Monthly Archives: May 2011

Southern University leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference in hitting, slugging and home runs and ranks second (to Grambling) in runs. Jackson State tops the loop in ERA. Mississippi Valley State has, statistically, the best defense. Color all of them contenders in the SWAC Tournament. But Alcorn State, which has never won the SWAC championship, looks like the team to beat in the eight-team event that starts today at Shreveport’s Fair Grounds Field. The Braves handily won the SWAC East with a 19-4 mark. They’ve got a couple of outstanding hitters (Kilby Perdomo, Eduardo Gonzalez) and decent pitching. And the Braves have speed, which never goes into a slump. The one category in which Alcorn leads the league is stolen bases, sparked by individual steals leader Brandon Hollins. JSU’s pitching is impressive, and two-way star Desmond Russell or the dynamic Kendall Logan could emerge as a scene-stealer. But don’t be surprised if Barret Rey’s Braves run away with this thing and earn their first NCAA invitation. Alcorn opens with Texas Southern at 3 p.m. today. Valley plays Grambling at 9 a.m. and J-State meets Prairie View at noon.

Curious to see what kind of outing Roy Oswalt has tonight. The ex-Holmes Community College star returns to the mound for Philadelphia against St. Louis for his first start since April 26. Oswalt got knocked around for six hits, a walk and five runs in three innings in a loss to Arizona. He then left the club to help his family in Weir clean up from the tornadoes that ripped through his home state on April 27. When he returned to the Phils, he went on the DL with a back problem. Oswalt is 3-1 with a 3.33 ERA; he faces Jaime Garcia (5-0, 1.89) and a pretty solid Cardinals lineup tonight. … Tim Dillard, the Itawamba CC product from Saltillo, was recalled to the big leagues by Milwaukee on Saturday but has yet to make an appearance. The tall right-hander last pitched in the majors on July 31, 2009. The Brewers altered Dillard’s delivery to a sidearm style in the spring of 2010. He went 5-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 41 games (eight starts) for Triple-A Nashville last season and was 3-1, 3.51 there this year before getting the call, which he said was a pleasant surprise.

It was mid-August 2009. For most of that season, the Mississippi Braves had been using a closer-by-committee approach to finishing games. But that seemed to be changing with the arrival of a certain rosy-cheeked right-hander from Alabama. “Kimbrel has sort of taken over the closer’s role, I guess?” an intrepid reporter asked M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman after watching another dominant outing. “Uh, yeah,” Wellman responded. “When you throw 98 with command, you get the job.” Craig Kimbrel, now the Atlanta Braves closer, was with the M-Braves for just a brief time. In 12 appearances (11 2/3 innings), Kimbrel posted a 0.77 ERA, a 2-1 record, six saves and 17 strikeouts. Kimbrel has the look of a rising star in Atlanta, the real deal as a big league closer. He notched his third save in as many nights (and 11th of the year) tonight, striking out the side in the ninth inning in a 3-2 win over Houston. If you saw him in Mississippi, you saw a glimpse of this stuff. And you remember.

The three finalists for the Ferriss Trophy — the state’s big individual prize for senior college players — weren’t a total surprise. Southern Miss’ B.A. Vollmuth and Tyler Koelling and Mississippi State’s Jarrod Parks are having great seasons. But all three are position players. Seems a little odd that in this season of the toned-down bats that no pitchers made the final three. There were certainly some worthy candidates out there. Surprising, too, that Ole Miss didn’t have a finalist. Alex Yarbrough is having a pretty good year. The bigger surprise is that Millsaps’ Will Hawkins, who had a monster season, didn’t get any votes from the scouts, coaches and media representative who do the nominating. The winner will be named next Monday in a ceremony at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

This is officially a drought for Delta State. The Statesmen, national champions in 2004, have now missed the NCAA Division II postseason for three straight years. The South Regional field was announced late Sunday night and it included seven of the top eight teams ranked in the midweek region poll. DSU (30-19), ranked No. 8, was bumped from the regional field by Stillman College, which earned an automatic bid as the SIAC champion. The Statesmen beat Stillman twice back in March, but that hardly matters. DSU can’t really cry foul here. The Statesmen won four fewer games than they did in 2010. They made a nice run at season’s end, sweeping Arkansas Tech, taking two of three from Harding and going 1-1 against Henderson State. But DSU went just 1-2 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament, which carries an automatic bid. The Statesmen were 14-6 in the GSC regular season, finishing third in a strong Western Division. The four GSC teams that got in the South Regional all had better conference records. A season that saw coach Mike Kinnison become the school’s all-time leader in victories thus ends on a somber note. The start of fall ball must feel like it’s a long ways off.
P.S. High five to Jones County Junior College, which went undefeated in the MACJC Tournament to claim its first state title since 2002. And a high five to Jonathan Papelbon, the Mississippi State alumnus who retired Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in the ninth on Sunday to notch his seventh save and secure a three-game sweep for Boston over New York. And yet another high five to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the ex-Mississippi Braves catcher who homered for the Red Sox on Sunday, his first big-league bomb in almost two years.

