It was a great weekend for the three Division I baseball teams in the Magnolia State. All three seem to be heating up at the right time as they head into conference tournaments this week.
Mississippi State (31-24, 15-15) swept the No. 1 Florida Gators for the first time since 1989. “Mr. Clutch” Jake Mangum led the charge against the best pitching staff in the country in the Gators. The wins gave MSU the No. 9 seed in the SEC tournament that began in Hoover on Tuesday.
State, once given up for dead, has swept Arkansas and Florida in SEC play and was 3-1 against Ole Miss this spring. Florida (41-15, 20-10), who won the regular season SEC championship, goes into the SEC tournament as the No. 1 seed.
No. 4 Ole Miss won the SEC West Division title on the final day of the regular season with a 10-8 win over last place Alabama. It was the Rebels' first title since the 2014 season. The Rebels now turn their attention to the SEC Tournament as they will have a first round bye and weren't set to play until Wednesday where they will face the winner of the Auburn/Kentucky game.
Ole Miss’42 victories also set a program record for most regular season wins in school history. The Rebels were 18-12 in conference play. Sophomore first basemen Cole Zabowski led the charge in Saturday’s clinching win with a 4-for-5 day at the plate and a career high six RBI. He singled, doubled and homered in the game to lead the Ole Miss offense.
USM (36-15, 22-6) won its second straight C-USA regular season championship. The 18th ranked Golden Eagles will host the conference tournament this week at MGM Park in Biloxi beginning Wednesday. The Golden Eagles, who will sport the top seed in the conference postseason for a second consecutive year, will face the eighth seed at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Mason Irby of USM has a 15-game winning streak entering the C-USA tournament.
JCJC claims softball title
The Jones County Junior College softball team won the NJCAA Division II National championship this weekend, 18-2, over Phoenix College (Arizona) in the championship game at Traceway Park in Clinton on Sunday. It was the first national title for the Lady Bobcats in fast pitch, and it was also the first national title in the sport for any MACJC school. JCJC had finished runner-up three times and had been to the tournament in six of the last seven years. Jones ended the season with 21 straight wins and ended the season 54-3 overall. The Chris Robinson coached Lady Bobcats outscored their competition 69-12 in the tournament and blasted 15 home runs in five games.
Mike Slive passes away
Former SEC and C-USA commissioner Mike Slive died last week. Slive was the founding commissioner of Conference USA and was the leader of the SEC for 13 years from 2002-15. He played a major role in the creating of the College Football Playoff, added Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC in 2012 and helped launch the SEC Network in 2014. The SEC won seven national football championships during his tenure as commissioner.
Odds and Ends
• Nanih Waiya, Madison St. Joe, St. Andrews, Vancleave, Hattiesburg, and DeSoto Central won MHSAA baseball titles this past week.
• Justify earned the second jewel on his Triple Crown journey with a win in the Preakness on Saturday.
• The Biloxi Shuckers will host the Mississippi Braves beginning next Tuesday, May 29, through June 2 at MGM Park in a five-game Southern League series between Mississippi's two professional baseball teams.
Dale McKee, a resident of Waynesboro, has covered Mississippi sports for more than 45 years. He writes a weekly sports column. You can contact Dale at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
