BMC Toppers News Feed

BASEBALL: BMC signs Northeast's Smith

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Corey Smith, who led Northeast Mississippi Community College in batting the past two seasons, has signed a baseball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Smith, a designated hitter and third baseman, hit .328 in his two years with the Tigers, including 20 doubles and 68 runs batted in. He had an on base percentage of .424 and scored 39 runs.

BMC coach Curt Fowler, who coached Smith at New Albany High School, said he was excited to be reunited with Smith.

"I've known Corey since he was a little, bitty thing and he's solid individual as well as a solid baseball player," Fowler said. "He can flat-out play and he'll bring some much-needed firepower to our offense."

BASEBALL: Toppers sign 2 juco standouts

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Trae Allison and Channing Sanders, a pair of standout baseball players from the Mississippi community college ranks, have signed grants-in-aid with Blue Mountain College.

Allison, a 5-9 shortstop from Hernando who played for Northeast Mississippi Community College, hit .323 in 73 games over a 2-year period for the Tigers. He had eight doubles and 32 runs batted in, and had an on base percentage of .426.

A 6-4 right-handed pitcher from Ackerman (Winston Academy), Sanders played for Holmes Community College. In his two years with the Bulldogs he compiled a 2-2 won-loss record with a 4.20 earned run average, In 31 innings, he struck out 32 and walked 16.

"Trae and Channing are solid players who played for some strong community college programs," BMC coach Curt Fowler said. "They've got a lot of talent and a lot of experience that will be a big boost to our program."

W.HOOPS: Milewski signs with BMC

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Kristen Milewski, a standout player in the Memphis homeschool league, has signed a basketball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

"Kristen is an excellent player and a smart player," BMC coach Lavon Driskell said. "She's a good all-around ball player but she's a really good shooter. She'll give our offense a lot of firepower."

Milewski, a 5-foot-8- guard, averaged 14.5 points a game in leading the Memphis FCA Nighthawks, coached by her father, Scott Milewski, to a 26-9 record her senior seaason. A 78 percent free throw shooter, she also averaged 3.9 assists and only 1.6 turnovers a game, along with 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals.

As a junior, Milewski scored 13.8 points a game with 3.9 assists, 3 steals and 2.5 rebounds while the Nighthawks were 22-14. She was named to the Homeschool Regional All-Tournament teams and the Homeschool National All-Tournament teams both years.

Milewski's brother, Jonathan, will be a senior on the Freed-Hardeman University basketball team in 2012-13.

"Kristen is a solid basketball player, student and even better person," Driskell said. "We're excited she chose to join us at BMC."

GOLF: Holt signs to play for BMC

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Austin Holt, a standout golfer for New Albany High School and Northeast Mississippi Community College, has signed a scholarship offer to play for Blue Mountain College.

“Austin is one of the top young players in this area and we’re extremely happy that he’s decided to join the BMC program,” golf coach Danny McKenzie said. “He makes us a stronger team right away.”

As a sophomore at Northeast, he finished in a four-way tie for second place at the NJCAA Regional Tournament with a 78-71–149 at River Birch Golf Club in Amory, and the played in the NJCAA National Golf Championship in Scottsboro, Ala. He posted rounds of 76-80-77-72–305 on the Colony Course at Goose Pond Golf Club and finished 57th in the nation.

While at New Albany, he finished third in the MHSAA Class 4A tournaments as a sophomore and second in both his junior and senior seasons. Holt attended Mississippi State University in 2011-12 but did not play collegiate golf.

“Austin played in some solid golf programs at New Albany and Northeast,” McKenzie said. “His experience will be just as valuable to us as his talent, and he’s got a whole lot of talent.”

BMC, which began intercollegiate golf only two years ago, recently finished third in the TranSouth Athletic Conference and is rated 44th among 167 NAIA teams by Golfstat ranking service.

BASEBALL: BMC inks Desoto Central standout

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Jordan Montgomery, a speedy centerfielder for the Desoto Central Jaguars, has signed a baseball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

"Jordan has tremendous speed and should be able to come in and help us right away," said BMC coach Curt Fowler, who guided the Toppers to a 25-31 record and a second-place finish in the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships in only the second year of intercollegiate baseball.

"He's a really good hitter and he knows how to use his speed," Fowler added. "We're excited Jordan decided to come to BMC."

In his senior season, Montgomery led the Jaguars to a 21-10 record. He hit .351, scored 34 runs and drove in 24 runs. He had six doubles, two triples and was 10 of 10 in stolen base attempts -- 16 of 16 his junior and senior seasons.

"Jordan is going to be a good player for us," Fowler said of the 5-10, 155-pound speedster. "Once he spends some quality time in the weight room he could become explosive."

SOFTBALL: MMC knocks BMC from tourney

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. – Martin Methodist College scored four runs in the second inning here Friday afternoon and zipped to an 8-0 win over Blue Mountain College in the semifinals of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Softball Championships.

Chrissy Darnell fired a one-hitter to run her record to 18-4, while the Toppers’ second season came to an end and a 20-30 record.

Veronika Fukunishi and Chrissy Worth each had two hits for the Red Hawks, 39-21, who advanced to play top-seeded Freed-Hardeman University. Kelsey Nelson had BMC's only hit in the game.

"This obviously wasn't the way we wanted to end the season, but our players gave it everything they had," BMC coach Kevin Barefield said. "I couldn't be prouder of a group of players; to get as far as we did in only our second year was quite an accomplishment.

"You've got to give a lot of credit to Darnell," he added. "She's a really good pitcher and she had her best stuff against us today."

SOFTBALL: BMC reaches TSAC semi-finals

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College won a crucial pair of games here Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Softball Championships.

The Toppers, playing in two elimination games, beat Lyon College 6-2 in the first game and knocked off Mid-Continent University 2-1 in the nightcap and improved their record to 20-29. The Cougars finished the season 20-27.

BMC, the fifth seed, will play No. 3 Martin Methodist at 2 p.m. Friday in yet another elimination game.

The Toppers got both their runs in the bottom of the third inning when Heather Noe doubled. Kaleigh Tackitt came in as a pinch-runner and scored on a fielder’s choice by Meggin Nelson. Kimmy Nicholson followed with a single and scored on a throwing error by MCU shortstop Tara Chavez.

Halley Beckham ran her record to 11-13 by allowing six hits and striking out 10 for the Toppers, who could manage only four hits off MCU’s Molly Hargrove.

First Game -- BMC stayed alive in the TSAC Championships with a 6-2 win over Lyon College on Thursday afternoon.

The Toppers were scheduled to play the winner of the Freed-Hardeman vs. Mid-Continent game at 8 p.m. Lyon was eliminated from the tournament and finished the season.

Whitney Hardwick slammed a two-run home run and Brooke Denton shut down Lyon College in BMC's stay-alive game.

Haylei Plummer, Hilary Parrish and Kelsey Nelson each had two hits for the Toppers, who responded from Wednesday night's 7-0 setback to Cumberland and improved their record to 13-17 on the year.

BMC jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when Plummer squeezed in Kimmy Nicholson in the first inning, and Hardwick drilled a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to drive in Plummer in the third inning.

The Toppers followed padded the lead to 4-1 when Nicholson singled in Kaleigh Tackitt in the fourth, and added their final two runs in the fifth when Parrish doubled in Plummer and Nelson drove in Parrish with a single.

BASEBALL: Union beats BMC for TSAC title

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. – Blue Mountain College came up short here Thursday in its bid for a conference championship in only its second year of intercollegiate baseball. Union University slipped past the Toppers 2-1 to claim the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships at Fesmire Fields on the Union campus.

“We gave everything we had to give,” BMC coach Curt Fowler said. “We could not have played any harder. I couldn’t be any prouder of these guys than I am right now. Give Union all the credit because they’re a great ballclub and they played like it.”

Union first baseman made a diving stop on Nate Bell’s two-out line-drive down the first base line with BMC runners on first and third to end the game.

BMC, which finished the season with a 25-31 record, had scored 40 runs in its four tournament games, including 21 in a win and loss on Wednesday. The Toppers only run in the championship game came from a Gardner Richey home run in the top of the fourth inning.

Union tied it right back up when Will Irvin drove in Kian Jost with a sacrifice flly.

The Bulldogs, 37-17-1, scored the winning run in the sixth inning when Jon Paul Barber came on in relief with the bases loaded and walked in Jacob Alexander.

BMC was held to only five hits and Union had only seven. Zane Treadaway, 2-6, went five and one-third innings for the Toppers and allowed only six hits.

BASEBALL: BMC to play for TSAC championship

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. –Blue Mountain College, in only its second season of intercollegiate baseball, will play for the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship at 1 p.m. here Thursday

The Toppers, who captured a post-midnight 11-10 victory over Cumberland, will play Union for the league title at Fesmire Fields on the Bulldogs' campus. BMC, 25-30 and seeded No. 6 in the tournament field, lost Wednesday's opening game, 11-10, to Union, the second-seeded team with a 36-17-1 record.

BMC, which has scored 40 runs in its four tournament games after a late-season drought, must win two games for the title while Union needs only a single victory.

"It's going to be tough," BMC coach Curt Fowler said. "But this is where we've wanted to be all season -- playing for the championship. It's not supposed to be easy, and our guys know that. The way they've responded to this challenge has been amazing and we're looking forward to playing again tomorrow -- or, rather, later today."

SECOND GAME: Blue Mountain College continued to swing its post-season bats like baseball magic wands here late – very late – Wednesday night and clinched a spot in the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship finals with an 11-10 win over Cumberland University.

The sixth-seeded Toppers, 25-30 in only their second season of intercollegiate baseball, will play No. 2 Union University, 36-17-1, in a 1 p.m. game at Fesmire Field on the Union campus. If BMC wins the two teams will play a second game; the Bulldogs can claim the crown with a single win.

The Toppers erupted for six runs on only one hit and one error in the top of the third inning to take a 7-3 lead, then held off the Bulldogs comeback attempts – a four-run sixth inning and a two-run, two-out ninth inning.

Zack Scott had two hits and two RBI to lead BMC and Hunter Mize and Seth Kennedy also had a pair of hits. Dalton Kulas, the Toppers regular shortstop was the winning pitcher (1-0) after going five and one-third innings, scattering seven hits while striking out six – and slamming a two-run home run, his second of the tournament. Jon Paul Barber closed the action and picked up his first save of the year.

In wild third inning, Cumberland pitcher Cody Ferrell (3-4) loaded the bases with by walking Gardner Richey and Nate Bell, and hitting Ben Wallis. Richey scored on a wild pitch, and Scott ripped a two-run single. Channing Walker drove in Brent Townsend with a fielder’s choice; Scott scored on a squeeze bunt by Cody Roberts and Mize drove in pinch-runner Thomas Russell with a sacrifice fly.

Kulas hit his two-run shot in the fourth for a 9-4 lead and after the Bulldogs cut it to 9-8, BMC picked up two more unlikely runs. In the eighth, the Toppers loaded the bases on a CU error and two bunt singles, and Thomas Berry scored on a walk. In the top of the ninth, BMC made it 11-8 on a single by Walker and a throwing error by Bulldogs third baseman Ben Foster – enough insurance to survive a two-out, two-run homer by Tyler Alford. Cumberland finished the season 32-26.

FIRST GAME: Union University catcher Doug Joyce hit two home runs here Tuesday – a grand slam and a solo – to lead the Bulldogs to an 11-10 win over Blue Mountain College in the semi-finals of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships.

It was the first tournament loss for the sixth-seeded Toppers who were to face Cumberland University in a Wednesday night elimination game. Thunderstorms delayed the start of the second game until after 9 p.m.

BMC outhit No. 2 Union 15-13 and the two teams swapped the lead four times. Hunter Mize led the Toppers with three hits and three runs batted in; Seth Kennedy had a pair of hits and RBI, and Dalton Kulas, Channing Walker and Zack Scott each had a pair of hits for BMC, now 24-30.

The Toppers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, but Joyce took care of that lead with his grand slam, and the Bulldogs added four more. BMC cut it to 8-6 on back-to-back doubles by Mize and Kennedy, and a sacrifice fly by Nate Bell.

The Toppers regained the lead on a two-single by Mize and a sacrifice fly by Kennedy, but Joyce’s solo shot tied it again at 9-9 after seven. Union got two runs on one hit and an error by Cody Roberts for an 11-9 lead, then held on for the win after Thomas Russell singled in Dalton Kulas in the bottom of the ninth. The Bulldogs will take a 36-17-1 record into Thursday’s final round.

SOFTBALL: Cumberland bops BMC

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. – Cumberland University broke open a scoreless game in the late innings here Wednesday night for a 7-0 win over Blue Mountain College in the opening round of the TranSouth Athletic Conference softball championships.

Bulldogs pitcher Courtney Maynard held BMC to only two hits -- singles by Kimmy Nicholson and Haylei Plummer -- and Allison Blackwood broke the scoreless tie with a 2-run homer in the fifth inning.

The fifth-seeded Toppers, 13-17, will play No. 8 Lyon in a 4 p.m. elimination game today, while No. 4 Cumberland, 16-13, goes on to play top-seeded Union.

BASEBALL: BMC routs Bethel

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College knocked off Bethel University 11-4 here in the second round of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships.

The No. 6 Toppers, now 24-29, pounded five Wildcats pitchers for 19 hits and eliminated Bethel, 31-22, from the tournament.

Channing Walker led BMC with four hits, Ben Wallis had three hits and drove in three runs, Seth Kennedy had three hits and two RBI, Gardner Richey had three hits and drove in a run, and Dalton Kulas and Zack Scott each had two hits and an RBI.

Blake Jolly, 6-8, went the distance for the Toppers and allowed only five hits while striking out five and walking four.

The Toppers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning on RBI singles by Kennedy, Wallis, Walker and Cody Roberts, and Richey scored on a double-steal with Wallis.

BMC took a 10-3 lead in the sixth on a run-scoring triple by Kennedy, RBI doubles by Richey and Zack Scott and run-scoring singles by Wallis and Dalton Kulas. Wallis drove in Hunter Mize in the seventh for the Toppers' final run.

BMC will play the winner of the Union-Martin Methodist game at noon Wednesday.

BLUE MOUNTAIN 11, BETHEL 4

M.GOLF: Ripley's Martin signs with BMC

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Ripley High golfer Jonathan Martin has signed a golf scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Martin, whose Tigers will play in next week’s Class 3A state championship at Canton Country Club, was medalist in five of Ripley’s six matches this spring and finished second in the District 1 tournament. As a junior he won the Marshall Academy Invitational with a two-over-par 74 at Kirkwood National Golf Club and was fourth in the 3A District 1 tournament.

