By Staff
From staff reports
April 10, 2002
Briarwood Country Club will be the site of the MACJC State Tournament and the Region 23 Tournament, April 23-24. Meridian Community College will be the host for the 36-hole event for Divisions I, II, and III.
Marty Stamper
The fat lady's humming
The Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers are off to a torrid 22-5-1 start in the 2002 baseball season, but one of their recent wins probably had head coach Donny Castle more than just a tad concerned.
Northwest trailed Southwest Tennessee 10-1 before rallying for a 14-12 victory on March 24 at Ranger Field. The Rangers trailed 12-9 going into the bottom of the ninth before eventually winning on a grand slam from second baseman Adam Friga. Friga is from Oran, Mo. The Rangers also have three players from Tennessee with two coming all the way from Puerto Rico.
Marty Stamper
Home Run Derby
The Northwest Rangers hit nine home runs in their doubleheader split with Mississippi Delta on April 2.
Marty Stamper
Delta getting rain
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, but at Moorhead, the rain falls mainly on the baseball diamond at Mississippi Delta Community College.
Terry Thompson's Trojans had 14 rainouts prior to this week. "That's the most we've ever had," Thompson said.
Marty Stamper
No place like Holmes
They must really like Goodman over at Holmes Community College. The Bulldogs scheduled their first 22 games at Goodman. The only road games for the Bulldogs for the regular season will be their 12 MACJC North Division games.
Marty Stamper
D-II World Series nearby
The NJCAA Division II World Series is slated for May 26-June 1 at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. USA Stadium is where the Olympic team trains and plays some of its games.
Region 23 teams that compete in Division II are Copiah-Lincoln, Hinds, Pearl River, Coahoma, Holmes, Itawamba, Northwest, and LSU-Eunice. The Region 23 Division II Tournament will be hosted by the MACJC South Division champion, May 10-12.
Marty Stamper
Big boys go to Grand
The Division I teams play their NJCAA World Series at Grand Junction, Col. Region 23 teams that compete in Division I are Gulf Coast, East Central, Jones, Southwest, Mississippi Delta, East Mississippi, Northeast, Bossier Parish, Meridian, and Delgado. MCC will again host the Region 23 Division I Tournament, May 9-12.
Marty Stamper
Pete, Pete, Pete
Former Mississippi State third baseman/closer deluxe Pete Young is the assistant baseball coach at Copiah-Lincoln. Young played at MSU with West Lauderdale girls' basketball coach Jody Hurst. No one left with a dirtier uniform or was more loved by the MSU fans than Young during his playing days.
Marty Stamper
Gulf Coast owns MACJC
Mississippi Gulf Coast has been the powerhouse in the MACJC for years when it comes to baseball. The Bulldogs were state champions from 1966-75, 1979-81, and again in 1992 and 1997. Yet the Bulldogs may not even make this year's state tournament which will be played at the North Division champion, May 3-5. With 10 league games left, the Bulldogs were tied for third place in the South Division with Copiah-Lincoln as both had identical 8-6 league marks. Jones was in first place at 10-4, while Pearl River was in second at 8-4. Hinds (7-7), Southwest (4-10), and East Central (3-11) complete the league. Only the top two teams from each division advance to the state tournament.
Coincidentally, perhaps, the bad luck is falling in Cooper Farris' 13th season as head coach at Perkinston.
Marty Stamper
Strange, but true
One would think Hinds Community College would be a longtime powerhouse in baseball. After all, the Raymond school boasts the state's largest enrollment among the junior colleges.
In fact, Hinds did not even field a baseball team for 13 years before reinstating the program in 1973. Then the tradition began.
The Eagles became the first Mississippi team to reach the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Col., in 1989 and in 1994, they became the first Mississippi team to reach the NJCAA Division II World Series in Millington, Tenn. Hinds returned to Millington again in 1995.
Marty Stamper
Glaze known around here
Jones Junior College head baseball coach Bobby Glaze is in his 12th season with the Bobcats. He graduated from Newton High School in 1971 and played at now-defunct Clarke College in Newton before continuing his career at Mississippi College where he was selected Most Valuable Player.
Glaze coached five years at Newton and 10 at R.H. Watkins High School in Laurel. His prep record for the 15 years was 184-152.
– Marty Stamper
Oswalt hurled at Holmes
Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt pitched two years at Holmes Community College and appeared in the Region 23 Division I Tournament at Meridian Community College.
– Marty Stamper