The horizon broken by dozens and dozens of wind turbines is a common sight throughout Oklahoma, but in some states, it remains a rarity as the wind industry becomes a larger and growing source of renewable power in the U.S.

Mississippi is an example as the state’s first utility-scale wind project, a 184.5 MW wind farm, is just beginning operations. It will power Amazon data centers and logistics hubs, according to Electrek.

The wind farm became operational in the past week and is called Delta Wind.   It also has the ability to produce enough electricity to power 80,000 homes.

Located in Tunica County on 14,000 acres near the Arkansas and Tennessee borders and operated by AES Corporation, the wind farm has the reported tallest onshore wind turbines in the country. Canary Media reported that the 41 wind turbines reach 692 feet at their highest points.

It might not be the last wind farm in Mississippi because Amazon plans to invest $10 billion to build two data center complexes in the state. It is considered the single largest capital investment in the history of Mississippi.

North Carolina is another state with a small wind industry. Its only wind farm opened in 2017 and was also the first in the southeast part of t he U.S.

Only 1 of Atlanta’s minor league teams came away with a win on Saturday in what was a disappointing night of baseball. However, there were still plenty of performances to single out, so let’s get into it.

(48-52) Gwinnett Stripers 10, (46-54) Durham Bulls 5

• Sandy Leon, C: 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Yuli Gurriel, 1B: 3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R
• Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Ian Anderson, SP: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Box Score

Gwinnett was the only team to come away with a win on Friday, beating Durham by 5 runs.

Starter Ian Anderson didn’t have his best performance as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Across 4.1 innings, Anderson allowed 7 hits and 2 walks on 4 runs while striking out 4 batters.

However, the Stripers took the first lead of the game in the top of the 2nd inning, plating 4 runs. Yuli Gurriel led off with a single before Brian Anderson doubled him home to make it 1-0 Gwinnett. Then, Luis Liberato singled home Anderson to make it a 2-0 game before Sandy Leon homered — the first of 2 on the night for him — to extend the lead to 4-0.

After Durham scored 1 run in each of the 2nd and 3rd innings, the Stripers got one of those runs back in the top of the 4th inning as Leon would launch a solo homer to extend the lead to 5-2. The Bulls would score in the home half to make it 5-3 before a Yuli Gurriel solo home run extended the lead to 6-3 for the Stripers.

After the Bulls scored twice in the home half of the 6th to cut the Gwinnett lead down to 1 run, the Stripers would pull away in the next half-inning.

Andrew Velazquez led off the top of the 7th with a single and proceeded to steal 2nd base before a J.P. Martinez sacrifice bunt moved him to 3rd. Alejo Lopez singled home Velazquez to extend the lead to 7-5. After an Eli White single, Yuli Gurriel homered for the 2nd time of the night to make it a 10-5 lead for the Stripers which would hold as the win for Gwinnett.

(45-48) Mississippi Braves 1, (51-43) Montgomery Biscuits 4

• Cody Milligan, CF: 1-4, RBI
• KeShawn Ogans, 3B: 1-4, R
• Lucas Braun, SP: 6.2 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 4 K

Box Score

Despite Lucas Braun tossing 6.2 solid innings for Mississippi on Friday night, the Braves ultimately fell as their offense failed to string together anything substantive in the 4-1 loss.

Both squads started off the game scoreless across the first 2 innings before the Biscuits broke through. In the bottom of the 3rd, Montgomery scored one run off of Mississippi starter Lucas Braun to take a 1-0 lead. Thankfully, that was the only damage Braun allowed on the night as he scattered 4 hits across 6.2 innings while striking out 4. With his performance, Braun lowered his season ERA to 2.76.

The Braves managed to tie things up in the top half of the 4th inning. KeShawn Ogans ledoff with a single and after Tyler Tolve grounded out to move Ogans up to second, Cody Milligan singled into left field to plate the third baseman and knot the game at 1-1.

However, that would be the only offense the Braves could muster on the night despite tallying the same amount of hits — 6 —- as Montgomery did on the night. Meanwhile Montgomery would score thrice more in the bottom of the 8th inning to hold on to beat Mississippi by a 4-1 final.

(45-47) Rome Emperors 5, (44-50) Brooklyn Cyclones 12

• Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, R
• E.J. Exposito, SS: 1-4, RBI
• Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, RBI, R
• Luis Vargas, SP: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB

Box Score

Rome didn’t stand much chance on Friday as their pitching staff didn’t give the offense much breathing room at any point and Brooklyn took advantage of that in their win.