Before moving to Ripley, he played at West Union High where he shot a final-round 75 and finished fourth in the Class 1A state championship at Beau Pre Golf Club in Natchez.

“Jonathan is a really good player with a lot of potential,” BMC coach Danny McKenzie said. “He’s been extremely competitive throughout high school and I don’t see any reason he won’t be on the college level. He’s a great addition to our program.”

BASEBALL: BMC upsets FHU

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College jumped out to a 5-0 lead over No. 19 and top-seeded Freed-Hardeman University and held on for an 8-7 win in the opening game of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships here at Fesmire Field.

Dalton Kulas ripped a two-run home run and Nate Bell lashed a two-run single in the first inning, then the Toppers withstood five errors and 14 hits for the upset victory.

BMC, now 23-29, will play the loser Bethel-Martin Methodist game at 3:30 on Tuesday.

Jon Paul Barber got the win to run his record to 5-8 after throwing 99 pitches in 7.2 innings. Barber, who gave up only one earned run, struck out only one and walked only two. Hunter Mize got the save, his sixth of the year, by ringing up four of the five hitters he faced.

"I guess you'd have to call it an ugly win, but it's the best-looking thing I've seen today," BMC coach Curt Fowler said. "I've said all along that these guys never quit and they showed that today."

Mize, Seth Kennedy, and Gardner Richey each had a single and double for the Toppers. and Zack Scott added a double.

For the Lions, Joe Mike had four hits and three runs-batted-in and Ben Ihde had three hits and drove in two runs.

Blue Mountain 8, Freed-Hardeman 7

SOFTBALL: BMC opens TSAC tourney play

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- After winning only five games in its inaugural season, Blue Mountain College finds itself right in the middle of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships that begin Wednesday at the West Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex in Jackson, Tenn.

The Toppers, 18-28 and seeded number five in the tournament, take on number-four Cumberland, 26-20-1, in the 7:30 p.m. contest.

"This has been a really good year for us," said BMC coach Kevin Barefield. "We've had a good mixture of experienced ballplayers and some freshmen coming in to get us to this point. Now that we're in the conference tournament we want to take advantage of it."

The Toppers beat the Bulldogs three of their four meetings this year, but Barefield said neither he nor his team is feelilng cocky.

"Cumberland has an awfully good team, and we're very much aware of what they can do," he said. "But we're playing well right now, too. I'm sure both teams are just ready to play."

Offensively, BMC has been led by Brooke Jones, a freshman shortstop from Wheeler. Jones has hit .303 with two home runs and a team-high 23 runs batted in.

Kimmy Nicholson, a junior outfielder from Nettleton and Itawamba Community College, who hit .284 with two homes, 19 RBI, 31 runs scored -- and a league-leading 23 stolen bases.

Haylei Plummer, a senior third baseman from Batesville and Northwest Mississippi Community College, has hit .295 with seven doubles and 14 RBI for the Toppers.

"We've had a lot of different players step up for us at different times this season," Barefield said, "and that's what makes a good ball club. I couldn't be prouder of this team."

BASEBALL: Toppers open tournament play

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Curt Fowler has hopes that his Blue Mountain Toppers can find their firepower as they head into the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championships that start Monday in Jackson, Tenn.

"We played some really good baseball this year," said Fowler, the Toppers head coach who began the program only two years ago. "For some reason, though, we've stopped hitting the ball and we can't do that in the tournament. I have confidence that our guys will figure it out; they never quit."

BMC finished the season with a 22-29 record and tied with Mid-Continent University with a 7-14 TSAC record. The Toppers qualified for the last spot in the tournament, however, since they swept MCU earlier in the year.

The Toppers face top-seeded Freed-Hardeman University at noon Monday in the tournament opener at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

"This was one of our top goals heading into this season," Fowler said. "Now that we're there, we need to take advantage of it."

The Toppers, who scored only 27 runs in dropping 9 of their last 10 games, will be led offensively by right fielder Gardner Richey, first baseman Nate Bell, center fielder Seth Kennedy and third baseman Ben Wallis.

Richey compiled a .376 batting average (fifth in the conference) and a .694 slugging percentage (second) while hitting 11 home runs (third) and 15 doubles (sixth), and driving in 35 runs (20th).

Bell led BMC in hitting and was third in the conference with a .394 average. He also led BMC in runs batted in with 36 (19th). Wallis hit .320 for the Toppers and tied Richey with 35 RBI. Kennedy hit .315 with 10 doubles and 26 RBI.

W.HOOPS: Cunningham signs with BMC

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. -- Lane Cunningham, a 6-foot-2 center for the Marshall Academy Lady Patriots, has signed a basketball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

"Lane has a world of potential," said BMC coach Lavon Driskell. "She's shown steady improvement the past couple of years and we're excited she chose Blue Mountain as her next step."

Cunningham averaged eight points a game for the Lady Patriots, pulled down 9.1 rebounds and averaged two blocked shots a game.

"Lane's not afraid to mix it up inside and she uses her size to her advantage really well," Driskell said. "She should be able to come in and help us right away and continue to improve as time goes on."

"She has really worked hard and made steady improvement for us," said Craig Daily, Marshall Academy coach.

"She has done everything I've asked her to do and more. Lane has been a really good defensive player for us and right now that's the best part of her game. But she's got the talent to become a stronger offensive player.

"You can't teach height and you can't teach heart," Daily said, "and Lane has both of those."

BASEBALL: Union sweeps BMC

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Union University won both ends of a low-hitting TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader here Friday afternoon, taking the first game 3-1 and winning the second 4-1.

With each team saving its pitching staffs for next week's TranSouth Championships there were remarkably few hits -- 16 total -- in the twin bill.

Union won the opener despite being held to only four hits by Jon Paul Barber (4-7) and Alex Arntfield. The Toppers got six hits off Jacob Alexander (3-1). BMC shortstop Dalton Kulas got half those to lead both teams, though the Bulldogs did get a double from Doug Joyce and a triple from Kody Pinson.

In the second game, BMC got only two hits off Union starter Benjie Fesmire (5-3) -- one a seventh-inning, run-scoring double by Gardner Richey. The Bulldogs, who finished the regular season with a 33-17-1 overall record and a 14-8-1 record in the TranSouth, had only four hits in the final game.

BMC, 22-29 and 7-17, opens the TranSouth Championships at noon Monday against top-seeded Freed-Hardeman (36-19, 16-8). Union faces Cumberland in the 3:30 p.m. second game.

BASEBALL: Union knocks off BMC

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Union University jumped on four Blue Mountain College pitchers here Thursday night for 14 hits in a 13-4 TranSouth Athletic Conference victory.

Clint Barnes and Cole McAdams each had three hits to lead the Bulldogs, 31-17-1 overall and 12-8-1 in the conference. BMC fell to 22-27 and 7-15.

Union blew up for six runs on four hits in the fifth inning -- including a two-run triple from Barnes, his second triple of the game, and a two-run inside-the-park home run from McAdams.

Jared Davis struck out six BMC hitters and allowed only five hits in seven innings to improve his record to 3-5. Zane Treadaway took the loss, dropping his record to 2-5.

Channing Walker led the Toppers with two hits in the game.

BMC faces Union at 1 p.m. Friday in a TSAC doubleheader.

M. HOOPS: BMC signs Jonesboro standout

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Cory Clark
Jonesboro Sun Staff Writer

JONESBORO, Ark. — Jayln McBride’s grandmother passed around a basketball for everyone who entered Don Riggs Hurricane Gym to sign on Thursday. It was a keepsake on a day that her grandson wasn’t going to forget.

McBride, a 5-9 guard, capped off a a great high school basketball career for the Hurricane by signing a letter of intent to play at Blue Mountain College.

After making it official, McBride was all smiles.

“I’m very excited, since I was a little kid I’ve always dreamed of playing in college so it feels really good and its something that I’ve always wanted,” said McBride, who averaged 11 points, 2.5 assists and 2 steals a game during Jonesboro's 23-8 season.

While the chance to play basketball at the collegiate level was great, McBride also had academics in mind when he chose to sign with the Toppers.

“It just felt right, it’s a good fit for me, I love the coach and the environment and the school,” he said. “Most of all I like the school of education, it’s a really good school and that’s what led me there.”

McBride proved his worth for Jonesboro in his senior season helping the Hurricane reach its first state title game since 2007.

Although Jonesboro came up short, McBride did everything he could hitting a jump shot to send the state title game into overtime and giving his team a lead in the final seconds of the second overtime with an incredible acrobatic finish.

In an age when the three-pointer has revolutionized the way that basketball is played, McBride is a throwback preferring to hone his mid-range skills.

“I love the mid range game, I really don’t like shooting three’s that much but I like the mid range game and I feel like I can score with anyone,” he said. “My favorite player is Allen Iverson, he inspires me and he’s where I get my toughness from.”

Hurricane coach Wes Swift said McBride was a big shot maker for Jonesboro throughout his career.
“When the game is on the line whether its on the offensive or defensive end there is nobody who wants to win more than Jayln,” Swift said. “We’re going to be sorry to see him go but we’re very proud of him and we look forward to keeping up with him in the future.”

The 5-9 guard also played the entire season with a torn rotator cuff and that toughness along with McBride’s all around game was what attracted Blue Mountain coach J.D. Parker to the Hurricane guard.

“I just thought he was really well rounded,” Parker said. “He can shoot it, pass it and handle it well and him being in a really good high school program and being an important part of it that means a lot in recruiting to me and that plays a big factor just knowing that he’s a winner.”

GOLF: BMC finishes 3rd in TSAC

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

ATHENS, Ala. -- Blue Mountain College made a run at the leaders in the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship at Canebrake Golf Club here Tuesday, but it was too little too late and BMC finished third behind Union University and Trevecca Nazarene University.

BMC posted a 304 in the final round, nine shots better than runner-up TNU, but still finished third. Union won the championship with a 302-301-298--901; TNU shot a 306-298-313--917 and BMC had a 313-306-304--923.

Grant Burns fired an even-par 72 to lead BMC's final run and finished tied for 10th in the tournament. Adam Hall (77) and Michael Collie (78) finished tied for fifth; Austin Bynum shot a 77 and tied for seventh; and Tanner Sparks had an 81 and finished 38th.

Trevecca's Joey Bradley (70-68-75--213) edged Union's Brett Barry (70-73-70--213) on the first hole of a playoff for the individual honors.

BMC's Hall, Collie and Bynum were named to the all-conference team, and Danny McKenzie was named men's coach of the year.

TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship

1. Union 302-301-298 – 901

2. Trevecca Nazarene 306-293-313 – 917

3. Blue Mountain 313-306-304 – 923

4. Cumberland 316-306-310 – 932

5. Bethel 318-323-312 – 953

6. Martin Methodist 325-318-318 – 961

7. Freed-Hardeman 334-348-345 – 1027

8. Lyon 357-350-347 – 1054

Individuals:

T1. Joey Bradley, Trevecca 70-68-75 – 213; T1. Brett Barry, Union 70-73-70 – 213; 3. Kyle Long, Union 75-75-74--224; 4. Austin Garrett, Cumberland 77-76-73--226; T5. Adam Hall, BMC 77-74-77 – 228; T5. Michael Collie, BMC 75-75-78 – 228; T5. Dustin Thomas, Cumberland 75-78-80--233; T5. Reese Miller, Bethel, 77-75-81--233; T7 Austin Bynum, BMC 79-77-77 – 233; T10. Grant Burns, 82-80-72 – 234; 38. Tanner Sparks, 90-81-85 – 256.

GOLF: BMC in 3rd in TSAC

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

ATHENS, Ala. --Michael Collie fired rounds of 75-75--150 at Canebrake Golf Club here Monday to lead Blue Mountain College into third place after the first day of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship.

Collie is tied for third with Union University's Kyle Long, behind Joey Bradley (70-68--138) of Trevecca Nazarene University and Brett Barry (70-73--143) of Union. BMC's Adam Hall is in fifth place after his 77-74--151.

Union holds the team lead after the first two rounds played in chilly and extremely windy conditions -- gusts up to 35 mph most of the day. The Bulldogs are at 302-302--603, one shot ahead of Trevecca at 306-298--604. Cumberland University is in fourth place at 316-306--322.

For BMC, Austin Bynum is tied for 14th after his 79-77--156; Grant Burns is tied for 23rd at 82-80--162; and Tanner Sparks is 36th after 90-81--171.

In the women's competition, BMC's Taylor Gilchrist shot a 103 and Allie Newby a 109 playing as individuals.

TEAM RESULTS

1 Union 302-301--603; 2 Trevecca Nazarene 306-298--604; 3 BMC 313-306--619; 4 Cumberland 316-306--622; 5 Bethel 318-323--641; 6 Martin Methodist 325-318--643; 7 Freed-Hardeman 334-335--669; 8 Lyon 357-350--707.

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS plus other BMC scores

1. Joey Bradley, TNU, 70-68-138

2. Brett Barry, Union, 70-73-143

T3. Michael Collie, BMC, -75-75-150

T3. Kyle Long, Union, 75-75-150

5. Adam Hall, BMC, 77-74-151

T14. Austin Bynum, BMC, 79-77-156

T23. Grant Burns, BMC, 82-80-162

35. Tanner Sparks, BMC, 90-81-171

BMC Women

Taylor Gilchrist 103

Allie Newby 109

SOFTBALL: Union takes pair from BMC

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Union University captured a pair of TranSouth Athletic Conference wins from Blue Mountain College here Monday to maintain its league lead. The Bulldogs won the opener 9-1 and the nightcap 15-6.

Union's Kelly Robey held BMC to four hits in the opener while striking out 10 and walking none. Shelby Lamb led the Bulldogs with three hits, while Haylei Plummer had a triple for the Toppers.

In the second game, Union committed 7 errors and BMC kicked it 6 times. The Bulldogs, however, got 15 runs out of 16 hits while the Toppers got only 6 out of 9.

Williams led Union with 4 hits, including a home run, while Meggin Nelson and Lizzy Sherard each had a pair of hits for BMC. Brooke Jones also homered for the Toppers.

Union is 39-10 overall and 23-5 in the league. BMC is 18-26 and 12-16.

BASEBALL: Bethel sweeps BMC

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Bethel's Gary Ward fired a two-hitter and struck out 12 Blue Mountain batters here Saturday afternoon to lead the Wildcats to a 3-0 win in the second game of a doubleheader and a three-game sweep of the TranSouth Athletic Conference series.

Bethel, 29-18 overall and 14-7 in the TSAC, won Saturday's first game 4-1 following an 18-1 victory on Friday night.

Ward, 7-0 with 107 strikeouts on the season, got all the offensive help he needed in the second inning from Jordan Stack, who hit a two-run home run. Chase Pilkinton had a double and single to lead Bethel.

