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3 days 5 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Southern Miss had everything it needed in the first inning, bases loaded, no outs and a chance to seize control.
It walked away with one run, and never recovered and Appalachian State made sure it paid for it.
After stranding the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning, the Golden Eagles managed just one hit over the next five innings, falling 6-2 to App State as the Mountaineers used a pair of three-run innings to take control late.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 days 9 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
For a team with nearly an entirely new roster, Southern Miss isn’t starting with a playbook in spring camp - it’s starting with discipline.
First-year head coach Blake Anderson has a team that is nearly 95% new from a year ago, ranking last in the country in returning production, according to ESPN.
Therefore, there is no designated captain on the team yet. Nearly 80 to 100 new players are still trying to learn each other, the system and how Anderson coaches.
By DIMA MIXON on
4 days 2 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Ben Higdon and Grayden Harris were sitting in the dugout talking about Harris’ outing and down three runs on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Higdon told Harris that he just didn’t think the ball was rolling their way, to which Harris replied, “We just need like one big inning, like a four-run eighth.”
A few at-bats later, Harris hit it on the money when Ty Long touched home plate to complete the four-run inning in the eighth, giving Southern Miss its first lead of the night.
By DIMA MIXON on
5 days 8 hours ago
When you are buried at sea, you join the legion of those who are flotsam and jetsam at the mercy of the tides, your bones moving with the currents, eternally adrift and forever missing.
By Benny Hornsby on
5 days 8 hours ago
Researchers say the center will be the first of its kind in the nation.
The University of Mississippi on Monday announced the upcoming launch of its new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which researchers describe as the “first of its kind in the nation” amid rising national concern about betting on collegiate sports.
By Michael Goldberg - Mississippi Today on
5 days 8 hours ago
Steve Knight became the head men’s basketball coach at William Carey College way back in July of 1982 at the age of 25.
That same month, Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe for the Wimbledon championship. Tom Watson, now 76, won golf’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, Scotland. William Winter was Mississippi’s governor. Ronald Reagan was president. Pete Rose led the National League in hitting. From Rocky III, Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” was No. 1 on the record charts.
By Rick Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
5 days 10 hours ago
This is a Mississippi baseball fan’s delight, highlighted by a three-game SEC series matching State and Ole Miss at Oxford and Opening Day in the Major Leagues. So much to discuss.
By Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland - Mississippi Today on
6 days 23 hours ago
Photo by Dima Mixon, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
FLOWOOD — Oak Grove gets a massive region win on the road.
Behind a big sixth inning along with the pitching of Bradyn Murphy the Warriors knocked off Northwest Rankin 4-2 in a pivotal Region 3-7A matchup at Wesley Scarbrough Field on Tuesday night.
The Warriors (12-4, 3-0 Region 3-7A) and Cougars (15-4, 2-1) will meet again at Oak Grove on Friday night at 7 p.m.
By Brandon Shields on
6 days 23 hours ago
Photo by Jacob Brumfield, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
STARKVILLE - The trip to Starkville has not been kind to Southern Miss the past two seasons.
No. 6 Mississippi State wasted no time taking control, erupting for nine runs over the first three innings and cruising to a 12-0 run-rule victory over No. 11 Southern Miss in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week ago
House lawmakers are deliberating sending a bill to Gov. Tate Reeves that would make it illegal for doctors to prescribe medication that could be used to induce abortion to patients in Mississippi.
By Sophia Paffenroth - Mississippi Today on
1 week 2 days ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Southern Miss rallied all weekend, and it was fitting that it needed another one to win the series against a gritty Troy ball club.
The No. 12 Golden Eagles didn’t panic.
Not when they fell behind by four runs early. Not after dropping Friday night’s opener. And not in a tense, back-and-forth finish against a Troy team that looked every bit like a Sun Belt contender, despite its record.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 3 days ago
Photo by Jacob Brumfield, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
When doubts were coming in about the Southern Miss lineup, they responded with their best hitting day since the North Alabama series two weeks ago. The Golden Eagles used 11 hits and 11 runs to cruise past Troy 11-5 to even the weekend series.
“I’m not sitting here telling you these last five games we have played our best,” Ostrander said. “It’s hard to play your best for 56 of them. You’ve got to hang in there and kind of roll with the punches sometimes. You have to stay locked in and stay together. It was good today to do what we needed to do and had to do.”
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 4 days ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Christian Ostrander and Southern Miss baseball have a real issue, and at the moment there isn’t much of an answer for it.
The hitting over the last several games has been downright atrocious.
Tonight, against the ninth-worst pitching team in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss mustered just seven hits, eight baserunners and went 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position in a series-opening 6-5 loss to Troy for the No. 12 Golden Eagles.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 4 days ago
It is the second time this session that a mobile sports betting bill from the House has died in the Senate.
The “Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act,” which passed 100 to 11 in the House of Representatives, has died in the Senate Gaming Committee at the hands of chairman State Senator David Blount (D).
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
1 week 5 days ago
Photo special to the Pine Belt News from William Carey Athletics
Hattiesburg, Miss.- After 44 seasons on the Carey bench, Mississippi’s all-time winningest college basketball coach, Steve Knight, announced his retirement today, bringing an end to a remarkable career that ranks amongst the best in college basketball history.
By Ben Smith on
1 week 5 days ago
Photo by Dima Mixon, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
One of the most accomplished and respected figures in Mississippi college athletics is calling it a career.
William Carey head men’s basketball coach Steve Knight announced his retirement following 44 seasons leading the Crusaders, closing the book on a historic tenure.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 6 days ago
Schools in states with no income tax have sought to use that to their benefit when recruiting college athletes. Mississippi won’t be joining them, at least for now.
The Mississippi Senate Finance Committee killed a House bill Monday that sought to exempt name, image and likeness, or NIL, compensation from the state’s income tax.
By Frank Corder - Magnolia Tribune on
2 weeks ago
Petal gets a big region win at home in a big way.
The Panthers scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to highlight an 11-3 rout of Brandon in the Region 3-7A opener on Tuesday night.
Petal (11-6, 1-0 Region 3-7A) and Brandon (9-6, 0-1) will meet again at Brandon on Friday night at 7 p.m.
“That’s the things you need to do is set the tone early against a team that’s a really good team and a team that’s been at Trustmark the last two years,” said Petal coach Conner Douglas. “We played hard and good things happen and proud of the guys.”
By Brandon Shields on
2 weeks ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
It was appropriate that on St. Patrick’s Day, the team that dominated its game was the one wearing green.
Lamar Christian used an overwhelming first inning to defeat Hillcrest Christian 13-0 in four innings Tuesday at the LCS Field.
The Lions improved to 11-2 overall, and 3-0 in MAIS District 4-2A; Hillcrest remained winless.
Despite the lop-sided margin, LC head coach Matthew Parker wasn’t 100 percent pleased with his team’s focus with a big lead.
By Stan Caldwell on
2 weeks ago
Photo by Jacob Brumfield, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Southern Miss head basketball coach Jay Ladner will return to the school for his eighth season, the school confirmed to The Pine Belt News on Tuesday.
The decision follows a season shaped by injuries but highlighted by a late surge, as Southern Miss played its best basketball down the stretch.
Ladner will return for the 2026-27 season to complete the final year of his current contract.
By DIMA MIXON on