The Mississippi Braves rounded second and headed for home on Saturday night with a lively step, a 2-0 win over Jacksonville fueled by Randall Delgado’s brilliant pitching. Unfortunately for the M-Braves, they’re still lagging far behind the field in the Southern League South. They reached the halfway point in the 70-game first half on Friday night (an 8-6 loss to Jackson) and stood at 14-21, last in the five-team division and 6 games out of first place. Not an impossible dream to win the first-half crown but a daunting challenge just the same. To make it happen, they’ve simply got to get more production from more hitters. The pitching has been stellar; the M-Braves lead the league in ERA (3.57) and strikeouts. Three of the top four starters have ERAs of 2.38 or better. The bullpen has steadily improved as roles have been refined. But despite the emergence of several hitters, the offense is tied for last in the 10-team league in runs (148) and tied for eighth in average (.253). It’s not a team with a lot of power (21 homers — six by Ernesto Mejia) or speed (17 steals). This team is going to have to work counts, bunch hits, move runners and cash in consistently on scoring opportunities. Donell Linares, a player with some intriguing potential, has returned from the DL with six hits in two games and boosted his average to .320. He’s also got three homers and 19 RBIs. Kudos also go out to prospect Tyler Pastornicky (.313, three homers, 18 RBIs, six steals), Mejia (.303, 20 RBIs) and Matthew Kennelly (.275). But that group needs more help from the likes of Willie Cabrera (.254), Cory Harrilchak (.228), Antoan Richardson (.211) and Mycal Jones (.174 in seven games before his DUI-related suspension). The M-Braves’ pitching is good enough to win. The hitting, at least at the moment, is not. They’re back on the field at Trustmark Park today at 1:05, with Brett Oberholtzer (2-3, 3.61) taking the bump and hoping for some runs to work with.

Belhaven’s bid for a second straight trip to the NAIA World Series ended Saturday night with a 15-0 loss to Oklahoma City in the championship phase of their opening round tournament. Belhaven, playing its second game of the day, apparently ran out of steam — not to mention offense (five hits), defense (six errors) and pitching (21 hits allowed). The Blazers ended the year at 45-18, a school record for wins. … And Northwest Mississippi Community College beat Holmes 9-8 in the MACJC Tournament to advance to today’s championship round against host Jones County in Ellisville. The Rangers will have to win twice to claim the state title.

The drama continues for Belhaven in the NAIA playoffs. The Blazers, who slipped into the loser’s bracket at Oklahoma City on Friday, stayed alive today with a 7-6, 12-inning win over Fresno Pacific. It was the third straight extra-inning, one-run game for Belhaven. The Blazers play again today against Oklahoma City in the championship round. Anthony Doss, who went 5-for-6, doubled in the go-ahead run in the 12th and Jon Patino made it stand up by throwing the third of his three scoreless innings in bottom half. Doss, Derek Tortorich and Tyler Wrinkle had two RBIs apiece for the 20th-ranked Blazers. … In the MACJC Tournament at Ellisville, host Jones County Junior College got yet another strong pitching performance — a five-hitter by Vito Perna, who also drove in a run — to defeat Holmes 6-1 in a winner’s bracket game today. The Bobcats, ranked 14th in NJCAA, will play the winner of a later game between Holmes and Northwest for the championship on Sunday. All three have earned spots in the Division II Region 23 Tournament next week at Goodman. … Meanwhile, William Carey’s season ended in the NAIA opening round on Friday; the Crusaders join Millsaps and Mississippi College as postseason duds. Also done is Meridian Community College, which went 2-and-out in the NJCAA Division I Region 23 Tournament in New Orleans. Delta State, which was ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II South Region poll, will learn Sunday if its season is over after a 1-2 showing in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Eight teams get regional bids; the Statesmen are clinging to the proverbial bubble.

The day after hitting his first Double-A home run, Mycal Jones of the Mississippi Braves was suspended today for “a violation of organizational policy.” That could mean anything. No timetable for his return was given. So, this much we do know: It’s another setback for a promising young player in Atlanta’s system. Jones, who was converted from middle infield to center field this season, began the season on the disabled list. He has played in seven games, batting .174 with three RBIs. He was rated Atlanta’s No. 19 prospect in preseason by Baseball America. The former fourth-round pick blends a nice mixture of power (15 homers in A-ball in 2010) and speed (41 steals in his first two pro years). This is a key season for Jones, who could play his way into the Braves’ center field picture in the near future. But first, he’s got to get back on the field.

So many heroes on an eventful Thursday. Here’s a Top 10 list:
1. Andrew Pierce, Jones County Junior College. Threw a three-hit shutout in an MACJC Tournament win over Northwest.
2. Caleb Reed, Mississippi State. Nailed down a 7-6 win over Ole Miss with his 10th save.
3. Jimmy Gilford, Belhaven. Rapped three hits, including the game-winner in the 10th, in an NAIA tourney win over Fresno Pacific.
4. Andrew Alexander, Jackson Academy. Fired a two-hitter vs. Parklane for the MAIS AAA/Division I state title.
5. Paul Clemens, Mississippi Braves. Allowed one run and fanned eight in seven innings in a win over Jackson.
6. Mycal Jones, M-Braves. Belted a leadoff homer in the Double-A game at Trustmark Park.
7-8. Nick Johnson and Mark Varnado, Ridgeland. Combined for six hits and three runs in a 5A playoff win over Oxford.
9. Cody Shrewsbury, Tupelo. Struck out the side in the ninth to preserve a 6A playoff win over Madison Central.
10. Tyler Simmons, Sumrall. Drove in five runs in a 3A playoff win against Southeast Lauderdale.