Caledonia continues to show progress

CALEDONIA — Caledonia and Ridgeland are at different points on the baseball spectrum.

The Confederates have struggled to escape district competition the past few years, while the Titans have built their baseball program into one of the best in state.

Last month, Ridgeland finished as the runner-up to Long Beach in Class 5A.

Kendrick takes Caledonia job to scratch itch

Ricky Kendrick didn’t have any reason to leave Amory High School.

But a head coach will tell you once he has been in charge he often has an “itch” to work in that capacity again.

The challenge of transforming the Caledonia High School football program into a winner interested Kendrick enough to scratch.

After Kendrick accepted the job earlier this month, the Lowndes County School Board approved the hiring of Kendrick as Caledonia High School’s new coach.

McCluskey becomes head coach at Ripley

The coaching dominoes continue to fall at Columbus High School.

Less than two weeks after Bubba Davis retired after two seasons as the school’s head football coach, assistant football coach Grady McCluskey has accepted the job as head football coach at Ripley High.

The South Tippah School Board approved McCluskey’s hiring Thursday.

Tice signs baseball scholarship with Dyersburg State

Philip Tice didn’t intend this spring and summer to find another opportunity.

But when you love baseball, chances to play the game will find you.

As a result, Tice will continue his baseball career in a new state and with a program that has a knack for sending its players to the Division I level.

Cook overcomes obstacles to set World Series bracket

Jeffrey Cook can focus today on baseball.

That will be fine for the Columbus High School baseball coach, who spent Wednesday night hashing out a handful of brackets in anticipation of the Dizzy Dean High School World Series.

When Cook gathered the 14- and 15-team brackets for Thursday’s welcoming meeting for the annual event, they quickly became scrap paper.

New Hope’s Younger off to West Alabama

Brent Younger remained focused.

While longtime teammates were deciding on schools nearly every month, Younger believed that years of training and work on the baseball field would pay off.

Shannon surprised by Davis’ comments

Craig Shannon didn’t have an idea Bubba Davis was retiring until a week ago.

That’s why Shannon wasn’t taken aback Monday when Davis announced his retirement after two seasons as head football coach at Columbus High School.

Davis opts for retirement

Bubba Davis always said if he could get up every day and go to a job he enjoyed he would coach for as long as possible.

That was no longer the case for Davis at Columbus High School. As a result, the Falcons are looking for a new football coach.

On Monday, Davis officially announced his retirement as Columbus High’s football coach. He met with his players and assistant coaches and told them his decision didn’t have anything thing to do with them.

Juniors from state ready for Sunbelt Classic

STARKVILLE — Anthony Alford has heard the talk.

The rising junior at Petal High School is a standout quarterback who is considered a college prospect. But Alford is attracting even more attention for his exploits on the diamond.

Caledonia to hire Kendrick

Two sources Tuesday confirmed that former Nettleton and Hamilton High School head football coach Ricky Kendrick will be the head football coach at Caledonia High School.

Kendrick and the sources declined to comment before Friday, when the hiring is expected to be approved by the Lowndes County School Board.

Kendrick coached Hamilton to records of 3-7 in 2003 and 7-3 in 2002.

Fanning-Otis adds Owsley as assistant coach

Wanika Owsley has been a part of success at every level.

Now Owsley hopes she can help the Mississippi State women’s basketball team build on its best season.

Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis announced Tuesday the hiring of Owsley as an assistant coach. Owsley replaces Sharrona Reaves, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lady Bulldogs.

Georgia Impact, Mobile Thrillers come away with biggest prizes

The right gear is just one part of a committed lifestyle.

But double-barreled backpacks, wheeled coolers filled with caffeinated and clear beverages, bags of Cheez-Its to Cheetos to chewy fruit snacks, a rainbow’s array of hair ribbons, or eye-black configurations that would make an artist jealous don’t win games. They only make persevering through a day’s worth of travel softball a little easier for players and parents.

The reward for all of that preparation, which is an integral sidekick of commitment, comes from the chemistry players deliver after playing as many as three to five games in a day.

Velek proud of progress of Columbus teams

Thomas Velek can’t help but smile.

In five days, Velek and the rest of the world will watch as the World Cup begins in South Africa. The United States Men’s National Team will play England in its first game Saturday in what it hopes will be a month filled with excitement.

Velek, who is a professor at the Mississippi University for Women, has another reason to be proud as the world’s biggest sporting event begins. As competitive director for the Columbus United Soccer Club, Velek can look back with pride at how Columbus teams fared in the third year of competitive soccer in the city and in the club’s second season.

Poe, Stephenson chosen MAC All-Stars

STARKVILLE — Ja’nae Poe and Tarshayla Stephenson would love to continue to play volleyball in college.

In the eight months since their high school volleyball careers ended, the Starkville and Columbus high school standouts have started to piece together the next phases of their lives.

Next month, though, Poe and Stephenson will have what could be their final chance to make an impression on the volleyball court when they compete July 14 for the North team in the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star game.

Injuries not bad despite lack of preparation time

The number of injuries to pitchers might not have happened like Brandon Johnson thought, but that doesn’t mean plenty of lessons weren’t learned in the 2010 high school baseball season.

Johnson, a certified athletic trainer at Rehab at Work, a physical therapy clinic in Columbus, said at the beginning of the season that he saw a “potential for an increase in arm trouble” after the Mississippi High School Activities Association cut the amount of preparation time teams had before the start of the season.

Hollivay transferring to Heritage Academy

Rachel Hollivay’s goal is to become the best basketball player she can be.

The 6-foot-5 junior also knows improved academic performance will help provide her with a solid foundation.

Hollivay’s desire to enhance her study habits recently led her and her family to explore transferring to other high schools in the area. After much consideration, the Hollivays decided Rachel would transfer from New Hope High School to Heritage Academy, a private school in Columbus.

Local athletes get to compete at Minute Maid

A family that practices together gets to travel together.

That is the reward Kendrick Conner, 14, Kendré Conner, 11, and Kiara Conner, 11, earned for their recent performances in the local and sectional competitions in the Pitch, Hit & Run.

The performances of the Conners and Deandreya Sykes, 10, and Tyler McAdams, 8, also of Columbus, secured the athletes invitations to Minute Maid Park, which is the home Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros.

Offense out of reach for Hamilton

PEARL — The approach is the same regardless of how many are out.

It just so happens that two was the magic number Wednesday for the Richton High School baseball team.

As a result, the Rebels will have to clear another space in their trophy case.

Mills’ delivery stymies HHS

PEARL — Pitchers don’t always take the adage “you can’t break a plane of glass” as a source of pride.

Kameron Mills didn’t mind Wednesday that the radar gun at Trustmark Park might have had difficulty measuring the speed of some of pitches.

Hamilton baseball team looks to its leaders

HAMILTON — Dylan Earnest and Chase Reeves want to write a different ending.

For the past three seasons, Earnest and Reeves have seen their Hamilton High School baseball seasons end on the wrong note.

In 2007, Hamilton lost to Gulfport St. John in two games in the Class 1A State title series.

In 2008, Richton defeated Hamilton 6-5 in game three to take the Class 2A crown.