June 6 is the date for the 35th annual Mississippi's all-star baseball games. The site will be Trustmark Park in Pearl, which is the home of the Class AA minor league Mississippi Braves and where the state high school finals are held.
The Class 3A-2A-1A game will be played at 1 p.m., followed by the Class 5A-4A contest at 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Crossroads Diamond Club of Jackson.
Fourteen players who played on the same field recently in the state championship finals will take part in the All-Star Classic, including two players from Class 3A champion Sumrall (pitcher-first baseman Jared Miller and outfielder B.J. Smith).
North head coaches for the classic include John Ellison of Houston, John “Boo” Ellis of Riverside, Shane Faulkner of DeSoto Central and Sam Adams of Caledonia. On the south squads, the coaches will include Chad Davis of Raleigh, Shay Cooper of SE Lauderdale, Neill Bartling of Brandon and Jesse Kanode of Ocean Springs.
Baseball: New coach sought at Oak Grove
Oak Grove High School is looking for a new baseball coach. Kary Bridges was dismissed from the position by the Lamar County School Board after an executive session on the issue.
No one has publicly talked about it, including Bridges. The recommendation from the school superintendent was that Bridges retain his teaching position, but not his coaching job.
This year, Bridges’ team fashioned a 20-9 record, but lost in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs to Gulfport. He took over on an interim basis when previous coach Harry Breland retired after nine state titles and 37 years in the Oak Grove dugout, and later was given the position on a full-time basis.
Track and Field: Tate touted as best ever
Starkville’s Tavaris Tate is considered one of the best Mississippi prep tracksters of all time. Among his accomplishments;
* A trifecta at the state meet, winning the Class 5A 100-, 200-, and 400-meter events.
* Tops in the nation, according to dyestat.com, in the 400 meters and second in the 200 meters.
* Back-to-back Mr. Track and Field honors in the state of Mississippi.
Tate, who has committed to run at Mississippi State University next year, also helped his school repeat as state 5A champions, anchoring the 4x400 meter relay to victory as the Yellowjackets won the state title by six points over Meridian.
A busy summer awaits Tate, running in events in Atlanta, California and the Nike Outdoor National in North Carolina.
More Track and Field: McGee named Miss Track and Field
While Tavaris Tate has been burning up boys track sprint events in Mississippi, Cory McGee has done likewise on the girls' side in distance running.
McGee, a junior at Pass Christian, has been named Mississippi’s Miss Track and Field for the second straight year. The Mr. and Miss Track and Field awards and all-state teams are named by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
Her resume to date has included 14 state championships in three distance events at state meets since grade seven. She has won three events at the state meet in her last four appearances, and state records in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter events.
McGee posted the 13th best 1,600 time nationally this spring, according to dyestat.com.
McGee's accomplishments also include four state cross country championships. She has not committed to a college yet, but her list includes Stanford, Oregon, Duke and Baylor.
