Tag Archives: MHSAA

19 Apr

prep work

Using the latest Power 25 rankings by Prep Baseball Report as a guide, favorites can be identified in the MHSAA playoffs that have begun for Classes 1A through 4A. Two Class 4A teams are ranked in the top six, with West Lauderdale at No. 5 and Sumrall at No. 6. The longtime powerhouse programs are on opposite sides of the bracket, possibly headed for a showdown for the state title at Trustmark Park in Pearl next month, though there is a long, long road to navigate. Jacob Wooten and Leeds Jenkins lead the way for the Knights (22-5), who have won 15 state titles. They open the playoffs with Senatobia. Sumrall’s Bearcats (24-5), winners of six state crowns, feature Landon Hawkins and Cade Clinton. They start out against Forest. Kossuth (21-1), which opens vs. Ruleville, is the highest-rated 3A team at No. 23, and East Union (21-5), which has a first-round bye, tops 2A schools at No. 17. No 1A schools are in the Power 25, though Biggersville and Hollandale Simmons got first-round byes on opposite sides of the class bracket. The 5A though 7A playoffs start next weekend. Class 7A is a minefield with five teams ranked in the top nine: No. 2 Lewisburg, No. 3 Germantown, No. 7 Hernando, No. 8 Northwest Rankin and No. 9 Oak Grove. West Jones, ranked 10th, tops the 6A schools, and South Jones, at No. 15, is the highest-rated 5A school. … In the MAIS, all eyes will be on top-ranked Jackson Prep, the king of Class 6A, and two-way star Konnor Griffin. The Patriots’ Lakeland Drive rival, 6A Hartfield Academy, is ranked No. 11 in the Power 25 but is 0-4 against Prep this season. Fourth-ranked Magnolia Heights is in Class 5A.

04 Jun

power rangers

For Nathaniel Lowe, the ex-Mississippi State slugger, it’s gotta be fun showing up for work each day. He checks in to a Texas Rangers lineup that ranks first in MLB in runs, first in batting average and first in on-base percentage and stands first in the American League West at 37-20. In a 16-6 home win over Seattle on Saturday, Lowe cranked out three of the Rangers’ 19 hits and hit one of their four home runs. The Rangers have scored 10 or more runs 15 times and 15 or more five times. Lowe, who has six bombs on the year along with a .281 average and 35 RBIs, typically bats third, behind Marcus Semien (.304, nine homers) and Corey Seager (.340, 10 homers) and in front of Adolis Garcia (.257, 14 homers) and Josh Jung (.285, 12 homers). “It’s a deep lineup. These guys throw out at-bats throughout the order,” manager Bruce Bochy told The Associated Press. A 2016 draftee out of MSU by Tampa Bay now in his fifth big league campaign, Lowe won a Silver Slugger for the Rangers in 2022 when he belted 27 homers. That team finished a fairly miserable 68-84. This year has been much more fun. P.S. East Central, behind the pitching of Brason Owenby (five shutout innings), and Amory, riding the arm of Jackson Howell (6 1/3, two runs), won MHSAA state championships on Saturday in Classes 5A and 3A, respectively. Perhaps it was no great surprise that great pitching performances were abundant in the games last week at Trustmark Park: Landon Harmon, East Union (five-inning perfect game); Cayden Baker, Lewisburg (6 2/3, one run); JoJo Parker and Eli Love, Purvis (combo four-hitter); T.J. Dunsford, East Central (two-hitter); Cole Tingle, Resurrection Catholic (two-hitter); Talon Haley, Lewisburg (six innings, three hits); Ben Basil, East Union (6 1/3, no earned runs); and Gavin McCoy, Saltillo.

