Major league baseball
If you follow major league baseball you know about the latest teenage phenom in Konnor Griffin. Griffin was drafted ninth overall by Pittsburgh in the MLB draft and signed a $6.5 million bonus with the Pirates. This Friday it was announced that the MLB top prospect had agreed to a nine-year $140 million dollar contract. The 19-year-old former Jackson Prep baseball star doubled in his major league debut on Good Friday against the Baltimore Orioles with 65 family and friends in attendance.
Jake Mangum is a teammate of Griffith's this year. The former MSU great is hitting .296 as he has six hits in 19 plate appearances. Mangum’s infield single drove in the tying run in Saturday’s win over Baltimore, and he had two hits in Sunday’s win.
Another Jackson Prep star in pitcher Will Warren also had a good Friday. Warren was the starter and notched the pitching win as the New York Yankees won their home opener over Miami. The 26-year-old in two appearances is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA.
Konnor Griffin's dad has been the head softball coach at Belhaven College for the past 15 years and recently notched his 500th win. The elder Griffin had to miss his team's doubleheader sweep of Huntingdon last Friday so he could be in Pittsburgh. The Lady Blazers (24-7) will play Millsaps Wednesday.
President Trump signed an executive order to attempt to bring some sanity back to college athletics. The order expands the NCAA’s authority giving the governing body the power to cap a student athlete's eligibility. The athlete would have the ability to transfer one time during a five-year period without sitting out a year. The order has the possibility of federal funding being withheld from schools that do not comply with the order.
The Georgia Bulldogs (27-5, 10-2) swept the Mississippi State Bulldogs to move into sole possession of first place in the SEC baseball standings. State (25-7, 7-5) entered the series with a spotless 18-0 home record this season. Mississippi State will host Tennessee beginning Friday.
Mississippi State baseball honored Nat “Buck” Showalter, Alex Grammas and Chris Stratton as they were inducted into the Ron Polk Ring of Honor.
Southern Miss won two of three games from Old Dominion this past weekend. USM (23-9, 7-5) will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette beginning Friday. Southern Miss will travel to Trustmark Park in Pearl Tuesday, April 14, to play Ole Miss.
Ole Miss went 20 consecutive innings without scoring at Florida but still managed to win two of three games. The Rebels (22-11, 5-7) will host LSU beginning Friday.
William Carey’s Bobby Halford reached another historic milestone as he earned his 1,400th coaching victory last Thursday as the Crusaders edged UT-Southern, 6-5. The Crusaders are 25-12 on the season.
The UCLA women won the NCAA basketball tournament while UConn and Michigan were to meet in the men’s championship game.
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the best college basketball player. The Gillom finalists are Madison Francis of Mississippi State, Cotie McMahon of Ole Miss and Jakayla Johnson of USM. The Howell finalists are Josh Hubbard of MSU, Tylik Weeks of USM and Daeshun Ruffin of Jackson State. The winners will be announced April 15 at the Pearl River Resort.
Former Southern Miss player and assistant coach Pauline Love was named Alabama’s head coach. She began her collegiate career as a player at Jones College before transferring to USM. The Arkansas native was a three-time first team All-Conference USA selection playing for Joye Lee McNelis. She was an assistant at Southern Miss (2013-17) and has also coached at McNeese State, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma. She has been inducted into the Southern Miss M-Club as well as the Jones College and the Mississippi Community College Sports Halls of Fame.
Jackson State head coach Mo Williams has resigned to join the basketball staff at the University of Kentucky.
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 former Ole Miss basketball coach Kermit Davis, Jr. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to all the archived shows.
