Many readers surely have seen the news that Clyde Muse, an educator for 67 years and for 42 years the president of Hinds Community College, died last week at the age of 96. Muse has often been referred to as the “Godfather” of Mississippi’s community college system.
Rick Cleveland
Little kids probably would better appreciate Muse as one of the people crediting with inventing T-ball, a sport that has become a rite of spring for thousands upon thousands of youngsters too small to throw strikes or hit thrown baseballs. If you’ve never seen a game, you owe it to yourself.
A thorough internet investigation has found T-ball was “invented” in different parts of the country by different people. It was first played in Mississippi, in Starkville, during the summer of 1961 when Muse was directing the town’s park programs. The game is now played – often with hilarious results – virtually everywhere.
Clyde Muse, longtime president of Hinds Community College. Credit: HINDSCC
In 2015, the Mississippi Senate honored Muse with a proclamation for his gift to tiny Mississippians and the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have watched them play.
“I’ve had one original idea in my life,” Muse told senators, laughing, according to a press release from the college at the time. “The first game we played I knew it was going to be a tremendous success. I saw how much fun the little children have.”
Added Muse, “My great grandchildren have benefitted from T-Ball. I have enjoyed watching them play.”
Muse told senators the game was never patented. “I didn’t have enough sense to do that,” he laughed.
Mississippi in Major League Baseball
After a slow-ish start, 19-year-old baseball wunderkind and Jackson native Konnor Griffin has gotten into the swing of hitting Major League fastballs and sliders. Griffin on Sunday hit safely in his sixth straight game for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is first teenager to do that since the great Bill Mazeroski did it 70 summers ago. But even when Griffin doesn’t hit, he affects the game in several ways, mostly with his highlight-reel plays at shortstop and his speed on the base paths.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin takes infield practice before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates’ home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. Credit: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
The same can be said for his Pirates teammate Jake Mangum, another former Jackson Prep star and the all-time Southeastern Conference hits leader at Mississippi State. If Griffin and pitcher Paul Skenes are the most popular Pirates, Mangum is not far behind. Mangum currently is hitting .303 and, like Griffin, runs the bases exceedingly well and makes SportsCenter plays on defense.
Appearing on our “Crooked Letter” podcast last week, Kevin Griffin, Konnor’s dad and the highly successful softball coach at Belhaven, talked about how good an influence Mangum, who is 30, has been on his son, who will turn 20 on Friday.
“It’s been great having Jake up there. He’s kind of taken Konnor under his wing a little bit.”
Prep is proving quite the pipeline to the Major Leagues. Besides Griffin and Mangum, New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren, another former Prep Patriot, has a 2-0 record and a spiffy earned run average of 2.49.
College baseball
The latest NCAA baseball power ratings (RPI) are out and include three Mississippi teams in the top 18. Ole Miss (29-12) is No. 6, Southern Miss (28-12) is No. 12, and Mississippi State (30-10) is 18th. All three won their most recent weekend series with State sweeping South Carolina, Ole Miss taking two of three at Tennessee and Southern Miss sweeping Texas State.
This weekend, Mississippi State hosts LSU, Ole Miss hosts SEC-leading Georgia, and Southern Miss plays at South Alabama.
Mississippi’s college baseball excellence doesn’t stop there. In Division II, Delta State raised its record to 26-16 with a three-game sweep at Auburn-Montgomery, plating 36 runs in three days. The Statesmen will end the regular season this weekend, hosting arch-rival Mississippi College (26-20). The Choctaws are hot, too, after taking two of three from nationally ranked West Florida, marking the Chocs’ first series win ever over traditionally strong West Florida.
Belhaven, which now plays its home games at spacious Trustmark Park in Pearl, takes a 25-10 record into its final regular season series Friday and Saturday against Asbury (Kentucky) University. The Blazers will host the Collegiate Conference of the South post-season tournament April 29-May 2 at Trustmark.
College softball
Mississippi State carries Mississippi’s softball banner with a 34-14 record and a No. 18 RPI. Ole Miss (27-17) has the nation’s No. 23 RPI. State will play Ole Miss in a three-game series April 30-May 2 in Oxford before both teams play in the SEC Tournament May 5-9 at Lexington, Kentucky. Get this: 11 of the top 25 teams in Division I college softball play in the SEC, including six of the top seven ranked teams.
Southern Miss, much improved over a year ago, has a 30-19 record overall and is tied for third in the Sun Belt with an 11-7 league mark.
Kevin Griffin’s Belhaven softballers are a robust 29-8 and have won 22 of their last 24 games. Earlier this season, Belhaven celebrated Griffin’s 500th victory in his 16th season at the Blazers’ head coach.
