GOOOOOO SOUTHERN!

Normally, that would be something I would say on behalf of my beloved Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, whose baseball season sadly ended Friday in the losers bracket of the Oxford regional in the NCAA tournament. They lost their first game to the Oklahoma Sooners, then in their elimination game to Maine, who while you don't think much about them in baseball are quite a formidable team.

That said, HUGE KUDOS go to the Florida Southern Moccasins from right here in Lakeland, who captured their record ninth NCAA Division II national baseball title Saturday with a 12-9 victory over North Florida in Montgomery, Alabama (UNF moves to Division I next season). It was the Mocs' 22nd come-from-behind win this season, so these kids have given their fans many a heart attack this season, and with yesterday being for all the marbles, I'm surprised there wasn't a compliment of EMTs standing by at Riverwalk Stadium. The great thing is that there aren't that many seniors on this team, so much of the roster will be back. Where they will be hurt most will be on the mound, but there's some good talent returning there, too. FSC has a great tradition built here; it's just a shame people don't know enough about it because of it's Division II status.