Zane Treadaway (2-4) suffered the loss, while the Toppers could muster only a pair of infield singles from Zack Scott and Seth Kennedy.

For the Toppers, 21-26 and 7-14, it was their ninth straight loss.

In the opener, BMC's Ben Wallis had a double and two singles off winning pitcher Michael Freeman (2-2). Jon Paul Barber (4-7) was the losing pitcher despite holding the Wildcats to five singles and a double by Chris Cain.

SOFTBALL: BMC takes 2 from Cumberland

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College won a pair of pitchers' duels here Friday, dumping Cumberland University 3-2 and 3-1 in a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader at BNA Park.

Meggin Nelson (1-3) picked up her first win of the year after holding the Bulldogs to four hits in the opener. Coutney Maynard (15-7) took the loss even though she gave up only three singles -- to Kimmy Nicholson, Whitney Hardwick and Brooke Jones.

BMC, 18-24 overall and 12-16 in the TSAC, scored two runs in the first game on squeeze plays. Nicholson scored on a bunt by Haylei Plummer for a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and Chassey Barnes scored on Nelson's bunt in the third. Hardwick delivered the game-winner, driving home Nicholson with a single in the third.

In the second game, the Toppers' Halley Beckham (10-10 fired a three-hitter for the win. Cumberland's Allison Blackwood dropped to 7-11 although she allowed only five hits.

BMC got all its runs in the fourth inning when Plummer scored on a passed ball by catcher Sydney Broderick and Hilary Parrish doubled in Hardwick and Emily Graham.

Cumberland's record is 24-20-1 and 14-14-1.

Blue Mountain closes out its home season on Monday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader against Union University.

GOLF: Goodson, Hall named scholar-athletes

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Two members of the Blue Mountain College golf team -- Rob Goodson and Adam Hall -- have been named TranSouth Athletic Conference Scholar-Athletes for the second year in a row.

In addition, Goodson, a senior from Ripley, was chosen an NAIA Scholar-Athlete -- an honor reserved for juniors and seniors.

Goodson is a graduate of Walnut High and is a two-year letterman on the BMC golf team. Hall, a sophomore from Saltillo, is also a two-year letter-winner for BMC and has played in the No. 1 spot for most of his two years on the squad.

To qualify as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a student must be a junior or senior and have compiled at least a 3.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) during his or her college tenure.

TranSouth Scholar-Athletes must have compiled a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale for the honor.

WOMEN'S HOOPS: Page signs with BMC

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BOONEVILLE, Miss. – Northeast Mississippi Community College sophomore forward Anna Brooke Page has signed a grant-in-aid scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Page, a 5-11 forward, was a standout on the hardwood for the Lady Tigers under bothRicky Ford and Brian Alexander.

During her sophomore year under Alexander, Page was selected to the Mississippi Association of Community/Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-Star Game in Decatur while averaging 18.5 points per game.

Page’s 18.5 points per game average helped the Northeast sophomore finish in the Top 30 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in scoring and she was named to the Region XXIII team.

In addition to her 18.5 points per game, Page averaged 6.4 rebounds per night for the Lady Tigers.

Under Ford in her freshman year, Page tallied 17.8 points per game and helped lead the Lady Tigers in Ford's final campaign.

Page collected 825 points in her two years at Northeast and hit 60 percent of her shots from the floor during that time.

Prior to her time at Northeast, Page helped lead the Belmont Lady Cardinals to the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s (MHSAA) Class 3A State Championship and was named the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Player of the Year for 2009-10.

During her senior season at Belmont, Page averaged 20.9 points a game, 6.5 rebounds a contest and 2.1 steals a night.

SOFTBALL: Mid-Continent takes 2 from BMC

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MAYFIELD, Ky. -- Mid-Continent University took advantage of Blue Mountain College errors for a 3-2 win in the first game of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader here Tuesday, then captured the second game 7-4.

The Cougars, 17-19 overall and 10-16 in the TSAC, got two runs in the fourth inning off a pair of hits and two Toppers errors in the opener.BMC's Meggin Nelson allowed only five hits and struck out six, but dropped to 0-2 on the year. Lindsey Rucker of MCU (7-7) got the win. The Cougars' Tara Chavez got the only hit in the game, a double in the fourth inninng.

In the nightcap, Courtney Quillian ripped a solo home run for the Toppers, the only extra-base hit in the game. Kimmy Nicholson had her second two-hit game to lead BMC.

Halley Beckhan of BMC (9-9) got the loss while Molly Hargrove (8-6) picked up the win.

The Toppers play host to Cumberland at 1 p.m. Friday at BNA Park in New Albany.

BASEBALL: Bulldogs sweep Toppers

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

LEBANON, Tenn. -- Cumberland University took both ends of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader here Saturday -- 7-2 and 8-0 -- over Blue Mountain College for a sweep of the weekend series.

Cumberland, now 26-21 overall and 10-8 in the TSAC, got to BMC pitchers for 10 hits in the opener and nine in the second game. Gardner Richey had a solo home run for the Toppers, 21-23 and 7-11, in the first game, his 10th of the season.

In the second game, Richey and Nate Bell were the only two BMC batters to get hits, while the Bulldogs had three home runs in the game -- from Antonio Butler, Josh McGee and Tyler Seaton.

BMC will play host to No. 4 Faulkner University in a 2 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday at BNA Park in New Albany.

SOFTBALL: Union takes pair from BMC

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Union University pitchers held Blue Mountain College hitters to five hits in two games here Friday as the Bulldogs took both ends of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader -- 1-0 and 6-0.

The 11th-ranked Bulldogs got their only run in the opening game when pinch-runner DeShuni Sanders scored on a throwing error by Haylei Plummer. Brooke Thomas picked up the win for Union, striking out eight BMC batters while improving her record to 16-6.

Union, 34-8 overall and 19-3 in the TSAC, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the second game and never looked back. Sanders, Katie Davis and Stephanie Saunders all had a pair of hits for the Bulldogs.

Kimmy Nicholson, Sam Sagely and Brooke Jones had BMC's only hits in the first game -- all singles, and Courtney Quillan and Chassey Barnes each had a single in the second game.

BMC travels to Mayfield, Ky., on Tuesday for a TSAC doubleheader against Mid-Continent University.

BASEBALL: Cumberland rips BMC

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

LEBANON, Tenn. -- Cumberland University jumped on five Blue Mountain College pitchers for 17 hits in the Bulldogs' 18-3 TranSouth Athletic Conference win here Friday.

BMC's Hunter Mize led off the game with a solo home run, but it was all down hill after that as the Bulldogs improved their record to 24-21 overall and 8-8 in the TSAC. The Toppers dropped to 21-21 and 7-9.

Keith Kirby (4-3) held BMC to 7 hits, 3 of them by Seth Kennedy, including a double. Ben Wallis and Nate Bell also doubled for the Toppers.

For Cumberland, Mike Mandarino had three hits and drove in four runs, and Sam Lind and Cody Ferrell homered.

BMC and CU hook up in a noon doubleheader on Saturday.

GOLF: BMC third in Natural State Classic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. -- Blue Mountain College's Michael Collie fires a one-under-par 70 at the Red Apple Inn Country Club here Tuesday and he and teammate Tanner Sparks tied for second in the Natural State Classic.

Collie and Sparks led BMC, which started the day in fourth place, to a third-place finish in the 11-team tournament. BMC's 295-293--588 was 11 shots behind tournament winner Union University and four shots behind Arkansas Tech. BMC overtook tournament host and first-round leader Harding University by four shots.

"This was a really good tournament for us," said BMC golf coach Danny McKenzie. "Our guys played well and this should give us some confidence going into the (TranSouth) conference tournament in a couple of weeks. If it doesn't, we'll just stay at home and start studying for final exams."

Collie (73-70--143) and Sparks (71-72--143) trailed only Union's Brett Barry (72-68--140) and left them in a four-way tie with Union's Ben Waits (72-71--143) and Parker Hale of Arkansas Tech (72-71--143).

Adam Hall struggled to a 74-77--151 to finish in 23rd place; Austin Bynum tied for 24th with a 77-75--152 and Grant Burns was 35th in the 67-player field with an 80-76--156.

Playing as individuals in the women's competition, Taylor Gilchrist shot a 96-101--197 and Allie Newby shot a 106-99--205.

MEN'S RESULTS

SOFTBALL: BMC splits with FHU

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College put on a "small-ball" clinic here Tuesday for a 3-2 extra-inning win over Freed-Hardeman and salvage a split of the TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader. The Lions won the opener 7-0.

The Toppers scored the winning run on a squeeze play in the bottom of the eighth inning to raise their record to 16-20 overall and 10-12 in the TSAC.

Meggin Nelson singled to right field to open the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Sam Sagely. Haylei Plummer was hit by a pitch and Whitney Hardwick beat out an infield grounder to load the bases. Chassey Barnes then laid down a perfect bunt to score Sagely.

BMC got its other two runs from Kimmy Nicholson, who reached base on a walk and an error, stole three bases.

Plummer had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run, and Courtney Quillen also had a pair of hits for the Toppers.

Halley Beckham got the win, running her record to 9-8.

Freed-Hardeman improved to 18-17 and 11-11 behind Kamara Trice's performance. She led all hitters with three hits and two runs batted in, and was also the winning pitcher (1-3), holding BMC to two hits, striking out seven and walking only one.

Whitney Hardiwck of BMC doubled for the game's only extra base hit.

FREED-HARDEMAN 7, BLUE MOUNTAIN 0

BLUE MOUNTAIN 3, FREED-HARDEMAN 2

BASEBALL: No. 4 Faulkner sweeps BMC

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Nationally ranked Faulkner University swept both ends of an NAIA doubleheader against Blue Mountain College here Tuesday, winning the first game 13-3 and the second 10-8.

The No. 4 Eagles are on a 14-game winning streak and are 39-9. The Toppers dropped to 19-20.

BMC jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Faulkner quickly responded with five runs and never trailed in the game.

Gardner Richey hit his ninth home run of the year and Nate Bell had a double for the Toppers.

The second game was a similar story line with BMC taking a quick 3-0 lead, but falling behind 4-3 after two. The Eagles built up a 19-4 lead and then held on for the win after the Toppers rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh.

BMC travels to Lebanon, Tenn., to take on Cumberland University in a Friday-Saturday series.

GOLF: BMC 4th after Day 1 of Natural State Classic

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. – Tanner Sparks shot an even-par 71 over the Red Apple Inn Country Club course here Monday to lead Blue Mountain College into fourth place among 11 teams after the first day of the Natural State Classic.

Sparks, who was one under par on the front side and one over on the back, is in a three-way tie for the tournament lead with Lucas Collins and Brandon Clark of Collins of host Harding University.

BMC’s Michael Collie shot a 37-36--73, Adam Hall shot a 36-38--74, Austin Bynum shot a 38-39--77, and Grant Burns shot a 42-38--80. Blue Mountain’s 295 total is only five off the pace set by Harding. Union University is at 291 and Arkansas Tech is at 292.

Playing as individuals in the women’s competition, BMC's Taylor Gilchrist shot a 96 and Allie Newby shot a 106.

MEN'S RESULTS: 1. Harding Black (290); 2. Union (291); 3. Arkansas Tech (292); 4. BMC (295); 5. Southern Arkansas (300); 6. Martin Methodist (303); 7. Christian Brothers (304); 8. NW Oklahoma (313); T9. Harding Gold (314); T9. Arkansas-Monticello (314); 11. Hendrix (319).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: T1. Tanner Sparks, BMC (71); T1. Lucas Collins, Harding (71); T1. Brandon Clark, Harding (71); T4. Kyle Barton, Arkansas Tech (72); T4. Charlie Pittman, Union (72); T4. Parker Hale, Arkansas Tech (72); T4. Brett Barry, Union (72); T4. Ben Waits, Union (72); T4. Rowdy Garrett, Arkansas Tech (72); T10. Michael Collie, BMC (73); T10. Kyle Long, Union (73); T10. Jason Purdy, Arkansas Tech (73); T10. Clay Shovan, Southern Arkansas (73).

BASEBALL: MMC holds off BMC

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Martin Methodist College racked up 14 hits off four Blue Mountain College pitchers here Saturday afternoon but still had to hold on for a 5-4 TranSouth Athletic Conference victory.

After jumping out to a 5-2 lead, the Red Hawks took advantage of 11 BMC stranded baserunners to improve their record to 24-18 overall and 8-7 in the TSAC. The Toppers dropped to 19-18 and 7-8.

"Our bats just disappeared this weekend," BMC coach Curt Fowler said. "We've been hitting the ball really well, even when we hit it right at somebody for an out. We just haven't hit the ball this weekend."

The Toppers, who had seven hits, were led by Cody Roberts with two singles and Seth Kennedy with a single and solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Nick Flanagan had a home run and single for the Red Hawks and Clint Gobbell had three singles.

BASEBALL: Toppers split with Red Hawks

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Gardner Richey banged out two doubles and a homer here Friday to lead Blue Mountain College to a 6-5 win over Martin Methodist College in the second game of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader. The Red Hawks won the opener 5-0.

BMC, 19-17 overall and 7-7 in the TSAC, got 10 hits in the second game, including two each from Ben Wallis, Zack Scott and Hunter Mize.

In the opening game, each team had only four hits. Seth Kennedy had two for BMC. Ben Wallis doubled and Nate Bell had a single.

The Toppers take on the Red Hawks, 23-18 and 7-7, at 2 p.m. Saturday in a single 9-inning game.

MEN'S HOOPS: BMC signs Horn Lake standout

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Jamyre Moffett, who helped lead Horn Lake High School to a 19-5 record this year, has signed a basketball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Moffett, a 6-foot-6 guard averaged 13.8 points a game for Horn Lake, pulled down 6.5 rebounds, dished out 2.1 assists, and had 28 blocked shots.

“We are excited about the addition of Jamyre to our recruiting class," BMC coach J.D. Parker said. "We feel that he has the potential to be a very good guard in our league.

"Coach (Tory) Harris does a great job at Horn Lake High School, and I feel that will help Jamyre come in and contribute immediately.”

Moffett hit 49 percent from the field this season and 76 percent of his free throws. He had a high game of 25 points and eight rebounds in a 77-56 win over Byhalia.

SOFTBALL: BMC splits with Cumberland

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

LEBANON, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College picked up a valuable split in Tuesday's TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader at Cumberland University -- winning the opener 8-7 and dropping the second game 7-1.

The Toppers, 15-17 overall and 9-9 in the TSAC, scored five runs in the third inning of the first game and added three more the next inning and held on for the win.

