Monthly Archives: June 2011

There are two names that jump off the page — for obvious reasons — on the list of the top draft prospects from Mississippi. Senquez Golson and Hawtin Buchanan rank Nos. 107 and 137, respectively, on Baseball America’s list of the top 200 eligible players for the MLB draft that starts Monday night. Golson, also a football star at cornerback at Pascagoula High, is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound outfielder with speed and defense tools. Buchanan, from Biloxi and an Ole Miss recruit, is a right-handed pitcher who goes 6-7, 227. You just know pro scouts love that size. He reportedly struck out 70 batters in 48 innings this season. Southern Miss infielder B.A. Vollmuth, who had an injury-plagued junior year and yet still belted 12 homers, is rated No. 63 by BA, which generally knows what it’s doing in such matters. Sumrall High shortstop Connor Barron is No. 82, and Ole Miss right-hander David Goforth checks in at 177.

For Jones County Junior College, there is certainly no shame in coming in second in the nation. The Bobcats’ brilliant postseason run ended Saturday with an 11-1 loss to Western Oklahoma in the NJCAA Division II World Series final. The champion Pioneers simply overpowered JCJC and ace Andrew Pierce, belting three homers among their 13 hits. Jones finished 46-17 in its best season ever. Mississippi has a wealth of baseball talent, and its college programs have had many proud moments. But winning a national title is tough. Only two state schools have turned this trick, William Carey (NAIA) in 1969 and Delta State (NCAA Division II) in 2004. Mississippi State’s third-place finish in the 1985 CWS is the best showing by a D-I school.

Hard to see any of the Mississippi schools in the NCAA Division I Tournament getting out of the regional round. Alcorn State has had a fine season, earning its first NCAA appearance, and has some talent. But the Braves likely are out of their element in a Houston regional with C-USA champion Rice, Pac-10 rep California and Baylor of the Big 12. It’s 2-and-out for Alcorn. Since Southern Miss and Mississippi State play each other today in Atlanta, one of them will win at least once. But Georgia Tech’s great pitching — the Yellow Jackets have a potential first-round draftee, Ned Bradley, who ranks just fourth on the staff in wins — figures to dominate this regional, which also includes upstart Austin Peay. USM has too many issues, from ineligible pitchers to injuries to a sudden lack of offensive punch. The Golden Eagles flamed out in the C-USA Tournament, failing to score in their last 16 innings in a disappointing 1-2 showing. USM’s defense also lets it down too often; it allowed 64 unearned runs in 56 games. State appeared to hit a wall in the SEC Tournament, bowing out in two games. The Bulldogs’ pitching staff may just be worn out, and they don’t have the kind of attack that’s going to win many 8-7 games. State might be happy enough just to have made a regional again, especially in a year when Ole Miss didn’t.

Former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn will make his major league debut tonight for St. Louis against San Francisco in a game that will be televised by MLB Network at 7:15. Lynn, a big right-hander, was a first-round pick by the Cardinals in 2008 and entered this season as the No. 6 prospect in the St. Louis system. He was 5-3 with a 4.06 ERA at Triple-A Memphis this year and is 30-18, 3.72 in his minor league career.

Pitching for the pitiable Pittsburgh Pirates all these years, Paul Maholm is used to disappointment. But today, for a change, it wasn’t the Bucs’ bats or gloves that let Maholm down. The Greenwood native and former Mississippi State standout has only himself to blame for this latest shortcoming. With a 7-0 lead in the third inning, Maholm couldn’t get out of the sixth against the New York Mets, who rallied to win 9-8. Maholm got no decision; he departed after 5 2/3 innings, having allowed eight hits, seven runs (six earned) and two walks. He came in with a 2-7 record but a fine 3.18 ERA for a 26-28 club. Going for his 50th career win, he flat out let it get away. A 7-0 lead? You’ve got to win that game. Maholm’s history with the Pirates isn’t good. He’s had only one winning season, going 3-1 in six games as a rookie in 2005. He entered this season with a 47-59 record and a 4.48 ERA. The Pirates have been bad for almost 20 years now, so it’s been tough for Maholm, a quality left-hander, to find much success in Pittsburgh. One wonders when these parties will part ways.

There may be no team in the country — at any level of the game — hotter than Jones County Junior College. The sixth-ranked Bobcats (45-15) are unbeaten through three games of the NJCAA Division II World Series; they play a winner’s bracket game tonight in Enid, Okla. JCJC has won 18 of its last 20 games, and virtually every one of those games was a significant one. Consider: The Bobcats won their last six games of the regular season, pulling away from the pack to win the MACJC South Division title. They beat East Mississippi in three games in a best-of-3 playoff to make the state tournament, then won the MACJC title by winning three straight against a strong field. They dropped their opener in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament but rallied to win four straight, the last two against defending national champ LSU-Eunice, to make the juco World Series for the first time. In Enid, they have beaten the Nos. 1 and 4 teams in the country. They recovered from a blown lead in the ninth inning on Tuesday night to score three times in the 10th and beat 14th-ranked Kellogg CC 10-7. Chase Headrick, a sophomore out of West Jones High who has four postseason homers, hit one against Kellogg. Leading hitter Zach Allen, a freshman from Pascagoula, started the 10th-inning rally with a one-out single and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. The resourceful Bobcats might just figure out a way to win this thing and bring a national championship back to Ellisville.