Emperors’ starter Luis Vargas lasted just 1.2 innings in this one, allowing 5 runs — 2 earned — in the bottom of the 2nd inning as the Cyclones took a 5-0 lead over the Emperors. Reliever Tyree Thompson didn’t fare much better for Rome. While the offense was stifled — being held scoreless over the first 6 innings in this one — Thompson allowed an additional 4 runs as the Cyclones extended their lead to 9-0 over Rome in the bottom of the 4th frame.

Brooklyn would breach double digits in the bottom of the 6th, scoring twice more to make it a commanding 11-0 lead over the Emperors.

In the top of the 7th, Rome finally got on the board. After Ethan Workinger and Sabin Ceballos laced back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, Drew Compton notched a single of his own to plate Workinger and make it an 11-1 deficit for the Emperors. Later in the inning, Adam Zebrowksi would triple into right field which would score Ceballos and Drew Compton to make it an 11-3 game.

Rome would score once again in the top of the 8th as Carlos Arroyo — who doubled earlier in the inning — would score on a wild pitch to make it 11-4. However, Brooklyn would get that run back in the home half to extend their lead to 12-4. The Emperors would put up a bit of a fight in their final at-bat in the top of the 9th as an E.J. Exposito single scored Zebrowski to make it 12-5. However, that would be all the offense Rome would get as they ultimately fell by that tally.

(36-54) Augusta GreenJackets , (40-52) Myrtle Beach Pelicans (POSTPONED)

Mother Nature made her presence known on Friday, as Augusta’s contest was rained out and postponed.

(12-22) DSL Braves 3, (18-18) DSL Royals Ventura 2

• Juan Espinal, CF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB
• Juan Mateo, SS: 1-4, R
• Edward Cedano, SP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB, 2 K

Box Score

The DSL Braves got the day started off on the right foot, beating the DSL Royals Ventura squad by a 3-2 final.

In the top of the first inning, the Royals jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Braves starter Edward Cedano allowed 1 run after he issued three walks and a double in the inning. Despite the atrocious start, Cedano settled down and retired the Royals without allowing any further damage.

That would prove to be a big moment as the Braves took the lead in the home half of the frame. After Juan Mateo singled to lead off, Gabriel Cesa and Michael Martinez went down on strikes in back-to-back at-bats. Following a wild pitch that allowed Mateo to advance to third, Juan Espinal singled him home. Then, after Espinal advanced to second on a Manuel Dos Passos walk, both runners executed a double steal and Espinal scored on a throwing error to make it 2-1.

The Braves would tack on to their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Martinez was hit by a pitch with two outs and Espinal drew a walk to put a runner in scoring position. After another double steal, Martinez was waved home on a balk to extend the lead to 3-1 in favor of the Braves.

Things remained quiet from that point forward, at least until the 8th inning where the Royals plated 1 run to cut their deficit to 3-2. However, Braves’ 17-year-old reliever Yander Pinero would settle down and retire the Royals in the 9th inning to seal the win and get the save.

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Pine needle blight is becoming more prevalent, not only in the Pine Belt, but across the greater Southeastern United States.

Experts believe the blight is a type of pathogen that affects multiple types of pine trees.

The blight came to light after its increasing presence, and entomologists said that this could pose a problem for trees, both big and small.

Dr. John Riggins, Mississippi State University Forest Entomology professor, and other researchers have said the needle blight is a developing problem.

“Historically, it was only a problem in the seedling stages of Longleaf Pine,” Riggins said. “And now the reason it’s becoming a new issue as an emerging threat is because we’re seeing it impact Loblolly Pine, including mature Loblolly Pine, which is the primary tree that we grow right here in Mississippi.”

Pine needle blight can be spotted when brown patches make a tree or group of trees appear unhealthy, but that does not mean necessarily that the tree is dead. Experts say that this brown leaf period can happen during the springtime months around March or April.

The blight is believed to be affecting pine species in nearby states like Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas. Pine trees will typically become green again after a few weeks, but it is not guaranteed.

“It appears that, for the most part, most of the impacted trees are going to recover to some degree within a few weeks,” Riggins said. “But that repeated defoliation, year after year, is a repeated stress on the impacted trees.

“Eventually, it does affect tree health and you start to see additional mortality.”

Experts say that arborists, the Mississippi Forestry Commission and local Mississippi State University extension offices all offer good resources to better understand how the pine needle blight is affecting the region.

Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2024 WDAM. All rights reserved.