In the third inning, Brooke Jones singled in Haylei Plummer; Brooke Denton lashed a two-run triple scoring Jones and Whitney Hardwick; Kimmy Nicholson drove in Denton with a single; and Chassey Barnes scored on a double steal.

In the fourth, Plummer scored on a single by Jones; pinch-runner Kaleigh Tackitt scored on Denton's single; and pinch-hitter Courtney Quillian drove in Denton with a single.

Plummer and Jones each had three hits for the Toppers, and Denton, the winning pitcher (6-10), drove in three runs with a pair of hits.

In the second game, Cumberland (22-12 and 11-7) got three runs in the third inning and added four more n the sixth for the win.

BMC travels to Henderson, Tenn., on Friday for a 1 p.m. TSAC doubleheader against Freed-Hardeman University.

SOFTBALL: BMC drops pair at TNU

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College failed to muster much offense here Monday and wound up on the losing ends of both games in a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader against Trevecca Nazarene University.

TNU won the opener 7-0 and then held on for a 2-1 win in the second game. The Trojans are 22-10 overall and 11-3 in the conference, while the Toppers now stand at 14-16 and 8-8.

Lauren Baker held BMC to three singles -- by Kimmy Nicholson, Haylei Plummer and Brooke Jones -- to run her record to 9-4. Baker also had a pair of hits off BMC's Haley Beckham, who fell to 8-6.

In the second game, the Trojans got a pair of early runs off Brooke Denton (5-10) and that was enough to give Riley Mashburn (6-5) the win.

Nicholson and Meggin Nelson each had two hits for the Toppers. Nicholson and TNU's Breanna Zeis each had a double.

The Toppers travel to Lebanon, Tenn., on Tuesday for a conference doubleheader against Cumberland University.

Trevecca 7, Blue Mountain 0

Trevecca 2, Blue Mountain 1

BASEBALL: BMC vs. Martin game days changed

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – The TranSouth Athletic Conference baseball games between Blue Mountain College and Martin Methodist College scheduled for Friday and Saturday at BNA Park in New Albany have been changed.

The two teams will play a 9-inning game at 6 p.m. Thursday and a doubleheader at noon Friday. Both BMC and MMC are 6-6 in the TSAC; the Toppers are 18-16 overall and the Red Hawks are 22-17.

BASEBALL: Trojans sweep Toppers

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mark Rayburn delivered a two-out, bases-loaded single to drive in Blake Rogers in the bottom of the seventh here Saturday and give Trevecca Nazarene a 7-6 win over Blue Mountain College in the second game of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader.

The win gave the Trojans a weekend sweep after they defeated the Toppers 6-5 in the first game.

"I don't know what it is but we just aren't playing well on the road," BMC coach Curt Fowler said after the Toppers dropped to 18-16 overall and 6-6 in the TSAC. "We just come out flat and get ourselves into too deep a hole.

"But I'll say this about our team, they never quit. I'm really proud of the way they kept on fighting and got themselves back into both games."

TNU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second game and took a 6-4 lead into the last inning before Zack Scott came through with a two-run triple, driving in Gardner Richey and Ben Wallis to tie it at 6-6.

Richey had three runs batted in with a two-run single and a run-scoring double. Hunter Mize had a pair of doubles for the Toppers.

Mize, the starting center fielder, pitched the last inning and after loading the bases struck out two TNU hitters before Rayburn delivered the game-winner.

In the opening game, the Trojans scored all their runs in the first three innings for a 6-3 lead and then held on when the Toppers scored two on the sixth. Mize drove in Channing Walker on a fielder's choice and Scott scored on an error by TNU first baseman Trae Weiss.

Nate Bell had three hits to lead BMC and Scott had a double and single. Seth Kennedy drove in three runs for the Toppers, including a two-run single in the second inning.

Blake Jolly went the distance and took the loss, dropping his record to 5-4. Bob Rowland got the win and improved to 4-3.

BMC has the week off before playing host to Martin Methodist College at BNA Park in New Albany. Game times are 5 p.m. Friday and a 2 p.m. Saturday doubleheader.

Trevecca 6, Blue Mountain 5

Trevecca 7, Blue Mountain 6

BASEBALL: TNU goes deep on BMC

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Trevecca Nazarene hitters jumped on Blue Mountain College pitching for five home runs here Friday and cruised to a 12-7 win over the Toppers in TranSouth Athletic Conference action.

Luke Fennell started the action with a two-run homer in the first inning; Michael Maxwell had a leadoff homer and Matt Tidwell had a two-run homer in the second; and Blake Rogers had a leadoff home run in the fifth and added a two-run shot in the eighth for the Trojans, 11-13-1 and 3-4-1 in the conference.

The Toppers put together a three-run eighth inning, but it proved to be too little too late. Nate Bell led off with a single and later scored on a fielder's choice by Channing Walker. Zack Scott drove in Thomas Russell, pinch-running for Walker, and Ben Wallis scored on a sacrifice fly by Cody Roberts.

For BMC, now 18-14 and 6-4, Bell had three hits, including a double, and Channing Walker and Seth Kennedy each had two hits.

Justin Dailey (2-1) picked up the win for the Trojans and Jon Paul Barber fell to 4-5 with the loss.

Trevecca and BMC hook up in a noon doubleheader on Saturday.

Trevecca 12, BMC 7

BASEBALL: Toppers split with Carey

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College pounded out 20 hits here Wednesday, including six extra base hits, in the Toppers' doubleheader split with William Carey University.

The Crusaders won the first game 11-9 despite home runs from Gardner Richey and Dalton Kulas. After falling behind 11-5, BMC pushed across four runs in the sixth inning but could get no closer.

The Toppers held a 5-4 lead after four, but the Crusaders scored four in the fifth and three in the sixth to ice the win.

In the nightcap, BMC scored eight runs in the sixth inning for an 11-6 victory.

Hunter Mize, Nate Bell and Thomas Russell each had two hits for the Toppers, and Mize, Bell, Seth Kennedy and Ben Wallis each doubled.

Zane Treadaway (2-3) picked up the win for BMC. The Toppers are now 18-12 heading into their TranSouth Athletic Conference weekend series at Trevecca Nazarene.

SOFTBALL: Bethel takes two from BMC

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MCKENZIE, Tenn. -- Bethel University scored in the last innings of both ends of a doubleheader here Wednesday to sweep a TranSouth Athletic Conference twin bill from Blue Mountain College.

The Wildcats scored in the bottom of the sevent to win the first game 8-7, then scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-4 win in the nightcap.

Kimmy Nicholson had three hits, including a double, to lead the Toppers in the first game. Brooke Denton had single and double; Haylei Plummer and Kelsey Nelson each had two singles.

In the second game, BMC carried a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh but couldn't hold on. Plummer had a double and single, and Jones had a pair of singles to lead the Toppers, now 14-14 overall and 8-6 in the league.

The Toppers travel to Nashville to take on Trevecca Nazarene in a Monday doubleheader.

WOMEN'S HOOPS: Mantachie's Lawhon signs with BMC

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MANTACHIE, Miss. -- Chelsey Lawhon, a 6-1 forward from Mantachie High, has signed a basketball scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Lawhon led the Lady Mustangs in rebounds, averaging 9.1 per game, and was second in scoring with a 12.4 points per game average. She had a 20 points and 11 rebounds on a 63-43 win over Water Valley, and had six double-double games last season.

"Chelsey is a really good inside player who's not afraid to mix it up," BMC coach Lavon Driskell said. "She's very athletic and we're looking for her to step in and make a contribution right away."

Lawhon's high school coach was Shayla Stroud, a two-year letter-winner for the Lady Toppers and a BMC graduate.

"It's a good feeling when you can go back and work with your former players," Driskell said. "Shayla was a great player for us and she's going to be a successful coach."

WOMEN'S HOOPS: 2 BMC Players named NAIA Scholar Athletes

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Two women basketball players at Blue Mountain College have been named Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athletes for the 2011-12 season.

Jessi Hayles, a junior guard from South Pontotoc, and Samantha Burns from Michie, Tenn., were among the 127 players nationwide to be selected for the honor.
“Jessi and Samantha are outstanding basketball players but this shows that they’re also excellent students,” said coach Lavon Driskell. “It’s quite an achievement to be selected for this national honor and we’re really proud of both Jessi and Sam.”

A student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.

Hayles, a junior guard, was sixth in the TranSouth Athletic Conference in scoring with a 13.6 per game average, and had 30 steals on the season. Burns, a junior center, averaged 4.6 points a game, 5.7 rebounds and was third in the conference with 46 blocked shots.

MEN'S GOLF: BMC ties 5th in TNU Invitational

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College finished tied for fifth in the 14-team field at the Trevecca Nazarene Spring Invitational here Monday and Tuesday.

BMC put together its strongest 36-hole tournament showing to date with a 296-291--587, 19 over par on the 6,600-yard Old Hickory Golf Club course.

Middle Tennessee and Lipscomb, both NCAA Division I teams, tied for the tournament championship with identical 291-281--587 scores. Host Trevecca had a 300-280--580 for third place and Cumberland had a 290-291--581 fourth place. BMC and Tennessee Wesleyan (295-292--587) tied for fifth.

Adam Hall finished sixth in the individual standings with a 72-70--142 even par score on the par-71 course. He finished five shots behind medalist Jordan Jennings of Middle Tennessee.

"We didn't win the tournament but this was a really strong showing by our guys," BMC coach Danny McKenzie said. "This was a really strong tournament field and we were right in the thick of things. We're getting better each tournament we play, and I think that's the whole point. I'm really proud of our guys."

Tanner Sparks finished tied for 21st with a 73-74--147 showing; Michael Collie posted rounds of 75-73-148 to tie for 27th; Brandon Robbins tied for 39th after a 76-74--150; and Grant Burns was tied for 60th with his 79-79--158.

BMC travels to Heber Springs, Ark., for the Natural State Classic on April 9-10.

TEAM RESULTS -- T1. Middle Tennessee 291-281--572; T1. Lipscomb 291-281--572; 3. Trevecca Nazarene 300-280--580; 4. Cumberland 290-291--581; T5. Blue Mountain College 296-291--587; T5. Tennessee Wesleyan 295-292--587; 7. Milligan 293-295--588; 8. Union 305-284--589; 9. Cedarville 299-306--605; 10. Reinhardt 301-309--610; 11. Davenport 310-304--614; Bethel 312-306--618; 13. Olivet Nazarene 324-314--638; 14. Freed-Hardeman 339-316--655.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 71-71--142) -- 1. Jordan Jennings, Middle Tenn., 68-69--137; 2. Joey Bradley, Trevecca, 72-66--138; T3. Ben Waits, Union, 71-68--139; T3. Nate Johnson, Lipscomb, 69-70--139; 5. Paul Vaughn, Cumberland, 68-73--141; 6. Adam Hall, BMC, 72-70--142; T7. Whit Brown, Milligan, 69-74--143; T7. Josh Wheeler, Tenn. Wesleyan, 72-71--143; T7. Dane Voss, Middle Tenn., 74-69--143; T10. Brett Barry, Union, 76-78--144; T10. Brigham Michaud, Cedarville, 71-73--144; T10. Stephen Williams, Trevecca, 75-69--144; T10. Sam Thompson, Middle Tenn., 71-73--144.

SOFTBALL: Toppers split with Lyon

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- After dropping the opening game 5-0, Blue Mountain College came back in its TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader against Lyon College for a 7-3 win in the nightcap here Tuesday.

Kimmy Nicholson and Meggin Nelsen each banged out two hits to lead the Toppers, now 14-12 overall and 8-4 in the TSAC. Lyon fell to 5-22-1 and 3-15.

The Toppers iced the win with a three-run sixth inning. Brooke Jones singled in Haylei Plummer; Whitney Hardwick scored on a sacrifice fly by Chassey Barnes, and Jones scored on a single by Anna Hamilton.

Shelby Jackson and Sam Sagely each doubled for the Toppers, and Barnes and Nicholson each tripled. Halley Beckham picked up the win for BMC.

In the first game, the Toppers were held to three hits in the 5-0 setback.

BMC travels to McKenzie, Tenn., on Wednesday to take on Bethel University in more TSAC action.

BASEBALL: BMC knocks off CBU

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College scored five runs in the fifth inning here Tuesday to take a 10-5 win from Christian Brothers University and improve their record to 17-12. The Toppers won 16 games in last year's inaugural season.

Hunter Mize had three hits, including a double, in the Toppers 13-hit attack. Nate Bell, Gardner Richey and Ben Wallis each had two hits. Wallis also tripled for BMC, and Mize's double was one of six from BMC hitters: Bell, Richey, Dalton Kulas, Cody Roberts and Thomas Russell.

Channing Walker got the victory for BMC, coming on in relief of Kulas.

The Toppers host William Carey University in a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday.

BASEBALL: Toppers sweep Lyon

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Led by Gardner Richey, Blue Mountain College won both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Lyon College and completed a sweep of the TranSouth Athletic Conference three-game series.

Richey, a junior right fielder, had five hits in the two games, including a pair of home runs in the second game, as BMC took the opener 2-1 and the nightcap 10-2.

The Toppers improved to 16-12 overall and 6-3 in the league, while Lyon dropped to 21-16 and 3-9.

In the second game, Richey was one of four Toppers with three hits -- Dalton Kulas, Channing Walker and Thomas Russell -- and Zack Scott had two. Kulas and Scott each had a double and Hunter Mize also doubled.

Freshman Alex Arntfield picked up his first BMC victory. Now 1-1, Arntfield allowed only five hits while striking out five and walking two.

In the first game, Seth Kennedy and Richey had two hits, including a homer by Kennedy and a double by Richey.

Blake Jolly ran his record to 5-3 by holding Lyon to six hits while striking out four and walking three. Hunter Mize got his fourth save of the season.

MEN'S HOOPS: DeSoto standout signs with BMC

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Ricky Johnson, a 6-6 forward who led DeSoto Central High to a 29-2 record, has signed to play basketball with Blue Mountain College.

Johnson averaged 15.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a game for the Jaguars until injuring his knee 26 games into his senior season. He connected on 46.3 of his field goal attempts and was a 56.8 free-throw shooter.

He had a high game of 28 points and 12 rebounds against Horn Lake and knocked down 25 points against Hernando. He had eight double-double games.

“We are very excited about the addition of Ricky for next season," BMC coach J.D. Parker said. "He has the potential to be a great player for us. Ricky comes from a very good high school program at Desoto Central under Coach Wilson, and I believe the adjustment to playing college basketball will be a smooth one for him.”

