Entergy Hull Trophy for the best offensive lineman in college football was awarded to Royce Newman of Ole Miss. A panel of former coaches, former NFL players and scouts chose this award.
Dale is a Waynesboro resident that has been writing sports since 1973.
