CLINTON, Miss. – The Mississippi College baseball team begins its quest for the Gulf South Conference Championship on Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m. as the fourth-seeded Choctaws (29-15) face fifth-seeded North Alabama in the first game of the GSC Championship at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field on the campus of Delta State University.
The Championship is set for pool play with MC and UNA in Pool A alongside eighth seed West Alabama and top seed and host DSU. The Navy Gold play the Tigers on Sunday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m. First pitch for Monday's clash with their in-state foe is to be determined. The winner of Pool A will meet the winner of Pool B on Tuesday, May 7. Live stats, video and audio are available for the four-day Championship.
STORY LINES AND NOTES
• For the second straight season the Mississippi College baseball team earned a berth in the Gulf South Conference Championship with a 13-4 win over West Alabama. The Choctaws earned their first appearance since 1996 last season.
• MC placed four players on the All-Gulf South Conference team that was announced on Tuesday by the conference office.
Grant Barber,
Billy Cameron,
Blaine Crim and
Kyle Smith each received second team nods in the 32-member list. Barber and Smith were named to the all-conference team for the second consecutive season while Cameron and Crim are first year honorees.
• The Choctaws enter the Championship after dropping two of three at Delta State last weekend. The Navy and Gold picked claimed a 6-3 win in the second game of the series. The Statesmen outlasted MC 8-4 in 11 innings in the series-opener and claimed the series with a 2-0 victory in the regular season finale.
• MC comes into the tournament with seven of its starting nine hitting over .300 for the season. Juniors
Blaine Crim and
Billy Cameron pace the squad with clips of .350 or better for the season. Crim has posted a .372 batting average on the season and leads the team in hits (64), homeruns (10) and RBI (52). The Mobile, Ala., native ranks second on the team in doubles with 12.
• Cameron has a clip of .354 in his first season with the Choctaws. The Mendenhall, Miss., product has nine doubles and ranks second in homers with five. He's also driven in 29 runs - third on the team.
• The MC pitching staff is led by
Zack Ingram,
Chris Crosby and
Hunter Mullis. Each member of the trio has registered five-plus wins and 50 or more strikeouts.
• Mississippi College posted a 4-6 record this season against Pool A. The Choctaws took two of three from West Alabama and fell 2-1 at North Alabama and Delta State. The Navy and Gold posted a 5-3 record in conference play against the members of Pool B (2-1 v. West Georgia, Lee; 1-1 v. West Florida). MC was 1-2 against Montevallo in non-conference play.
• The Choctaws had their best start to a season since 2010 when they started the campaign 16-1 en route to 39-11 record and berth in the NCAA Division III Regional. MC claimed eight of its first nine contests and 14 of its first 16 to the start the season. The lone hiccups during the span are credited to then-nationally-ranked Lindenwood and at then-nationally-ranked West Georgia.
• Mississippi College is one of six, Gulf South Conference teams ranked in the latest NCAA Division II South Regional Rankings. The Choctaws enter ninth in the poll. Delta State leads the conference at third followed by Montevallo in fifth, North Alabama sixth, West Georgia seventh and West Florida eighth. Sunshine State Conference members Tampa, Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern take spots first, second and fourth respectively.