X-COUNTRY: BMC signs New Site's Taylor

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW SITE, Miss. -- Nikki Taylor, a three-sport letter-winner at New Site High, has signed a cross country scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Taylor, who also lettered in basketball and softball, has a personal best of 17:15 in the 4k high school competition, at the Southerntees Challenge in Fall 2011. She finished eighth in the Class 2A state championship with a time of 17:41.40.

"Nikki is a competitior and a really good all-around athlete," said BMC coach Heather Duley. "She was able to be very competitive on a very minimal mileage training regimen. I'm sure that once she begins concentrating only on cross country and putting in the amount of work it requires that her times will drop accordingly."

X-COUNTRY: Toppers sign Blaylock from TCPS

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

TUPELO, Miss. – Cassidy Blaylock of Tupelo Christian Preparatory School, has signed a cross country scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

“Cassidy hasn’t been running very long but she has shown remarkable improvement the past year or two,” said BMC coach Heather Duley. “She has a lot of potential and is a very determined young lady – that’s a pretty good combination.”

In her senior year of cross country for TCPS, Cassidy was second in the Region 2-1A 4k meet and 17th in the state meet. As a junior in track, she was sixth in the Division 2-1A 3200 meters and eighth in the 800 meters.

“Cassidy has taken four minutes off her 4k time in the past two years,” Duley noted. “I’m looking forward to seeing her develop into an even stronger runner.”

X-COUNTRY: Ripley's Walker signs with BMC

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Rachel Walker, a four-year letter-winner at Ripley High School, has signed a cross country scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

"Rachel is new to competitive running, but she's shown a lot of improvement in a short amount of time," BMC coach Heather Duley said. "We're excited to have her at Blue Mountain. She'll get better and make us a stronger team as she does."

Walker's best 4k time came in the 2009 Tupelo High Invitational when she ran a 17:25. She finished 11th in the Region 1-3A meet last year and was eighth in the Southerntees Challenge with a time of 17:37.

X-COUNTRY: Gulfport standout signs with BMC

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Micayala Everett of West Harrison High School has signed a cross country scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Everett, who was sixth in the 2011 Class 5A state championship with a 4k time of 16:32, injured her lower leg in the late spring of her junior year and spent most of last summer in rehabilitation.

"The fact that she was able to come back and do as well as she did says a lot about Micayala," BMC coach Heather Duley said. "She is a very enthusiastic person and runner, and I know she will do well at BMC."

As a junior, Everett ran a 16:06.70 in the 5A state championship, her best time, and finished third.

She also had a strong junior season in track, winning the Division 8-5A 1600 meters in 5:53.68 and finishing third in the 3200 meters at 13:37.10. She was third in the Region 4-5A 1600 meters with a time of 6:16.71.

"Micayla has been running against strong competition for a long time," Duley noted, "and that will pay some big dividends when she gets to BMC. She's going to really help the program."

SOFTBALL: BMC's Jones named Player of Week

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Brooke Jones, a freshman at Blue Mountain College, has been named the Player of the Week for March 11-17 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference.

Jones, a 5-10 shortstop from Wheeler, hit .529 at the plate in a 5-1 week for Blue Mountain that included two conference sweeps over Lyon College and Mid-Continent University, and a split with Martin Methodist College. She is BMC's first softball Player of the Week.

Jones hit safely in all six games, including three multi-hit games, driving in six runs with a double and a triple on the week. Heading into Tuesday’s doubleheader at Martin Methodist, Blue Mountain was 12-10 on the season, and currently 6-2 in conference play.

“Brooke has come in a made an immediate contribution to our program,” BMC coach Kevin Barefield said. “She had a great week last week and we’re looking forward to many more from her.”

SOFTBALL: Toppers split with Red Hawks

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PULASKI, Tenn. – Blue Mountain College jumped on Martin Methodist College for three runs in the fifth inning of the second game here Tuesday to earn a split of the TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader.

The Toppers won the nightcap 4-2 after dropping the opener 6-1.

Kimmy Nicholson ripped a two-run triple to give BMC its go-ahead run, then scored on Meggin Nelson’s sacrifice fly for the final margin. Blue Mountain got its first run when Nelson doubled then scored on Whitney Hardwick's single.

Halley Beckham picked up the win for the Toppers, now 13-11 overall and 7-3 in the TSAC. Beckham (8-4) held the Red Hawks to only three hits while striking out four and walking three.

In the opening game, Martin’s Chrissy Darnell ran her record to 7-0 while holding the Toppers to five hits, including two from Haylei Plummer. Brooke Denton took the loss, dropping her record to 5-7. MMC is 19-10 and 3-2.

Martin Methodist 6, Blue Mountain 1

Blue Mountain 4, Martin Methodist 2

SOFTBALL: Belhaven drops BMC

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Belhaven University, ranked No. 6 among NAIA softball teams, captured both ends of a doubleheader from Blue Mountain College here Monday, winning the first game 5-2 and the second 2-0.

The Blazers, 15-10, scored three runs off one hit, one error and three walks in the third inning of the first game to knock off the Toppers, then held BMC to four singles in the nightcap. The two losses dropped BMC to 12-10.

In the opening game, Belhaven got two hits from Courtney Fairley and Taylor Bryan while Whitney Hardwick was the only Topper to get two hits, both singles.

Jessica Parris, 5-3, got the win for the Blazers and Brooke Denton, 5-6, was hit for the loss.

In the second game, Fairley again got two hits, including a two-out solo home run in the sixth inning, to lead the Blazers. Meggin Nelson, Haylei Plummer, Hilary Parrish and Shelby Jackson each had a single for the Toppers.

Bayleigh Babin ran her record to 6-5 for Belhaven, and Halley Beckham, 7-4, suffered the loss.

The Toppers travel to Pulaski, Tenn., on Tuesday to take on Martin Methodist in a TranSouth Athletic Conferenc doubleheader.

Belhaven 5, Blue Mountain 2

Belhaven 2, Blue Mountain 0

SOFTBALL: BMC off to strong start

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – After getting off to a shaky softball start, Blue Mountain College has been on a roll and already eclipsed last year’s inaugural season.

The Toppers had won 12 of their last 15 games heading into Tuesday’s doubleheader against Belhaven University, No. 6 nationally in the NAIA early season rankings. They’re 12-8 overall and 6-2 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference, with two league doubleheader sweeps. Last year, BMC was 5-39 and 2-12.

Coach Kevin Barefield said he attributes the early season success to a year of experience and to the play of four newcomers: freshmen Brooke Jones, Hilary Parrish and Whitney Hardwick, and junior college transfer Kimmy Nicholson.

“We knew Kimmy could play; she was an All-American at Itawamba,” Barefield said. “But the freshmen have really surprised me. To step up and make this big a difference so early has been a very pleasant surprise.”

Hilary Parrish, a freshman outfielder from Pontotoc, is hitting .340; Brooke Jones, a freshman shortstop from Wheeler, is hitting .333 with two home runs and a .550 slugging percentage; and freshman Whitney Hardwick, a designated player from Alcorn Central, is hitting .305.

Nicholson, a junior centerfielder from Nettleton, is hitting .300 with two homers and 13 RBI, and leads the team with 21 runs scored.

Haylei Plummer, a senior third baseman from Pope, got off to a slow start but is not hitting .292 with three doubles in the recent doubleheader sweep of Mid-Continent.

Barefield also points to his top two pitchers – Brooke Denton of South Pontotoc and Halley Beckham of Adamsville, Tenn. – as keys to the improved team record.

“Now, we’re walking too many batters,” he said, “but other than that I don’t think you could ask anymore of Brooke and Halley. They’ve really been strong for us and I think their control will come around the more we play.”

Denton has a 5-5 record with 65 strikeouts, a 1.95 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .187 batting average, third in the conference. Beckham has a 7-3 record with 46 strikeouts, a 2.84 ERA, and is holding opponents to a .195 batting average, fourth in the conference.

“We know we have a long season ahead of us and that the competition certainly isn’t going to get any easier,” Barefield said. “But we’ve also had a little bit of success and that should help our confidence a good bit. I’m really pleased with where we are right now.”

SOFTBALL: Toppers take 2 from MCU

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College got a pair of pitching gems here Saturday from Brooke Denton and Halley Bekham and grabbed a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader from Mid-Continent University.

Denton fired a two-hitter -- and hit a solo home run -- in BMC's 4-0 win in the first game, and Beckham finished off the twin bill with a one-hitter and 7-0 victory.

The two wins raised the Toppers' record to 12-8 overall and a TSAC second-place 6-2. The Cougars dropped to 6-8 and 2-7.

In the opening game, BMC got three runs in the third inning on three hits, two stolen bases, two walks and a two-run single. Kimmy Nicholson singled, stole second and third, and scored on Meggin Nelson's sacrifice fly. Haylei Plummer followed with a double -- her first of two in the game and three for the afternoon. Whitney Hardwick and Hilary Parrish drew walks, and Brooke Jones singled in Plummer and Hardwick.

Denton improved her record to 5-5 on the year with her two-hitter while striking out six.

In the second game, The Toppers took a 2-0 lead on a run-scoring single by Nelson and RBI double by Plummer, then blew up for four runs in the fifth.

Nicholson singled in Sam Sagely then scored herself on a fielder's choice. Jones added a two-run single to score Nelson and Plummer, the Hilary Parrish scored on a double-steal.

Beckham struck out four in her one-hitter to improve her record to 6-3.

The Toppers play host to Belhaven in a 4 p.m. doubleheader Monday at BNA Park.

Blue Mountain 4, Mid-Continent 0

Blue Mountain 7, Mid-Continent 0

BASEBALL: FHU sweeps BMC

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HENDERSON, Tenn. -- Freed-Hardeman took both ends of a Saturday doubleheader from Blue Mountain College for a sweep of the TranSouth Athletic Conference series.

Robert Prieto hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Lions a 3-2 win in the opener. In the second game, FHU scored five runs in the fifth inning on a single hit and grabbed a 9-2 victory.

The Lions improved to 21-9 overall and 7-2 in the TSAC while BMC dropped to 13-12 and 3-3.

In the opener, BMC jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Hunter Mize and Seth Kennedy led off with singles, then scored on a pair of fielders choices by Gardner Richey and Nate Bell.

FHU tied it at 2-2 in the second inning when Jake Todd singled, driving in Joe Mike and Kirkland Wheeler scored on an error by Richey in right field.

The game then turned into a pitchers' duel between BMC's Jon Paul Barber (3-4) and FHU's Roberto Ferguson (3-0). Prieto settled that standoff with his one-out shot in the bottom of the seventh.

In the second game, the Lions scored five runs in a bizarre second inning -- one one hit, one BMC error, two walks, a hit batter, and two sacrifice flies. Kyle Dearing came through with the only hit, a two-run double.

Seth Kennedy had a double and home run for the Toppers, but the Lion's Wheeler was up to the challenge and delivered two home runs.

SOFTBALL: Toppers split with Martin Methodist

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College pushed across four runs in the sixth inning of the second game here Thursday for a 6-2 win over Martin Methodist College and a split of the TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader.

BMC, which dropped the first game 4-0, is now 10-8 overall and 4-2 in the league. MMC is 15-9 and 2-2.

Tied 2-2 in the sixth, Hilary Parrish singled in Anna Hamilton, Sam Sagely scored on an error by rightfielder Megan McKean, Kimmy Nicholson tripled in Chassey Barnes, and Meggin Nelson singled in Nicholson.

Brooke Jones had a pair of hits for the Toppers, including a triple, and Veronika Fukunishi homered for MMC.

Halley Beckham held the Red Hawks to only three hits to improve her record to 6-3, while Chrissy Worth (3-3) took the loss.

In the opener, Martin's Kandace Christopher drove in three runs with a two-run homer and an RBI single. Chrissy Darnell (6-0) got the win for the Red Hawks, holding the Toppers to four singles -- one each by Nicholson, Jones, Sagely and Brooke Denton.

Denton (5-4) was stuck with the loss despite allowing only five hits.

BMC plays host to Mid-Continent University in another TSAC doubleheader at noon Saturday at BNA Park.

Martin Methodist 4, Blue Mountain 0

Blue Mountain 6, Martin Methodist 2

GOLF: BMC 7th in Sand Shark Classic

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

OKATIE, S.C. --Blue Mountain College struggled with the small greens of Chechessee Creek Club and wound up in seventh place among the 12-team field in the first Sand Shark Classic, sponsored by the University of South Carolina Beaufort.

The host Sand Sharks won their tournament with three-round total of 877, 56 shots better than BMC. Mark Phillips of USCB was the medalist with a 71-73-70--214 -- four over par on the 6,600-yard, par-70 course designed by Ben Crenshaw.

Adam Hall (71-82-73 -- 226) led BMC, one shot better than Grant Burns (77-73-75 -- 227). Tanner Sparks fired a 78-78-78 -- 234; Michael Collie posted a 82-80-78 -- 240; and Brandon Robbins had a 80-85-76 -- 241. Playing as individuals, Austin Bynum shot a 70-87-80 -- 257; Daniel Singh had a 82-83-89 -- 252; and Rob Goodson had a 94-85-88 -- 267.

Team Standings -- USCB 293-295-289—877; Coastal Georgia 296-295-298—889; Shorter 292-299-303—894; Webber International 297-297-300—894; Johnson & Wales 296-305-294—895; Brevard CC 306-299-297—902; Blue Mountain 306-313-304—923; Milligan 312-304-313—929; St. Thomas 311-311-307—929; Black Hawk CC 331-314-325—970; Spalding 326-330-334—990.

BASEBALL: Carey takes pair from Toppers

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College's winning streak came to a halt here Tuesday when William Carey University took both ends of a doubleheader, winning the opener 2-0 and then the nightcap 8-3.

The Crusaders scored two runs on two hits and two stolen bases in the third inning to take the opening win. Hunter Mize led the Toppers -- now 13-9 -- with two hits. Alex Arntfield, who held WCU to four hits in five innings, took the loss for BMC.

In the nightcap, Carey pushed across six runs in the fourth inning to push its record to 17-9. Ben Wallis led both teams with three hits, all singles.

The Toppers return to TranSouth Athletic Conference action on Friday and Saturday at Henderson, Tenn.

SOFTBALL: BMC takes two from Lyon

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BATESVILLE, Ark. -- Blue Mountain College shoved across five runs in the top of the seventh inning here Monday for a 7-6 win over Lyon College and a sweep of the TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader. The Toppers took the opener, 7-1.

BMC, now 9-7 overall and 3-1 in the TSAC, 4-2 before Meggin Nelson got the rally started by driving in Kimmy Nicholson with a double. Whitney Hardwick had a run-scoring single, Hilary Parrish and Shelby Jackson had run-scoring sacrifice flies, and Brooke Jones drove in a run with another double.