03 Jun

old-school artist

Power is all the rage in baseball. Check the box scores. Who hit one out? Blaze Jordan, Joe Gray Jr. and Colt Keith, all products of Mississippi high schools, blasted home runs in the minors on Friday, as did former Mississippi State star Hunter Stovall. Cheers all around. The art of hitting a single, of just putting a ball in play that results in a base knock, doesn’t have the wow factor. It’s kind of a shame. Here’s a tip of the cap to a guy who seems to have mastered that old-school art. Davis Bradshaw, former McLaurin High and Meridian Community College standout, hit a single on Friday for High-A Beloit in the Miami organization. It was his 33rd single among his 37 hits; he has no homers. The lefty-hitting Bradshaw is batting .398; he was at .415 in mid-May. He was out for a couple of weeks last month, so he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the Midwest League leaderboard, but he would be second in hitting in all of the minors if he did. Bradshaw has struck out just 16 times and walked eight in 93 at-bats over 29 games. Drafted out of MCC back in 2018, Bradshaw, now 25, carries a .307 career average — but has only two home runs. The lack of power is no doubt holding him back. He is not a rated prospect. He got a look in Double-A last year and hit .286 but was back in A-ball to start 2023. And he went right back to banging out singles, keeping that old-school art alive. P.S. Southern Miss and Auburn might have anticipated meeting on Day 2 of regional play, but they surely didn’t expect the clash to come in the losers bracket. The top two seeds in the Auburn Regional were upset by Samford and Penn. That’s baseball. BTW, Josh Rodriguez, who hit that massive 10th-inning homer for Samford on Friday, was a first-team All-MACCC pick at Hinds Community College last year. … Props to East Union (Class 2A) and Purvis (4A) for winning MHSAA state titles Friday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Amory plays St. Stanislaus for the 3A crown and Saltillo battles East Central for the 5A title today.

02 Jun

number crunching

Anything can happen on the field in a double-elimination tournament, but there are numbers on the stat sheet that bode well for Southern Miss’ chances in the Auburn Regional that starts today. In terms of run differential — a good measure of a team’s balance — USM, at plus-113, is far better than top seed Auburn (plus-69) or No. 3 Samford (plus-30), the Golden Eagles’ first-round foe. Penn, the 4-seed, has a plus-137, but the competition the Quakers faced in the Ivy League doesn’t compare to what the other three see in the baseball-crazy South. (The bottom three teams in the Ivy this season won a combined 24 games.) USM also has a far better staff ERA (4.60) than either Samford (6.00) or Auburn (5.80). Pitching coach — and head-coach-in-waiting — Christian Ostrander does a masterful job with young arms. Tanner Hall, the staff ace, is 12-3 with a 2.23 ERA. The junior right-hander, a virtual unknown at the start of the 2022 campaign, has won back-to-back conference pitcher of the year awards and has been a first-team All-America pick both years by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. But you gotta have some depth. USM can trot out four pitchers with sub-4.00 ERAs, an accomplishment in NCAA Division I ball. One of those four is closer Justin Storm, an intimidating (6 feet 6, 225 pounds) lefty who is 5-1 with eight saves, a 2.52 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. Samford’s ace is Jacob Cravey (9-2, 3.19, CB second-team All-America, Southern Conference pitcher of the year), and the Bulldogs closer is Ben Petschke (14 saves, 4.29). Auburn’s top arm is starter Tommy Vail (5-1, 3.46). For the record, Auburn and Samford have a significantly better fielding percentage number (.978) than USM (.970), though the Eagles, with 41 wins, are hardly considered a poor defensive team. For what it’s worth, the Eagles have proven their mettle on the road, going 15-12 away from Taylor Park, including winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title in Montgomery, Ala. P.S. Kudos to Resurrection Catholic (Class 1A) and Lewisburg (6A) for winning MHSAA state championships on Thursday at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

