Monthly Archives: May 2011

For all the chatter about parity in this week’s Conference USA Tournament, Southern Miss is in the best position to shut everybody up. Before a pitch is even thrown, USM has to like its chances of at least making it to Saturday’s championship game. First of all, the Golden Eagles (38-15) aren’t sneaking up on anybody. Ranked in three major polls, they’ve got cred. They also tied for the C-USA regular season title with Rice, which earned the tiebreaker for No. 1 tournament seed because it won two of three in Hattiesburg last weekend. The tournament site, Trustmark Park in Pearl, is a neutral site in name only. The Eagles play two games there every season, against rivals Mississippi State and Ole Miss. They know the place. USM fans, in their unmistakable black-and-gold garb, will be plentiful at the TeePee; there is a large contingent of USM alums in the greater Jackson area, and Hattiesburg is just a 90-minute drive away. Plus, the format seems almost to have been drawn up to favor USM. The tourney is divided into two four-team pods; each team will play the other three in its pod. The teams with the best record in each pod advance to the title game. Head-to-head breaks a two-way tie. If there is a three-way tie, the top seed advances. USM, seeded second overall behind Rice, is the top seed in its pod. Because tournament officials want to maximize its drawing potential, USM gets to play the late game (7:30 first pitch) each of the first three days, thus avoiding the midday heat as well as early morning wakeup calls, which no college kid enjoys. Of course, there are more tangible reasons to like the Eagles in this event. They’ve got a bounty of quality hitters. The Eagles lead the league in runs and are second in average and homers. Tyler Koelling is hitting .367, one of six Eagles at .303 or better. B.A. Vollmuth has 12 homers and 47 RBIs. Marc Bourgeois is hitting .352 with seven homers and 35 RBIs. Perhaps more importantly, USM also has a strong pitching staff, headed by starters Todd McInnis, Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathan Thompson and capped by closer Collin Cargill. Keep in mind that the TeePee is a pitcher’s park, a big yard with deep power alleys. It’ll be humid and the ball won’t carry well — unless the wind is blowing out, as it sometimes does to left field. USM has incentive, too, in this event. The Eagles, who likely have an NCAA bid locked up, could earn the right to host a regional if they win the C-USA tournament, which they have done twice, including last season. The tournament begins Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. with Memphis playing Central Florida in the first of four games. The Eagles will come out at night, facing Tulane. Expect their presence to be felt the rest of the week.

So … Atlanta put Jason Heyward on the disabled list today with a shoulder problem. One has to begin to wonder, is the supremely talented 21-year-old outfielder — who is hitting .214, by the way — going to be one of those guys who is constantly hurt? Braves fans surely hope not, but the concern must be there. It’s been one pain after another, going back a while. Mississippi Braves fans might recall that Heyward missed time with an injury when he was in Pearl in 2009. With Nate McLouth also going on the DL, the Braves recalled former M-Brave Jordan Schafer, who was batting all of .256 at Triple-A Gwinnett. Interested to see what he does back in The Show. And another former JADAP, ex-Jackson Generals shortstop Julio Lugo, has signed a minor league deal with Atlanta. Lugo, 35, is a .270 career hitter and can play just about anywhere. If he’s got anything left, he’ll be on Atlanta’s bench before too long.

Southern Miss has seen so many hitters emerge with big numbers this year that it seems only fitting that a Golden Eagle — finally — won the 2011 Ferriss Trophy. Tyler Koelling certainly isn’t the highest profile USM player, but his stats are legit. The 6-foot, 190-pound senior outfielder batted .367 with 18 doubles, four homers, 46 RBIs and 43 runs. In the field, he made just two errors and had five assists. Koelling, from Luling, La., and Archbishop Rummel High, was a juco All-American in his one year at Meridian Community College, hitting .348 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 2008. USM’s first Ferriss winner will be on display this week in the C-USA Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. See what you think. We know the pro scouts like him.

Mitch Moreland, the ex-Mississippi State standout, figures to return to regular duty at first base for Texas. He has been playing a lot of right field but that’s likely to end with the return to duty of injured outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. Moreland is hitting .276 in his second big league season. … Scuffling Bill Hall of Nettleton reportedly will become a platoon player at second base for Houston, which is going to use Angel Sanchez against right-handers. The right-handed Hall is hitting .194 against righties and hasn’t shown the power the Astros were looking for either. … Also slumping is Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan, whose average has dipped from .274 on May 10 to .239 as of today. He’s scored only six runs for Florida this month, not good for a leadoff batter. … Delta State product Dusty Hughes returned to the big leagues from a stint in the minors and tossed a scoreless inning for Minnesota on Sunday. … Former Holmes Community College star Roy Oswalt suffered his first home loss for Philadelphia on Sunday, yielding eight hits, two walks and one run against Texas. He is 1-2 in his last four starts and now stands just 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA for the year. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alumnus Fred Lewis has been given a lot of at-bats by Cincinnati since coming off the DL and is batting .257. But he couldn’t help the Reds avoid being swept in the Ohio Series against Cleveland over the weekend.

It was a lost weekend for the state’s Big 3 — and Jackson State, as well. But never mind them. Alcorn State and Jones County Junior College found their way into the history books. Alcorn beat Southern University 12-6 today to win the SWAC Tournament title, its first ever, and qualify for the NCAAs, also a first for the program. Barret Rey’s Braves went 4-0 in the event and outscored their opposition 51-16. Jones pulled off a pair of dramatic wins over second-ranked LSU-Eunice on Saturday to claim the NJCAA Division II Region 23 title and make the juco World Series for the first time in school history. The 12th-ranked Bobcats also won the state championship last week for the first time in nine years, a tough double dip by Christian Ostrander’s Bobcats. Elsewhere, the news was not so good: Ole Miss squandered a chance to make the SEC Tournament; Mississippi State failed on a shot at winning the SEC West (but did get back into the SEC tourney); Southern Miss, hurt by sloppy defense, let an outright C-USA title slip through its grasp, having to settle for a share with Rice; and JSU coughed up a big lead with a chance to make the SWAC final and play old rival Alcorn for the crown.