Nelson had three hits, including a solo home run, to lead the Toppers and Nicholson had a pair of singles.

Halley Beckham got the win for BMC.

In the opener, the Toppers pounded out 13 hits to take the win.

Nicholson had a pair of hits, including an inside-the-park homer; Hardwick and Parrish each had two hits, including doubles; and Jackson had a triple.

Brooke Denton, the winning pitcher, had a solo home run.

Spring Sports 2012 on a roll

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BMC Toppers Spring sports are on a roll

The Toppers spring sports have started off with a bang. Coach Curt Fowler and his Toppers baseball team have compiled a 13-7 record so far, and are on a five-game winning streak. "We know we've got a long and tough season ahead, but I'm really pleased with the way we're playing" said Fowler. The Toppers presently hold the top position in the TranSouth Athletic Conference in baseball.

The Topper softball team is also on a streak, winning nine of the last 12 games they have played. This includes four conference games, three of which were victories for Coach Kevin Barefield's second-year team. The softball team is now 9-7 overall, and 3-1 in conference, which puts the team in the number two spot for the TranSouth.

The BMC Golf team, under the leadership of Coach Danny McKenzie, recently won a three-team match against Ashford University (Iowa) and Aurora University (Illinois).

BASEBALL: BMC hits road after strong start

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Curt Fowler knows there’s a lot of baseball ahead for his Blue Mountain College Toppers, but for now he’s just enjoying the ride.

“I don’t think I could be any more pleased with how our team is progressing,” said Fowler, whose Toppers are 13-7 overall and atop the TranSouth Athletic Conference with a 3-0 record.

“We know we’ve got a long season and a tough season ahead, but I’m really pleased with the way we’re playing.”

The Toppers, now in their second season of NAIA baseball, got their first series sweep over the weekend when they won three games from Mid-Continent University. Coupled with a doubleheader sweep of Rust College earlier in the week, the Toppers are on a five-game win streak – all home games.

BMC hits the road for the next five, playing a doubleheader at William Carey University in Hattiesburg at 4 p.m. Tuesday, then traveling to Freed-Hardeman University to resume conference action on Friday and Saturday.

“We’ve been playing some really smart ball and executing the way we have to execute in order for us to win games,” Fowler said. “We’re hitting the ball solidly but against Mid-Continent, we laid down seven successful bunts to move runners along. Those are the kinds of things that we’re going to have to do to win.”

Three BMC batters – Gardner Richey, Nate Bell and Dalton Kulas – lead the TranSouth in hitting.

Richey is tops with a .542 average, also leads in slugging with an .864 percentage, is third in home runs with four, and is tied for seventh with seven stolen bases. Bell has a .478 batting average, is tied for third with 23 runs batted in, and is fifth in slugging with a .630 percentage. Kulas is third in batting with a .424 average.

Ben Wallis is tied for first with 24 RBI and is tied for seventh with Richey with seven stolen bases. Seth Kennedy is tied for third with nine stolen bases.

“We’ve also gotten some pretty good pitching,” said Fowler. “Our top two – Jon Paul Barber and Blake Jolly – have done really well, and Hunter Mize has come on strong as a closer.”

Jolly is 4-2, Barber is 3-3 and Mize, the starting center fielder who is hitting .377 with eight stolen bases, has come on in relief to pick up two wins and two saves. Freshman Will Basil is 2-0 with 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.

“All the statistics look impressive,” Fowler said, “but the main thing is that we have really come together as a team. It’s a long season, but when you’re playing together the way we are now it’ll make some of those rough spots a lot smoother.”

BASEBALL: BMC clinches TSAC series

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College clinched the first TranSouth Athletic Conference series in its two-year history here Friday, beating Mid-Continent University 4-1 in the first game and 2-0 in the nightcap.

The Toppers won their fourth consecutive game to improve their record to 12-7 overall and 2-0 in the TSAC. The Cougars dropped to 7-19 and 1-4.

The teams wrap up the weekend series Saturday with a 2 p.m. single game at BNA Park.

FIRST GAME -- Channing Walker had 3 hits and Hunter Mize had two hits and a save to lead the Toppers to their conference season opener.

Jon Paul Barber scattered 8 singles and picked up the win for BMC. Walker, Mize and Nate Bell each doubled for the Toppers, who scored one run in each of the third through sixth innings.

The Toppers went up 1-0 on Gardner Richey's run-scoring single in the third, and added another in the fourth when Zack Scott laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Ben Wallis. Dalton Kulas delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Walker added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth.

SECOND GAME -- Details to come.

The Toppers travel to Hattiesburg on Tuesday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader against William Carey University.

BMC 4, MCU 1

GOLF: BMC wins 3-team match

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. -- Adam Hall fired a two-over-par 74 at Kirkwood National Golf Club here Thursday to lead Blue Mountain College to a three-shot win in a three-team match against Ashford (Iowa) and Aurora (Illinois) universities.

Hall, who got off to a shaky start, went 2-3 on the par-three fourth hole and the par-five fifth hole, then birdied the 15th and 18th holes -- the last one in a heavy downpour -- for his 39-35--74 and medalist honors.

Hall and Ashford's Chien Hau Tan (38-39--77) were the only two players to break 80 over the 6,875-yard Kirkwood National course, played in winds that gusted in excess of 25 miles per hour.

BMC's Brandon Robbins shot an 80 to finish third and Tanner Sparks shot an 81 to finish fourth. Grant Burns had an 86 and Michael Collie had an 87.

Blue Mountain's 321 was one of its highest team scores but was good enough to edge Ashford (324) and coast past Aurora (351).

In women's individual play, BMC's Allie Newby had a 107 and Taylor Gilchrist shot an uncharacteristic 127.

TEAM SCORES (Top 10 in parentheses)

BLUE MOUNTAIN (321): Adam Hall 39-35--74 (1), Brandon Robbins 38-42--80 (3), Tanner Sparks 43-38--81 (4), Grant Burns 46-40--86, Michael Collie 42-45--87. Individuals: Rob Goodson 46-44--90, Austin Bynum 51-43--94, Daniel Singh 45-50--95.

ASHFORD (324): Chien Hau Tan 38-39--77 (2), Trent Specht 39-34--82 (T5), Ryan Hilton 40-42--82 (T5), Ross Milne 42-41--83 (8), Dan Balgooyen 38-47--85 (T9). Individual: Jimmy Joachim 42-43--85 (T5).

AURORA (351): Joel Kepping 44-38--82 (T5), Adam Bauman 44-43--87, Garrett White 45-43--88, Ryan Harreld 49-45--94, Dale Swetman 43-52--95. Individuals: Mark Peters 51-45--96, Richie Artz 50-54--104.

WOMEN: Felicia Scott, Ashford, 49-45--94, Courtney Gieseman, Ashford 50-51--101, Allie Newby, BMC, 54-53--107, Alanna Harris, Ashford 63-51--114, Taylor Gilchrist, BMC, 59-58--117.

BASEBALL: Toppers sweep Rust

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College jumped on Rust College early and often at BNA Park here Wednesday afternoon to take both ends of a doubleheader -- 11-1 and 15-0. Each game last only 5 innings.

Channing Walker had 6 hits and drove in 5 runs on the day for BMC, 10-7. Walker a double and 2 singles and 3 RBI in the opener and another 3 hits and a pair of RBI in the second game.

Ben Wallis had a double in the first game and drove in 4 runs, then came back in the nightcap with a 3-run homer.

Gardner Richey had 2 hits in each game, including 2 doubles in the first game and a double and homer in the second game. Hunter Mize also had a double in the first game.

In the second game, Alex Arntfield had a double and homer to drive in 3 runs; Nate Bell had 2 hits, including a double, and 3 RBI; and Matt Roberts had a double and homer; and Zack Jones had a double.

Zane Treadaway got the win in the opener, allowing 6 hits while striking out 7 and walking 2.

Will Basil got the shutout in the second game, allowing only 2 hits while racking up 10 strikeouts and walking only one.

BMC opens TranSouth Athletic Conference action here at 2 p.m. Friday with a single game against Mid-Continent University, the plays host to MCU in a 1 p.m. Saturday twin bill.

SOFTBALL: BMC takes 2 from CRC

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PARAGOULD, Ark. -- Blue Mountain College banged out 17 hits and scored 16 runs here Tuesday to sweep a softball doubleheader from Crowley's Ridge College -- winning the first game 8-0 and the second 8-2.

Whitney Hardwick ripped a grand slam home run in the first game and Brooke Denton fired a one-hitter to pace the Toppers to the victory. Denton rang up 13 strikeouts and walked only 2 in improving her record to 2-4,

Kimmy Nicholson, Meggin Nelson and Haylei Plummeer each had 2 hits for the Toppers -- now 7-7 -- and Hillary Parrish had a triple.

In the second game, Halley Beckham raised her record to 3-3 while after holding CRC to 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking 3.

Nicholoson and Chassey Barnes each had 2 hits to pace BMC and each swiped 2 bases. Parrish had a double for the game's only extra base hit.

The Toppers get back into TranSouth Athletic Conference play on Monday when they take on Lyon College in Batesville, Ark.

SOFTBALL: BMC scores in 9th for split with Bethel

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College played Small Ball to perfection here Thursday afternoon for a 5-4 win in the 9-inning second game of the TranSouth Athletic Conference season-opener against Bethel University.

After dropping the opening game, 2-1, the Toppers got their first conference win of the year when Brooke Jones scored when Wildcats shortstop Brooke Carey bobbled a ground ball by Chassey Barnes. Jones had singled to open the bottom of the ninth, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Shelby Jackson, and then to third on a ground ball by Anna Hamilton.

The Toppers are 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the TSAC, while the Wildcats are 5-1 and 1-1.

BMC spotted Bethel a 3-0 lead after two innings, but Whitney Hardwick ripped a 2-run home run in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2. The Toppers took advantage of two costly errors by Wildcats' second baseman Shawna McAdams to stay in the game.

They tied it at 3-3 in the sixth when Kimmy Nicholson singled, stole second and scored on a boot by McAdams. Bethel pulled ahead in the top of the seventh, but BMC responded when Hillary Parrish singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jones and scored on another bobbly by McAdams.

The Toppers had only five hits in the nightcap -- two from Hardwick. Halley Beckham got the win, allowing nine hits and striking out five.

In the opening game, BMC took a 1-0 lead but Bethel scored two runs in the sixth for the win.

MEN'S HOOPS: Red Hawks end BMC's season

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Martin Methodist ends BMC season

PULASKI, Tenn. – League-leading Martin Methodist went on a 10-point run early in the second half here Thursday night and knocked off Blue Mountain College 82-66 in the opening round of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship.

BMC finished the season with a 7-22 record and No. 6 MMC is now 25-6.

The Toppers’ Jarvis Fisher had 27 points to lead all scorers; teammates Shane Butler (Tupelo) had 13 and DeVante Pulliam (Houston) had 10.

Ree McCrory had 22 points to lead the Red Hawks and Marion Williams had 15.

MARTIN METHODIST 82, BMC 66

MEN'S HOOPS: Butler named to all-freshman team

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Shane Butler from Blue Mountain College has been named to the TranSouth Athletic Conference All-Freshman men’s basketball team.

Butler, a 6-foot-1 guard from Tupelo, averaged 10.6 points a game for the Toppers this year with a high game of 23 points against Rust College. The former Golden Wave standout shot 43.4 percent from the field, including 31.4 percent from three-point range, and hit 74.1 percent of his free throws. Butler also pulled down 2.9 rebounds a game and averaged 2.4 assists.

“Shane is very deserving of this honor,” said BMC coach J.D. Parker. “He was clearly one of the best freshmen in the league this season and he had a really strong year.

“All four of our freshmen – Shane, Toby Roelfsema, Bruno Santana, and Chris Whitten – played really well. It looks good in the long run for us.”

He was joined on the all-freshman team by Chandler Mack of Freed-Hardeman, the Freshman of the Year; Kendall Leaks and Devonte Young of Lyon, and Mark Brown of Freed-Hardeman.

The Toppers, 7-21 and 0-16 in the TSAC, take on No. 6 Martin Methodist College at 7 p.m. Thursday in Pulaski, Tenn., in the first round of the conference tournament.

SOFTBALL: Toppers take two from CRC

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY – Blue Mountain College captured a pair of shutout wins over Crowley’s Ridge College here Tuesday, winning the first game of the doubleheader 19-0 and the nightcap 5-0.

For the Toppers, now 4-6, Kimmy Nicholson had a three-run, inside-the-park homer in the first game, and Meggin Nelson and Anna Hamilton each had three hits for the Toppers.

Hillary Parrish had a triple and double and drove in five runs, and Kelsey Nelson had two hits and four RBI. Haylei Plummer and Whitney Hardwick also had two hits for the Toppers.

Brooke Denton, 2-3, got the win, allowing only two hits while striking out nine.

In the second game, Halley Beckham threw a one-hitter and struck out 12 to improve her record to 2-3.

Shelby Jackson and Nicholson each had two hits, and Heather Noe delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning.

BMC begins TranSouth Athletic Conference play with a 1 p.m. doubleheader here Thursday at BNA Park against Bethel University.

WOMEN'S HOOPS: Union ends BMC's season

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. – Union University turned its pressure defense and inside power into an 80-47 win over Blue Mountain College here Tuesday night in the opening round of the TranSouth Athletic Conference Championship.

The No. 2 Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Toppers 32-14 inside the paint and turned 23 BMC turnovers into 27 points to improve their record to 29-2 on the season.

Blue Mountain, which finished the season with a 4-24 record, was led by Jessi Hayles with 19 points, including four of eight three-pointers, and Amber Johnson with 13.

Shelby Ashcraft led Union with 22 points, Mildred Olumasi had 12 and Lovanda Ross had 10.

UNION 80, BMC 47

BASEBALL: Toppers pound Tougaloo

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College ripped out 44 hits and scored 44 runs to take three wins from Tougaloo College over the weekend. For the Toppers, now 8-6. the weekend sweep improved their win streak to five and they've now won six of the last seven games.

BMC travels to Itta Beena, Miss., on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Mississippi Valley State University.

GAME 1 (BMC 13, Tougaloo 3) -- The Toppers spotted Tougaloo leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before slamming a dozen runs in the fifth and sixth innings of Friday's opening game.

Cody Roberts had 3 hits and Gardner Richey and Ben Wallis each had 2. Richey and Channing Walker each doubled, Nate Bell and Zack Scott had a triple; Walker and Bell drove in 3 runs and Wallis had 2 runs batted in.

Jon Paul Barber scattered 6 hits, struck out 4 and walked only one to pick up the win.