01 Jun

banging on door

Sent back to the minors despite going 6-for-6 in his last two games for Minnesota, Matt Wallner has responded by banging out six hits, including two home runs, in his first two games for Triple-A St. Paul. He had a double, triple and homer on Tuesday, a homer and two singles on Wednesday. The former Southern Miss standout has crushed the ball with such ferocity that a St. Paul broadcaster called him “Judge-like.” A 6-foot-4, 220-pound lefty-hitting outfielder, Wallner is batting .298 with six homers and 21 RBIs for the Saints. He was at .368 in 19 at-bats for the Twins when they optioned him out to make room for Max Kepler, who came off the injured list. The Twins, clinging to first place in the American League Central, surely can’t keep Wallner down on the farm for long. … There are several other Mississippi products in Triple-A seemingly banging on the big league door. At Norfolk (Baltimore system), Mississippi State alum Jordan Westburg is batting .311 with 14 homers and 47 RBIs. The Orioles’ No. 3 prospect, who has played shortstop, third base, second and the outfield this season, hit nine homers in May. At Sugar Land (Houston), Oxford native and Ole Miss alum Grae Kessinger is batting .286 after a 3-for-7 effort in a pair of games on Wednesday. He hit his sixth homer and has 31 RBIs. At Louisville (Cincinnati), ex-USM star Chuckie Robinson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs on Wednesday and is batting .331 with six homers and 29 runs driven in. Robinson got a brief look with the Reds last season. At Jacksonville (Miami), Flowood native and ex-MSU standout Jake Mangum is hitting .307 after an 0-for-3 Wednesday. The speedy outfielder has two homers, 22 RBIs and seven steals. At Round Rock (Texas), Mississippi College product Blaine Crim is batting .255 with four homers and 18 RBIs and former State star Justin Foscue is at .272 with seven and 23 plus seven steals. At Albuquerque (Arizona), MSU alum Hunter Stovall is batting .296 with 27 runs in 32 games. P.S. Kudos to ex-Ole Miss standout Nick Fortes, who got his second career walk-off hit for Miami, an RBI single in the ninth against San Diego closer Josh Hader. … Tough day for Lance Lynn and Justin Steele, starting pitchers for Chicago on Wednesday (see previous post). Ole Miss alum Lynn gave up eight runs in four innings in a loss for the White Sox and George County High product Steele was pulled with left forearm tightness after throwing three perfect innings for the Cubs, who would go on to lose. … William Carey University’s great season ended with a 15-6 loss to Lewis-Clark State in a semifinal game at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. The Crusaders won the SSAC regular season title, climbed to No. 8 in the national poll and finished 49-11; their last win in Idaho was coach Bobby Halford’s 1,300th at WCU. … Congrats to East Central, Purvis and East Union for winning series openers in the MHSAA state championships at Pearl. East Union’s Landon Harmon tossed a perfect game.

31 May

spotlight on …

Chicago will be hoppin’ today with both the White Sox and the Cubs in town, and a pair of Mississippi products will be on the mound for the home teams. At Guaranteed Rate Field, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn looks to win his fourth straight start for the underachieving White Sox, scuffling along at 23-34. They meet the star-studded Los Angeles Angels. At Wrigley Field, former George County High star Justin Steele looks to recapture his early season form after going 0-2 in his last three starts for the disappointing Cubs (24-30). They play Tampa Bay, the best team in baseball. Lynn got off to an awful start in 2023, as did the ChiSox. He has improved to 4-5 and lowered his ERA to 5.83 by allowing just four runs in his last 19 innings. Today’s start will be the 297th career for the 36-year-old right-hander. For Steele, a 27-year-old lefty, today will be career start No. 45. He was 6-0 after beating St. Louis on May 10 but has been a bit wobbly of late. Cincinnati roughed him up for five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings on May 26, pushing his ERA to 2.77. P.S. No American League reliever has had a better May than Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman of the White Sox. He has not allowed a run in 11 outings, posting four saves and two holds. … In college ball: William Carey University lost for the first time Tuesday night in the NAIA World Series but will play on today against Lewis-Clark State, the home team in Lewiston, Idaho. … On the prep front: Kudos to Lewisburg, St. Stanislaus and Resurrection Catholic for winning series openers in the MHSAA state championships in Pearl.

