There wasn’t anything to rejoice about after Alcorn’s doubleheader against Alabama State.

The Braves couldn’t shake their week-long funk, and they dropped all four games at home in a four-game set against the Hornets.

But freshman right-hander Russ Simonton did share a smile with his catcher after a half inning late in the first game.

The Cathedral product finished off his first appearance of the season on the mound and sent three batters back to the dugout on strikes.

It was actually his second taste of action this season – he DH’d a couple games back and went 0-for-3.

“That’s about it,” said Simonton, one of three players from Natchez on the Braves’ roster this spring. “That’s the first time on the mound. Everybody has got to pay their dues. This is my first year. If he’s got me on the bench, that’s how it’s going to be. I don’t want to get in front of anybody else.”

He didn’t have to worry about that Saturday since Alcorn head coach Willie “Rat” McGowan went with a totally shaken up lineup in hopes of finding the spark to end the Braves’ losing skid.

Simonton appeared in both games, and in the first game he threw a scoreless seventh where he yielded a single before striking out the next three batters to end the inning.

McGowan went with him again in the second game, but ther esults weren’t the same. He hit the second batter he faced, balked an inherited runner home and walked the next batter before getting out of the inning with a strikeout and a groundout.

But Alabama State cleanup hitter Eric Duff welcomed him back to the mound in the seventh with a solo homer out of Alcorn’s spacious park.

“The first game I pretty much threw everything I had,” Simonton said. “The second game I was kind of tired. I thought I did pretty well the first time but kind of struggled in the second game. I’ve got to keep on working.”

Simonton did a good bit of that during his years at Cathedral as he played on the Green Wave team that made it to South state before losing in three to Noxapater.

He’s at least two years removed from Cathedral where an injury kept him from getting significant action on the mound.

“He had hurt his arm in high school and really wasn’t able to pitch,” Cathedral head coach Johnny Beesley Sr. said. “He played outfield for us. He always had good velocity on his fastball, but every time he’d go up and we’d try to pitch him he’d have trouble with his arm.”

He showed good velocity Saturday, and the control – also a problem while at Cathedral – was good in the first game before he walked two in the second.

Whether or not he sees more action on the mound is anyone’s guess. The Braves need pitching help, and Simonton is hoping he can help.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Simonton said. “That’s about it.”

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 445-3632 or by e-mail to

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com