up in arms

True, offense is down all around college baseball with the new bats, but let's not let that diminish the remarkable pitching demonstrated by the state's Big 3 Division I schools on Sunday. Southern Miss' Geoffrey Thomas (remember the name) blanked Tulane on one hit — a bunt single — in one of the best outings by a state pitcher in recent memory. Thomas, a sophomore right-hander already pegged as a potentially high draft prospect for 2012, fanned six and walked two in the 12-0, seven-inning victory that gave USM a 2-1 series win. The series was on the line for Ole Miss, too, at Tennessee, and Austin Wright delivered eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight in the 8-0 win. And Mississippi State completed a sweep of Auburn with a 5-0 win behind Nick Routt and Daryl Norris, who combined on a four-hitter. Lefty Routt, coming off elbow surgery, was limited to 3 2/3 innings. Norris, a freshman, stepped in and closed the deal by allowing just two hits over the final 5 1/3. As Belhaven coach Hill Denson recently said, "The fastball is back in college baseball." It is the best pitch, and with the toned-down bats, fewer of them can be turned around into homers or wall-rattling doubles. More pitchers can and will attack the strike zone now. The arms race is on, and Mississippi's Big 3 appear well-suited for it.