Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss baseball all hit the road last weekend, and the results were not very good.
Mississippi State lost two of three over the weekend against Texas A&M in College Station. The Bulldogs (17-8, 3-3) travel to Florida this weekend. USM lost two of three at Georgia Southern last weekend. The Golden Eagles (15-9, 4-2) host Troy beginning on Thursday this week. Ole Miss (17-8, 3-3), who also lost two of three at Tennessee, hosts the SEC East’s leader Kentucky this weekend. The Rebels defeated USM last week in Pearl, 8-3.
NCAA Tournament
The Mississippi State Bulldogs lost to Michigan State in first round action of the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs (21-14) were making their second straight appearance on the big stage under second year head coach Chris Jans.
The Ole Miss Lady Rebels won their opening game in the NCAA Tournament, 67-55, over Marquette. The Lady Rebels were scheduled to play Notre Dame on Monday night of this week in second round play. The winner would advance to the “Sweet 16”. This is the second year Ole Miss has advanced to the Round of 32 and the 13th time in school history.
The Jackson State Lady Tigers fell to third seed Connecticut, 86-64, in their opening game in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Tigers (26-7) were led by Meridian’s Ti’Lan Boler who netted 25 points.
Post Season Basketball
The Lady Bulldogs of Mississippi State (23-11) blistered Georgia Tech in the opening round of the WBIT tournament and then took care of TCU, 68-61, on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of this inaugural tournament against either Penn State or Belmont on Thursday.
Southern Mississippi’s Joye Lee-McNelis coached in her 1,000th game as an NCAA head coach and took a 78-67 overtime victory over Murray State in WNIT play. The Lady Eagles had beaten UAB in the opening round. The final 16 contest will be played on Wednesday against either Grambling or Sun Belt foe ULM. McNelis, in her 20th year at USM and 33rd as a head coach, has won 558 games.
Baseball Notes
Major League opening day is this Thursday and our state will be well represented by a couple of pitchers from South Mississippi. Former George County high school pitcher Justin Steele was named the Opening Day starter for the Chicago Cubs while Ocean Springs alum Garrett Crochet was named the Opening Day starter for the cross-town Chicago White Sox.
Belhaven won the first game of the Con Maloney Trophy Series with a 4-0 blanking of Millsaps. Games two and three will be played the next two Tuesdays.
JUCO News
The East Central Warriors, No. 1 in the NJCAA National baseball rankings, were finally defeated this past Saturday after opening the season with 31 wins. The Warriors (31-1) lost the nightcap of a twin bill, 8-7, to Northwest.
East Central was joined in the national poll last week by Pearl River (30-5). The Wildcats, who have 17 straight wins entering the week, came in at five, followed by Jones (27-5) at tenth.
The Lady Bulldogs of Gulf Coast Community College will tip off in the NJCAA National Division 1 Tournament this Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. against Three Rivers. The tournament is being played in Casper, Wyoming.
The state and Region 23 champion Jones College Bobcats (27-7) fell to Panola College, 84-73, in the opening round of the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchison, Kansas, on Sunday.
Golf News
The 20th annual Steve Hull Memorial Golf Classic will take place on Thursday, June 6, at the Dancing Rabbit Golf Club on the Pearl River Resort. The cost is $600 for a four-man team or $150 for an individual. For more information go to charitygolftoday.com or stevehullclassic or call Director Lindsey Hall at 601-616-0860.
Dale has been writing sports since 1973. Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO-FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest is MSU Bulldog expert David Murray of Gene’s Page. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome, go to wabo105.com and click listen live. You may also go on YouTube to listen to all the archived shows.
