Mississippi
Guest speakers expected for Fall Garden Day; specialized fruit trees for Mississippi climate available
PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Larry Stephenson may love his fruit trees, but he seems to enjoy sharing his knowledge about then nearly as much.
Stephenson will be one of two guest speakers scheduled for 2024 Fall Garden Day, set for Friday, Sept. 27, at the Forrest County Extension Office, 952 Sullivan Drive, Hattiesburg.
Registration is set to open at 8:30 a.m.
Stephenson, who owns a Mississippi-centric orchard/nursery in Carrollton, Mississippi, cultivates a selection of fruit trees specifically meant for the Deep South’s warm and humid climates.
Stephenson said that many types of fruit trees were brought to North American soil as seeds from colonists. While many of the non-native seeds struggled to grow, some trees adapted to their new climate, matured and produced fruit.
“They’d plant 1,000 seeds and like 999 of them would die because they weren’t suitable for their new climate,” Stephenson said. “But there was always at least one of the 1,000 that would make it to produce fruit.
“They were naturally selective like that and we have a lot of them for that reason.”
The reason that most typical non-specialized fruit trees struggled was because winters in the Pine Belt do not get cold enough.
In other words, growers said that a certain amount of “chill“ hours per year were important to a tree’s ability to produce fruit.
“That’s a physical requirement,” Stephenson said. “They have to have that to set fruit and spurs for the next year. Most of your well-known (apple) varieties, like Red Delicious and Gold Delicious, need a minimum of 1,000 chill hours to set fruit.”
Stephenson, who includes a variety of apple trees among his stock, said that the Pine Belt may only see 600 to 800 chill hours every year, which is why he grows different fruit tree varieties that will thrive in Mississippi.
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Mississippi
Mississippi College Baseball Wins Series vs. West Florida for First Time
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
Mississippi
George County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
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Copyright 2026 WLOX. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Mississippi State Drops Series Opener at Texas A&M Despite Late Chances
Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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