GAME 2 (BMC 20, Tougaloo 6) -- Hunter Mize, Dalton Kulas and Wallis each had 3 hits, and Mize and Wallis each drove in 5 runs in the 5-inning first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Mize, Wallis and Seth Kennedy each blasted a home run for the Toppers, and Mize doubled.

Blake Jolly picked up the win after holding the Bulldogs to 6 hits over 3 innings.

GAME 3 (BMC 11, Tougaloo 1) -- Will Basil picked up his first college win, striking out 10 and allowing only 7 hits.

Richey had two doubles and a homer and 3 RBI. Kennedy had a double and triple, and Bell had a double and 3 RBI. Roberts also had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs; and Kulas had a pair of singles.

HOOPS: Lyon sweeps BMC

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BATESVILLE, Ark. -- Blue Mountain College's regular season came to an end here Saturday night with Lyon College sweeping both ends of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader.

LYON 100, LADY TOPPERS 62 -- Jessi Hayles and Kyesha Clark each had 18 points to lead the Lady Toppers, who finished the regular season 4-23 overall and 1-15 in the TSAC. BMC hit only 36.5 percent from the field -- 10 out of 20 in the first half and 9 of 32 in the second half.

Lyon, 20-10 and 9-7, got 21 points from Phagen Altom, 17 and 11 rebounds from Suzanne Finchem and 17 and 10 from Lauren Ramsey. The Lady Scots controlled the boards 47-17.

BMC travels to Jackson, Tenn., on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against No. 2 Union University (28-2, 15-1) in the first round of the TSAC Championship.

LYON 79, TOPPERS 74 (OT) -- Toby Roelfsema had 18 points and Jarvis Fisher had 16 points and 9 rebounds as BMC's season came to a close. The teams were tied 65-65 after regulation.

Despite outshooting the Scots 48 percent to 35 percent, the Toppers committed 23 tunovers to Lyon's 10, and finished the regular season 7-21 and 0-16. Lyon connected on 17 of 20 free throws while BMC was 7 of 15.

DeVonte Young had 27 points to lead Lyon, 8-20 and 2-14, and CJ Blount had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

BMC travels to Pulaski, Tenn. on Thursday for a 7 p.m. TSAC Championship first-round game against No. 6 Martin Methodist University, 24-6 and 13-3.

SOFTBALL: BMC wins 2 in Belhaven tourney

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Miss. -- Blue Mountain College picked up its first two softball wins of the season here Friday and Saturday in the Belhaven Invitational Softball Tournament.

The Toppers, who dropped a pair of games to Belhaven (8-2 and 4-0) beat Benedictine University 9-4 on Friday then came back Saturday for a 6-3 victory over Willilam Penn University.

In the win over Benedictine, Brooke Denton picked up the win by allowing only 5 hits while striking out 7.

Brooke Jones had 3 hits for the Toppers, including a double, and Kimmy Nicholson had a pair of singles.

In the victory over William Penn, Shelby Jackson had a 2-run double and Nicholson had a triple. Haylei Plummer had two hits and drove in two runs and Hillary Parrish had a pair of singles.

BMC plays host to Crowley's Ridge College at 2 p.m. Tuesday -- at BNA Park in New Albany.

HOOPS: MCU nips BMC in OT

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – It was too little too late for Blue Mountain College here Thursday night. Mid-Continent University captured a pair of TranSouth Athletic Conference wins -- holding off a rally by the Lady Toppers for the women's victory, then capturing an overtime win in the men's game.

MCU won 54-52 overtime after finishing regulation tied at 48-48. The lead changed hands twice before the Toppers, trailing 53-52 turned the ball over on an in-bounds play with 11 seconds left. Antonio Davis, who earlier missed a free shot to seal the deal, hit the final freebie with 2 seconds left for the final margin.

BMC’s Shane Butler led all scorers with 16 points and senior center Ethan Ellis, playing in his final home game, had 10 points and 9 rebounds.

For MCU, Antonio Davis had 14 points, Matt Fraelix had 11 and Chris Ferguson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Toppers dropped to 7-20 overall and 0-15 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference while the Cougars improved to 9-19 and 8-7.

IN THE WOMEN'S GAME, Mid-Continent held on for a 70-63 win.

The Lady Cougars held a 61-41 lead midway through the second half but the Lady Toppers rallied to trim the lead to 68-62 with just over a minute left before MCU put the game away.

Brandy Walls led BMC with 13 points, followed by Jessi Hayles with 12 and Kyesha Clark with 11. For MCU, Chantiera Johnson had 22 and Stephanie Malone had 13.

Mid-Continent is now 9-20 overall and 4-21 in the TSAC; Blue Mountain is 4-22 and 1-14.

The Toppers close their regular season Saturday night at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark.

MID-CONTINENT 70, LADY TOPPERS 63

MID-CONTINENT 54, TOPPERS 52 (OT)

SOFTBALL: Williams wins pair from BMC

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY, Miss. -- No. 18 Williams Baptist College erupted for a big inning in each game here Thursday afternoon to take a doubleheader from Blue Mountain College.

The Eagles scored five runs -- four with two outs -- in the top of the 6th inning for a 5-1 victory over the Toppers, then scored 7 in the top of the 5th inning en route to a 10-0 win. WBC is now 9-1 and BMC dropped to 0-4.

In the first game, the Toppers' Brooke Denton and the Eagles' Karisa Hendrix were involved in a pitdhers duel early on. Denton held WBC to six hits, five of them in the fateful 6th.

Hendrix picked up the win, allowing only three hits -- one a run-scoring double by Meggin Nelson -- while striking out 13 and walking only four. Haylei Plummer and Kelsey Nelson each had a single.

In the second game, Hendrix again picked up the win after holding the Toppers to three hits -- all singles by Brooke Jones, Sam Sagely and Whitney Hardwick.

The Eagles got two doubles from Ashley Boyle and a 2-run pinch-hit double by Kacey Rasmic to spark the big 5th inining.

The Toppers travel to Jackson for a Friday-Saturday tournament at Belhaven University.

BASEBALL: BMC zaps Christian Brothers

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Dalton Kulas banged out three hits here Tuesday afternoon and Seth Kennedy busted a solo home run to lead Blue Mountain College to a 5-3 win over Christian Brothers University.

Taylor Clark, 1-0, got the win for the Toppers, 5-6, and Hunter Mize got his first save of the season. It was the second straight win for BMC, while CBU lost its third in a row to fall to 3-4.

Blue Mountain travels to Jackson on Friday for the 2 p.m. first game of a three-game series against Tougaloo College. The two teams play a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday.

X-COUNTRY: Arkansas standout signs with BMC

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Carter Witt, the Arkansas Class 4A state champion ini the 3200 meters, has signed a cross country scholarship with Blue Mountain College.

Witt, a a four-year letter-winner for the Dardenelle Sand Lizards, earned All-District 4 4A honors in cross country and was named all-state his senior year. He has a 5k personal best time of 16:31, and a 1600-meter personal best time of 4:43.

"Carter Witt is an outstanding young runner," said BMC coach Heather Duley. "He's got a world of potential and he's already proven himself against some strong competition in Arkansas. He's also an equally good young man and we're excited to have him as part of our program."

An honors student at Dardenelle High, Witt was one of 50 high school students in the U.S. to receive the National Beta Club's John W. Harris Leadership Award.

HOOPS: Union topples BMC

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

JACKSON, Tenn. – No. 3 Union University breezed to an 80-33 women’s basketball win over Blue Mountain College here Saturday afternoon, and the Bulldogs made it a clean sweep with a 69-56 win over the Toppers in the nightcap.

Lavanda Ross had 18 points to lead Union, 27-2 overall and 14-1 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference, and the Lady Bulldogs held the Lady Toppers to only 10 points in the second half. Kati Prince led BMC, 4-21 and 1-13, with 9 points.

In the men’s game, Union clinched the win at the free throw line, hitting 21 of 25 while Blue Mountain hit all five of its free shots.

DeVante Pulliam had 16 points and 12 rebounds for BMC, Jarvis Fisher had 12 and Shane Butler 11.For Union, David Lane had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Toppers are 7-19 overall and 0-14 in the conference, while the Bulldogs are 17-12 and 10-5.

BMC plays its final home game of the regular season Thursday night against Mid-Continent University. Tipoff times are 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

UNION 80, LADY TOPPERS 33

UNION 69, TOPPERS 56

BASEBALL: BMC shells MC in nightcap

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

CLINTON, Miss. – Blue Mountain College erupted for 16 hits here Friday night to take a 15-6 win over Mississippi College in the second game of a doubleheader. MC took the opener, 2-1.

Blake Jolly (South Pontotoc), 2-2, got the second-game win for the Toppers, going seven innings, allowing only two hits while striking out eight. The Toppers jumped out to a 14-1 lead and then held on for the win.

Ben Wallis (Ripley) had three singles and drove in five runs for BMC; Gardner Richey (Tupelo) had three hits, including a 2-run home run, and scored five runs; Dalton Kulas (Olive Branch) had three hits, including a solo home run, and drove in two runs; Hunter Mize (Lafayette) had three hits, including a double, and drove in two runs; Josh Swords (North Pontotoc) had a two-run single.

In the opener, Seth Kennedy (Iuka) had a run-scoring double for BMC but MC scored the winning run on an error by first baseman Zack Scott (Shannon). Jon Paul Barber (Nettleton), 1-2, was the losing pitcher despite allowing only five hits in seven innings.

BMC is 4-6 on the year and MC is 2-5.

Blue Mountain 1 @ Mississippi College 2 (Boxscore unavailable)

Blue Mountain 15 @ Mississippi College 6

HOOPS: Lady Toppers stun Martin Methodist

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Jessi Hayles scored a career-high 35 points here Thursday night to lead Blue Mountain College to an 88-79 upset victory over Martin Methodist College. The win snapped a 12-game losing streak for the Lady Toppers.

Hayles, a junior from South Pontotoc, was good on 10 of 15 three-point attempts and five of six free throws. Chelsea Hussey (Mooreville) also had 10 points for BMC.

The Lady Toppers, now 4-20 overall and 1-12 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference, jumped out to a 50-36 halftime lead only to see MMC cut it to 68-66 with 6:49 left. BMC responded with 11 unanswered points – including two three-pointers from Hayles – and cruised to the win.

The Lady Hawks outrebounded the Lady Toppers, 57-37, but Blue Mountain was dominant from long distance. The Lady Toppers connected on 41.7 percent (15 of 36) of their three-pointers while Martin hit only 2 of 13.

MMC, 17-10 and 6-9, got 21 points from Vee Young and 16 from Micah Anderson.

IN THE MEN'S GAME, No. 6 Martin Methodist went on three significant-half runs and upended Blue Mountain 79-61.

The Toppers held a 28-26 lead late in the first half but Marion Williams canned a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the half and the Red Hawks never trailed.

Martin, 22-5 and a league-leading 11-3, went on an 8-point run early in the second half, then added runs of 10-2 and 12-2 to clinch its sixth consecutive win.

BMC, 7-18 and 0-13, was led by freshman Shane Butler with 18 points and DeVante Pulliam with 12.

MMC got 17 points from Williams, 12 from Laquantis Stewart, and 11 apiece from E.J. Kirby and James Justice.

The Toppers travel to Jackson, Tenn., on Saturday to take on Union University in a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

LADY TOPPERS 88, MARTIN METHODIST 79

TOPPERS 61, MARTIN METHODIST 79

SOFTBALL: Williams spoils BMC opener

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. -- Williams Baptist College took advantage of Blue Mountain College errors here Turesday afternoon to take a 3-2 win in the second game -- after winning the season-opener for both teams 5-1.

In the second game, Halley Beckham held the Eagles to only 4 hits in the second game but the Toppers committed three errors and left six runners on base.

BMC cut Williams' 2-0 lead when Kimmy Nicholson scored on a ground ball by Hilary Parish in the top of the third. The Toppers pulled to within 3-2 in the top of the seventh when Brooke Jones singled and scored on a ground ball by Nicholson.

Beckham, 0-1, was the losing pitcher after scattering the four hits and allowing only one earned run. Shelby Anderson, who doubled for the game's only extra base hit, was the winning pitcher, allowing six hits and striking out four.

In the opening game, the Eagle scored two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth inning to get the season-opening victory. Lauren Sweeten and Felicia Woodard had a pair of RBI singles and Wendy Efthink had a two-run single.

Jones, a freshman shortstop from Wheeler, bombed a home run in her first collegiate at-bat for the Toppers' only run.

Brooke Denton, 0-1, suffered the loss after scattering five hits and striking out four. Karisa Hendrix, 1-0, held BMC to only four hits and struck out eight for the win.

BMC 1 @ WILLIAMS BAPTIST 5

BMC 2 @ WILLIAMS BAPTIST 3

BASEBALL: BMC splits with Spring Hill

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MOBILE, Ala. -- Nate Bell ripped a two-out single in the top of the seventh inning here Saturday to give Blue Mountain College a 6-4 win over Spring Hill College. The Badgers won the opening game, 6-4.

Bell's single to center field drove in Seth Kennedy, who reached base on a sacrifice bunt, and Gardner Richey, who drew an intentional walk. Ben Wallis bunted Kennedy and Richey into scoring position and Bell delivered.

Hunter Mize, 1-0, picked up the win for the Toppers, going six innings and scattering seven hits, striking out seven and walking only one. Dalton Kulas picked up the save.

Kennedy had three hits to lead BMC, 3-5, including a double, and Kulas and Bell also had two hits apiece.

In the opening game, Spring Hill scored four runs in the third inning and held on for the win. Bell had two hits in the first game for BMC and Kennedy had a run-scoring double.

Blake Jolly, 1-2, took the loss after allowing seven hits and striking out four.

BMC has the week off before traveling to Clinton on Feb. 18 to take on Mississippi College in a doubleheader.

BLUE MOUNTAIN 4 @ SPRING HILL 6

BLUE MOUNTAIN 6 @ SPRING HILL 4

HOOPS: BMC loses pair at Bethel

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MCKENZIE, Tenn. -- Blue Mountain College dropped a pair of TranSouth Athletic Conference basketball games to Bethel University here Saturday afternoon, losing the women's game 70-56 and the men's game 72-48.

WOMEN'S GAME -- The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Toppers 26-14 in the paint to improve their record to 12-13 overall and 4-7 in the TSAC. Blue Mountain fell to 3-20 and 0-12.

Bethel hit 27 of 66 from the field (40.9 percent) and held BMC to 28.8 percent on 17-of-59 shooting.

Kyesha Clark paced the Lady Toppers with 14 points, Jessie Hayles had 13 and Brandy Walls 10.

For Bethel, Jana Raney had 19, and Molly Wallsmith and Jasmine Taylor had 18 each.