29 May

buckle up

Trustmark Park in Pearl will be filled this week with Urchins and Hornets and Dragons and Knights. The MHSAA state championships begin Tuesday. Twelve teams from every corner of the state will decide six titles. Mr. Baseball picks from three classes are among the throng of players who will take the field. There will be players who’ll go on to bigger schools and bigger things, and there will be many for whom this is their last hurrah. Emotions will run high.
The best-of-3 battles begin Tuesday morning with a gathering of Eagles: The Class 1A finalists are West Union and Resurrection Catholic from Pascagoula. Greer Manning tops West Union with a .485 average and eight homers and a 1.62 ERA on the bump (per MaxPreps). Cole Tingle has been a sparkplug for Resurrection with a .414 average and six pitching wins.
The second feature on Tuesday is Amory-St. Stanislaus in 3A. Amory went 30-4 despite playing most of the season with no home field after the devastating March tornado. Walker Maranto and Bryce Glenn have led the Panthers through. The Rock-a-Chaws from the Coast are powered by Chesley Rhodes (.468, seven homers, 43 RBIs.)
Saltillo and East Central meet in Tuesday’s 5A nightcap. Drake Douglas and Baylor Roberts were clutch performers for Saltillo’s Tigers in the North series win against Ridgeland. Southern Miss signee T.J. Dunsford — chosen Mr. Baseball in 5A by the MHSAA and the Mississippi Association of Coaches — leads the East Central Hornets from Moss Point with .434 average.
On Wednesday, the Urchins from East Union battle the Dragons from Pisgah in 2A. East Union’s Rett Johnson, Mr. Baseball in this class, is hitting a sizzling .545. For Pisgah — just 20 miles down the road from Pearl — Colton Coleman hit .437, scored 33 runs and stole 12 bags.
In 4A on Wednesday, Mr. Baseball JoJo Parker, a Mississippi State commit, leads the Purvis Tornadoes with a .482 average, 15 homers, eight wins and a 1.66 ERA. West Lauderdale’s Knights feature Cannon Graham and Brett Busbea, who came up big in the North clincher vs. Mooreville.
The 6A final — Wednesday’s finale — matches Lewisburg and Gulfport, who knocked out Germantown and Northwest Rankin, respectively, in the North and South finals. Austin Hannigan, a .358 hitter with 20 steals, and MSU signee Gage Haley (.345) are among the leaders for Lewisburg’s Patriots. For Gulfport’s Admirals, Dawson Hall had a monster series against Northwest Rankin.
Game 2 in each series is set (in the same order) for Thursday and Friday. Any Game 3’s would start Saturday. Six celebrations are guaranteed.

17 May

what’s going on …

In Hattiesburg today, William Carey University is in the championship phase of the NAIA Opening Round tourney, awaiting the winner of the Ave Maria-Houston-Victoria game. Carey already has beaten both of those teams and will advance to the NAIA World Series with another victory, either today or Thursday. … In Eunice, La., today, East Central Community College takes on LSU-Eunice in a winners bracket game and Pearl River meets Itawamba in a losers bracket game of the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament. ECCC, the MACCC champion, has wins over ICC and Meridian in the tournament. LSU-U, ranked No. 1 in the nation, has wins over Northeast and Pearl River. Meridian and Northeast have been eliminated. … In Hattiesburg this weekend, Southern Miss, chasing a Sun Belt Conference title, plays host to Louisiana-Lafayette in a three-game league series to end the regular season. The Golden Eagles will honor retiring coach Scott Berry on Friday. There will be a lot of emotion at Taylor Park. … Jackson State, trying to maintain momentum for the SWAC Tournament, heads to Daytona Beach, Fla., for a league series against Bethune-Cookman. The Tigers are just 12-15 in the SWAC but have won their last four series. … Taps have been played on Ole Miss’ postseason chances, but Mississippi State clings to hope as it hosts Texas A&M to wrap up the regular season. State is 8-19 in the SEC, trailing both Georgia and Missouri by 2 games in the standings. Those three are vying for the last two SEC tourney berths. MSU basically needs to sweep A&M and get some help from LSU (vs. Georgia) and Auburn (vs. Missouri). … The MHSAA playoffs are down to the final 24 with North and South championships to be decided this week. In Class 6A, Northwest Rankin and Gulfport will battle for the South crown and Germantown and Lewisburg for the North. The state championship series in all six classes will be held at Trustmark Park in Pearl from May 30-June 2.

