Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

-- Delta State won its 11th Gulf South Conference baseball championship with a 7-5 victory over Montevallo on Wednesday night at USA Stadium.

The Statesmen improved to 45-9, while the Falcons fell to 36-25.

The GSC title, the first for the Statesmen since Delta State's 2004 NCAA national championship, is the fourth under head coach Mike Kinnison.

Joey Haston (8-0) worked 61/3 innings for the win, allowing three runs on five hits. Levi Bishop earned the save.

Chris Clark led the Statesmen, going 4-for-5 with an RBI. Taylor Palasini and Rickey Noland had two hits apiece.

Four Statesmen were named to the Gulf South Conference All-Tournament Team, including Most Outstanding Player Kenney Smalley, shortstop Devin Goodwin, right fielder Michael Niemann and center fielder Hunter Jobes.

BASKETBALL

• Alcorn St. turns to Smith - Alcorn State's new men's basketball coach is Larry Smith.

The 50-year-old spent several years as an NBA player and assistant coach and recently resigned as an assistant with the WNBA's L.A. Sparks to take over the program.

He replaces Samuel West, who was let go after the Braves went 7-23 last season and 44-103 in his five seasons in Lorman.

Smith was a two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference player of the year and led the nation in rebounds as a senior with 15.1 per game in 1979-80.

He played for Golden State, Houston and San Antonio in 13 seasons and was a member of the Houston Rockets staff for 10 years, including for consecutive NBA championships in 1994-95.

• Lady Eagles sign post player - Southern Miss women's basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis announced Thursday the signing of 6-foot-2 post player Ashley Martin of Memphis for the 2008-09 season.

Martin, who played the last two seasons at Bevill State Community College in Fayette, Ala., averaged 13.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. During her time there, she was a first-team all-state selection twice, a first-team all-region pick two times and a first-team all-tournament selection in both her years there.

Prior to her two years at Bevill State, Martin attended South Side High where she averaged 12 points and nine rebounds.

Martin joins 5-foot-10 guard Candace Rucker of Memphis and 5-foot-4 guard Erin Gatling of Van Buren, Ark., who have signed to play for the Lady Eagles next season.

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