MEN'S GAME -- The Wildcats lit it up from long range to improve their record to 15-10 and 5-6. Bethel hit 10 of 20 from beyond the arc while Blue Mountain connected on but 1 of 10 3-pointers, and dropped to 7-17 and 0-12.

Bethel's Jarvis Palmer, who hit 5 of 8 3-pointers, led all scorers with 24 points and George Coleman had 14.

For the Toppers, Toby Roelfsema had 9 points, and Jermael and Jarvis Fisher each had 8.

Blue Mountain plays host to Martin Methodist College at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday.

LADY TOPPERS 56 @ BETHEL 70

TOPPERS 48 @ BETHEL 72

BASEBALL: Spring Hill blanks BMC

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MOBILE, Ala. -- Wayne Huell drove in six runs here Friday night, including a grand slam home run, to lead the Spring Hill Badgers to an 11-0 NAIA win over Blue Mountain College.

Badger pitcher Nick Schmiemier picked up the win after allowing only 2 hits in five innings while striking out four and walking two. Zane Treadaway was stuck with the loss after giving up five runs in two and one-third innings.

Gardner Richey and Cody Roberts got the Toppers only hits, both singles.

BMC dropped to 2-4 on the season and Spring Hill is now 2-1. The teams play a doubleheader at noon Saturday.

BLUE MOUNTAIN 0, SPRING HILL 11

BASEBALL: Toppers take two from Tougaloo

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ALBANY -- Blue Mountain College got its first two wins of the season at BNA Park here Thursday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader from Tougaloo College 11-1 and 2-0.

Hunter Mize was three-for-three at the plate in the opener, drove in four runs and scored two. Blake Jolly (1-1) picked up the win after allowing only two singles over four innings.

Mize lashed a 2-run triple in the bottom of the first inning to score Ben Wallis and Nate Bell, then came back with a two-run single in the bottom of the third to score Wallis and Gardner Richey.

Richey also had three hits -- all singles -- while Cody Roberts had two hits and drove in two runs. The Toppers had 13 hits in the opener.

Taylor Clark picked up a save, allowing only one hit while striking out three and walking two.

In the second game, Jon Paul Barber (1-1) came out on the winner of a pitcher's duel, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking one. Tougaloo's Harold Stanford held BMC to four hits and struck out three.

Richey provided the Toppers with their two runs, driving in Seth Kennedy with an RBI single in the first inning and then scoring on Nate Bell's fielder's choice in the fourth inning.

BMC improved its record to 2-3 while the Bulldogs dropped to 0-5.

The Toppers travel to Mobile, Ala., on Friday to take on Spring Hill College in a weekend series.

TOUGALOO 1, BLUE MOUNTAIN 11

TOUGALOO 0, BLUE MOUNTAIN 2

HOOPS: Bulldogs stop Toppers

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Cumberland's Bulldogs held off a pair of determined Blue Mountain College teams here Thursday night to take both ends of a TranSouth Athletic Conference doubleheader.

The Lady Bulldogs overcame an 11-point, second-half deficit for a 56-51 win over the Lady Toppers. In the men's game, Cumberland held off a stubborn BMC team for a 73-66 win.

WOMEN'S GAME -- Jessi Hayles hit two quick three-pointers to give the Lady Toppers a 30-19 lead to open the second half, but the Lady Bulldogs found their shooting touch and finally nailed down the win in the game’s final five minutes. After hitting only 7 of 28 shots in the first half, Cumberland was 16 of 28 after intermission.

Hayles scored 19 points to lead BMC, 3-19 overall and 0-11 in the TSAC, and Shaquinta Robinson (Starkville) had 11 points. For the Lady Bulldogs, 11-12 and 6-5, Courtney Atkinson had 19, Jessica Pace had 13 and Casie Cowan 12.

MEN'S GAME -- BMC tied the Bulldogs at 34-34 early in the second half, but Cumberland went on a 10-2 run and held on in the final minutes for the win. The Toppers cut into CU's 17-point lead with with 2:02 left but the rally came up short.

BMC’s Jarvis Fisher led all scorers with 27 points and Shane Butler had 12. The Toppers fell to 7-16 and 0-11 in the conference.

For Cumberland, 17-7 and 7-4, Lamar Brinkley had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Sweat scored 14, Josh Pierece 12 and Daniel McFadden 10.

CUMBERLAND 56, LADY TOPPERS 51

CUMBERLAND 73, TOPPERS 66

HOOPS: BMC splits with Williams

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. -- DeVante Pulliam scored on a put-back at the buzzer here Saturday to give Blue Mountain College a 92-91 overtime victory over Williams Baptist College.

In the earlier women's game, the Lady Eagles knocked off the Lady Toppers 87-75

Pulliam, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the overtime period, grabbed the rebound off a Shane Butler field goal attempt with two seconds left and scored the game-winning bucket.

The Toppers, 6-4, trailed by six points midway through the second half, but came back to take a 76-74 lead wth 22 second left in regulation. Jake Veasley knocked down two free throws to tie it up, and both teams missed game-winning opportunities in the final seconds.

WBC's Zabian Sanders hit his second 3-pointer in the OT with 29 seconds left to give the Eagles a 91-88 lead, but Jarvis Fisher quickly canned a jumper to cut it to 91-90.

BMC got a break when Kyle Harvey, the game's high scorer with 28 points, missed two free throws with 16 seconds to go. Pulliam grabbed the rebound and the Toppers went to Butler for the jumper. He missed but Pulliam didn't.

Fisher led BMC with 23 points, Pulliam had 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Butler had 10 points.

For the Eagles, 4-5, Harvey had 28 points and Sanders had 25.

In the women's game, Jessica Shepard had 15 points and Kala Tyus had 13 to lead Williams, 6-3, to its win over BMC. The Lady Toppers, 2-8, were led by Brandy Walls with 20 points, Jessi Hayles with 12 points and Kati Prince with 10.

BMC travels to Little Rock on Tuesday to take on Philander Smith in a doubleheader. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.

WOMEN: Williams 87, Blue Mountain 75

MEN: Blue Mountain 92, Williams 91 (OT)

M.HOOPS: Toppers drop Crowley's Ridge

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PARAGOULD, Ark. -- Blue Mountain College finished the first half strong and open the second half stronger here Thursday night and captured a 78-59 win over Crowley's Ridge College.

The Toppers, who snapped a 3-game losing streak and improved to 5-4, cranked it up the final five minutes of the opening period to open up a 35-25 halftime lead, then built a 20-point lead early in the second half and cruised to the victory.

Jarvis Fisher popped 16 points to lead BMC and DeVante Pulliam had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Jermael Bingham had 10 points and 7 rebounds, Tyler Shaver had 10 points, and Corbin Harris had 3 points and a game-high 7 assists.

"We got a really strong effort tonight," BMC coach J.D. Parker said. "We got that burst to finish the half and our defense played really well all night. It was a good win for us."

The Toppers will take off next week for final exams and return to action on Dec. 10 when they travel to Walnut Ridge, Ark., to play Williams Baptist College.

W.HOOPS: Carey tops BMC

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Cold shooting was too much for Blue Mountain College to overcome here Thursday night and William Carey University captured a 71-48 win at Tyler Gymnasium.

The Lady Toppers, 2-7, hit only 26.4 (14 of 53) from the field to drop their fourth straight game. Kati Prince and Bam Bam Robinson each had 10 points to lead BMC.

For William Carey, 5-4, Haleigh Arcement had 16 points and 9 rebounds, TeAnne Carter had 13 and Chelsea Combest had 11.

The Lady Toppers will take a break next week for final exams then on Dec. 10 travel to Walnut Ridge, Ark., to play Williams Baptist College.

WILLIAM CAREY 71, BLUE MOUNTAIN 48

M.BASKETBALL: Butler perfect in BMC win

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN – Shane Butler had the perfect touch here Saturday afternoon and Blue Mountain College knocked off Central Baptist College 82-71.

Butler, a freshman from Tupelo, hit all five of his field goals – all 3-pointers – and both free shots for 17 points and led the Toppers to their first win of the season.

DeVante Pulliam knocked down 13 for BMC and Ethan Ellis had 10 points. CBC, 1-3, was led by Gavin McDaniel with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

The Toppers, who never trailed in the game, hit 59.8 percent from the field and while the Mustangs connected on 43.9 percent.

BMC plays host to Williams Baptist College in a doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

BLUE MOUNTAIN 82, CENTRAL BAPTIST 71

W.BASKETBALL: Belhaven drops BMC

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- Belhaven University ran off 15 points midway through the second half here Saturday and grabbed a 91-73 win over Blue Mountain College.

The Lady Blazers, 2-0 and ranked No. 25 in the pre-season NAIA poll, led 42-37 at halftime, and the Lady Toppers, 0-1, kept it close the first three minutes of the second half. Belhaven then went on its hot streak and took control.

Amber Johnson led the Lady Toppers with 12 ponts and Jessi Hayles had 10 points.

For Belhaven, Portia Tucker led all scorers with 27 points, Sarah Carr had 18 and Regena Jackson had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Lady Blazers hit 51.5 percent from the field, including 7 of 14 3-pointers. BMC shot 32.8 from the field and connected on 7 of 25 3-pointers.

BELHAVEN 91, BLUE MOUNTAIN 73

BASKETBALL: BMC to crank up hoops season

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Continued progress is the theme for Blue Mountain College basketball this season as both men and women teams open their 2011-12 seasons next week.

The Toppers, who posted an 8-22 record a year ago after winning only three games the previous three seasons, begin their season Tuesday at Belhaven University in Jackson.

Both teams, members of the NAIA TranSouth Athletic Conference, open their home season on Nov. 5 in Tyler Gymnasium.

The Lady Toppers, 7-22 last season, play host to Belhaven at 2 p.m., followed by the Toppers against Central Baptist College at 4 p.m.

WOMEN’S OUTLOOK: The Lady Toppers return six players, two starters, from last year’s team and coach Lavon Driskell has brought in a group of talented newcomers to compete in arguably the toughest women’s conference in the NAIA.

“We’ve brought in four junior college transfers to go with two really strong freshmen, so that will give us some experience when we crank it up,” Driskell said.

BMC’s six returnees are juniors Samantha Burns (4.4 points a game and 6.3 rebounds per game) of Selmer, Tenn., Candace Davis (3.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg) of Ripley, Jessi Hayles (8 ppg, 3.1 rpg) of Pontotoc, Bam Bam Robinson (3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg) of Starkville; sophomores Kyesha Clark (3.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg), and Chelsea Hussey (2 ppg, 1.3 rpg) of Mooreville.

“All of our returning players played a lot of basketball for us last year,” Driskell said. “We believe that will pay for us, particularly when we get into the conference season.”

The Lady Toppers’ newcomers include: freshmen Kati Prince from Waverly, Tenn., and Tera Hill from Oxford, who played high school basketball in Tampa, Fla., and juco transfers Amber Johnson from Rienzi and Northeast Mississippi Community College, Xenobia Lavender from Noxapater and East Central Mississippi CC, and twins Brandy and Brittany Walls from Red Banks and Northwest Mississippi CC.

“We’re going to be a lot more athletic this year – more than we’ve been in several years,” Driskell said. “The key for us will be how quickly our new players can mesh with our returnees. Our returning players are a lot more familiar with our system now, and once the new ones make the adjustments I think we’ll be OK.”

MEN’S OUTLOOK: Toppers coach J.D. Parker, beginning his second season at BMC, is also looking for old and new coming together.

“We’ve got a good mix of guys whose skills should make us a better team,” Parker said. “With the new guys joining five returnees and three redshirts, I think once we mesh we’ll see a lot of improvement.”

Jarvis Fisher, a sophomore from Pine Bluff, Ark., was a member of the TranSouth All-Freshman team a year ago, after starting 26 games and averaging 10.4 points per outing. Fisher will be joined by returnees: Ethan Ellis, a senior from Gibson, Tenn.; DeVante Pulliam (4.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg), a sophomore from Houston; Corbin Harris (4.3 ppg), a sophomore from Fort Mill, S.C.; Tyler Shaver (7.8 ppg), a junior from Anderson, Mo., and redshirts Michael Chatham, a sophomore from Collierville, Tenn.; Chris Whitten, a freshman from Selmer, Tenn.; and Jake Keller, a sophomore from Cross Plains, Tenn.

BMC newcomers are: freshmen Shane Butler of Tupelo; Toby Roelfsema of Senaca, Mo.; Bruno Santana of Vitoris, Brazil; and Josh Williams of Redwater, Texas; and transfers Cody Garrett of Corinth and Northeast CC; Jermael Bingham of Selmer, Tenn. and Dyersburg State CC, and Jonathan Luster of Belmont and Itawamba CC, and Zach Carnell of Ecru and Delta State.

“Fisher had a great freshman year and he continues to get better,” Parker said. “Pulliam was solid and gives us a lot of leadership, as does Ellis. Shave worked hard this summer and it’s obvious when you watch him play.

“We’ll be a much more athletic team this year; we’re just ready for the season to get started.”

BASEBALL: Toppers sign 6 players

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. -- BMC baseball coach Curt Fowler recently announced the signings of six players for the 2011-12 Toppers program.

Taylor Clark is a pitcher from Mariana, Ark., who transfered to BMC from Central Captist College; Alex Arntfield is a pitcher and first baseman from Anderson, Mo.; Gardner Richey is an outfielder and pitcher from Tupelo who transferred from Samford University.

Seth Davis is a first baseman and outfielder from Poplarville, Miss.; Chance Praytor is an outfielder and pitcher from Mobile Christian School; and Dalton Kulas is a shortstop and pitcher from Olive Branch who transferred from Meridian Community College.

"All of these players are really good athletes who will be able to come in and make immediate contributions to our program," said Fowler. "Several of them have college baseball experience and that is invaluable, both in terms of their physical skills and leadership."

BASKETBALL: Walls twins sign with BMC

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

SENATOBIA, Miss. -- Brittany and Brandy Walls, twin sisters from Red Banks, Miss., have signed basketball letters-of-intent with Blue Mountain College.

BMC coach Lavon Driskell said the Walls twins, who played two years at Northwest Mississippi Community College after attending Bishop Byrne High in Memphis, would bring a much-needed level of athleticism to the Toppers program.

"Brittany and Brandy are extremely quick," Driskell said. "They're good, hard-nosed defensive players who will step up in the middle of things. They'll give give us another dimension, one that we haven't had in a while. Plus, they're strong academically and two really nice young ladies."

Brittany played in 19 games for Northwest last year, averaging 1.7 points a game with 13 steals. Brandy played in 20 games for the Lady Rangers and averaged 3.3 points a game and had 13 steals.