Ole Miss is done. Swept by Arkansas at Fayetteville in a twinbill today, the Rebels finish 13-17 in the SEC and will miss next week’s tournament and, presumably, the NCAAs, as well. What a wild confluence of events took place with Ole Miss leading 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth of the second game, needing just to hold on to make the SEC field. But then there was a walk. A hit batsman. A controversial balk call. A 15-foot squeeze bunt. A bloop single and a bad throw home. A sac fly. Arkansas leads 5-3. With two on and none out in the top of the seventh and final inning, the Hogs call on Thursday night starter D.J. Baxendale. A sac bunt puts the runners at second and third. Then an errant pitch results in a 2-1 putout at the plate. After a walk, a grounder to first ends it. Arkansas wins the SEC West at 15-15 and goes to Hoover, Ala. Ole Miss trudges back to Oxford, its season having skidded off the rails.

Logan Riddell, Jones County Junior College’s No. 3 starter, went eight innings and allowed just one earned run as the Bobcats won an elimination game against Holmes CC 11-5 late Friday night in the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament. Riddell improved to 10-4. The No. 12 Bobcats will have to beat No. 2 LSU-Eunice twice today in Goodman to advance to the Juco World Series. Earlier Friday, JCJC’s No. 2 starter, Vito Perna, won his 10th game with a 5-0 shutout of Northwest in another elimination game. The depth of the Bobcats’ staff will be tested today; perhaps ace Andrew Pierce, who pitched Thursday, can can work again on short rest.
P.S. Props to Alcorn State, which blew through its half of the SWAC Tournament and will meet Southern University on Sunday in a one-game championship. ESPNU will show the game from Shreveport on Monday at 7 p.m. It’s worth a look. The Braves have some players.

Trustmark Park, the spacious home of the Double-A Mississippi Braves, has a reputation as a pitcher’s park. On Thursday, a handful of high school hurlers settled in and made that rep ring true. To wit: Luke Lowery threw a no-hitter (11 strikeouts, one walk) as Sumrall beat Mooreville 8-0 to win the MHSAA 3A state title, its fourth in a row. Ridgeland’s Nick Johnson tossed a three-hitter (nine strikeouts, one walk) as the Titans beat Long Beach 1-0 to claim the 5A crown. Nanih Waiya’s Colby Eaves, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound sophomore who must have scouts drooling, fanned 10 in an 8-0 shutout of Falkner that clinched the 1A championship. And Tupelo got three scoreless innings of relief from Ben Aldridge in a gritty 4-3 win over Petal that forced a Game 3 in the 6A series. Bottom line: When the other guy can’t score, you’ve got to like your chances of winning.

The game within the games this weekend in Hattiesburg is the Southern Miss pitching staff vs. Rice slugger Anthony Rendon. USM’s pitching is very good, from starters Todd McInnis, Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathan Thompson (23-4 combined!) to closer Collin Cargill. But so is Rendon, Baseball America’s national player of the year in 2010 and the potential No. 1 pick in the June draft. The right-handed hitter’s Triple Crown numbers might not leap off the page — .326, five homers, 33 RBIs — but he’s also walked 72 times, scored 50 runs (for an outstanding 83 RAF) and stolen 10 bags. Oh yeah, he’s been bothered by ankle and shoulder injuries, which he says are improving. USM (37-13, 15-6 C-USA) might have more offensive weapons than Rice (36-17, 14-7), which also has a fairly strong rotation. But Rendon’s performance could be a difference-maker in this compelling showdown for the C-USA regular season title. Game 1 is tonight at Taylor Park. … Meanwhile, at Donald Field in Goodman, the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament starts today with the shadow of LSU-Eunice looming large. The second-ranked Bengals (43-13) are the defending national champs. In fact, they’ve won two of the last three national titles and finished third in 2009. They’ve got 10 .300 hitters and a deep stable of arms, capped by closer Kaleb Manuel (nine saves, 1.25 ERA). And yet, the Mississippi schools ought to put up a good fight. MACJC champion Jones County Junior College (38-14 and ranked No. 12) might have better pitching than LSU-E with a staff led by Andrew Pierce (10-1, 1.20 ERA) and Vito Perna (9-1). Chase Headrick and Darion Hamilton have shown a knack for clutch hitting. Regional host Holmes CC (31-19) didn’t play well in the state tourney but can’t be overlooked. Reggie O’Briant is a fearsome slugger, and Rafiel Johnson (eight wins on the mound, .324 hitter) does a little of everything for the Bulldogs. Northwest (31-19) surged late in the year to catch Holmes in the North Division (settling for second on a tiebreaker) and then reached the title round in the state tournament. Jeremy Carlisle (eight homers), Drew Griffin (.389, four saves) and Garrett Radicioni (6-3) are players to watch for the Rangers, who get the first crack at LSU-E at 2 p.m. Holmes and JCJC play at 6.

Wondering when the Pittsburgh Pirates might decide it’s time to give Alex Presley a call. The Ole Miss product is hitting .349 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 39 games at Triple-A Indianapolis. He’s slugging .507, has scored 26 runs and swiped 11 bases. You might say he’s hot. And worthy of a call-up to Pittsburgh, which has lost six in a row and fallen to 18-23, already well off the pace in the National League Central. Presley, a left-handed hitting outfielder, got a cup of coffee at the end of 2010. The Pirates really ought to give him another, longer look.