30 May

worth noting

Yes, Michael Harris II is gone to the big leagues, but the Mississippi Braves’ cupboard is hardly bare. There are prospect pitchers aplenty on this suddenly surging club, which plays a Memorial Day special tonight (6:05) at Trustmark Park in Pearl, and there are more than a few hitters of note. Riley Delgado is batting .327, and Hendrik Clementina is at .301. Drew Lugbauer (“Slug-bauer”) has 11 home runs, and C.J. Alexander has seven, all this month. Luke Waddell, Atlanta’s No. 26 prospect, is batting .268 with 27 RBIs. Five of Atlanta’s top 21 prospects populate the pitching staff, including tonight’s starter, Freddy Tarnok (No. 8). The M-Braves come in hot, having won five of six at Pensacola to climb to 23-22 on the season. The defending Double-A South champs now play old rival Montgomery in a six-game homestand with an off day Tuesday. P.S. Kudos to: Southern Miss, which earned a regional host role and will welcome Army, Kennesaw (Ga.) State and LSU to Hattiesburg this week. … Ole Miss, which, somewhat surprisingly, earned an NCAA Tournament bid and will head to the Coral Gables Regional. … Madison Central High product Braden Montgomery, who hit a monstrous homer in Stanford’s Pac-12 Tournament title game victory on Sunday. The Cardinal is also hosting a regional this week. … Pearl River Community College, top seed in the NJCAA Division II World Series, which won its opener in Enid, Okla., 10-2 over Florida State College-Jacksonville and plays Lansing CC tonight. … Northwest Rankin High, which beat DeSoto Central in a decisive Game 3 in the MHSAA Class 6A championship series on Sunday and joined East Central, Sumrall, Amory, East Union and Resurrection Catholic as state champs.

28 May

clearing the bases

Scouts really like Bradley Loftin, the DeSoto Central High ace who is ranked as the No. 73 MLB draft prospect in the latest mlb.com list. Northwest Rankin’s potent pack of hitters was not particularly impressed. The Cougars lit Loftin up for five runs on five hits and three walks (plus two errors) in the first inning en route to a 9-4 win Friday night in the MHSAA Class 6A opener at Trustmark Park. Left-hander Loftin, a Mississippi State commit, pitched just the one inning, throwing 49 pitches (per SBLive). NWR’s Nick Monistere, a Southern Miss signee, outpitched Loftin, yielding four runs over six innings. … Also in the Top 200 of mlb.com’s draft chart are Mississippi State catcher Logan Tanner (No. 29) and pitcher Landon Sims (41), Northeast Mississippi Community College right-hander Colby Holcombe (132), Ole Miss catcher Hayden Dunhurst (152), MSU outfielder Brad Cumbest (172) and Jackson Academy outfielder Dakota Jordan (176). … Jackson State’s season ended with a second straight loss in the SWAC Tournament in Birmingham. The Tigers entered the tourney on quite a roll, having scored 76 runs — yes, 76 — in their last four regular season games. But they were stymied in the tourney by Southern University and Prairie View A&M. … USM faces elimination today against Texas-San Antonio in the C-USA Tournament in Hattiesburg. The top-seeded Golden Eagles will need to beat the Roadrunners twice to reach Sunday’s title game. … Out in Arizona, former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery is 4-for-10 with three runs in Stanford’s 2-0 start in the Pac-12 Tournament. Montgomery, the league’s freshman of the year, is hitting .302 with 15 homers and has two saves in 14 pitching appearances for the top 10 Cardinal. … Pearl River Community College, top seed in the NJCAA Division II World Series, will learn today who its opening opponent will be on Sunday in the Enid, Okla., tournament. … The Double-A Mississippi Braves matched their club scoring record in a 19-6 win at Pensacola on Friday. The M-Braves mashed six homers, two each by Drew Lugbauer and C.J. Alexander. The M-Braves, 21-22 with two games left on this trip, return home Monday for a Memorial Day special. … The Dakota Hudson-Brandon Woodruff showdown in St. Louis (see previous post) sorta fizzled. Hudson didn’t allow a run but took 97 pitches to get 14 outs and wound up with a no-decision in a game the Cardinals won 4-2. His former MSU teammate Woodruff, Milwaukee’s starter, allowed two runs in four innings, left with an ankle injury and took the loss to fall to 5-3. If Woodruff goes on the injured list, will the Brewers call up ex-Bulldogs ace Ethan Small (3-1, 1.88 ERA in Triple-A)?