Monthly Archives: March 2014

04 Mar

should be good

Jones County Junior College, unbeaten and ranked No. 7 in NJCAA Division II, makes the long trip from Ellisville to Senatobia on Wednesday to play Northwest Mississippi Community College in an intradivision doubleheader that should give us a good read on two of the state’s best teams. JCJC, coached by Christian Ostrander, is 14-0, led by the hitting of Trent Giambrone (.447, 17 RBIs, six steals) and Josh Pankratz (.372) and the arm of Westin Stringer (4-0). Northwest, coached by Mark Carson, is 8-4 and was the highest ranked Mississippi juco in the preseason poll at No. 14. NWCC has used six different starting pitchers, with Cody Waddell having the best numbers (2-0, 0.58 ERA). Kramer Hollenbach is batting .457 with 13 RBIs for the Rangers, Jay King is at .436 with 10 RBIs and Luke Latham has five homers and 13 RBIs. NWCC has 10 homers as a team – and it’s not easy to hit balls out in college baseball anymore. JCJC hasn’t done it. That could be a factor. The first of the two games is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch at Jim Miles Field. It’ll be cold, sure, but these clubs will warm to the task.

04 Mar

taking a position

Cameron Maybin’s arm injury may mean more playing time for Seth Smith in San Diego’s outfield. Maybin, the Padres’ erstwhile center fielder, reportedly could be out until June. If Will Venable shifts from right to center, which seems likely, former Ole Miss star Smith and Chris Denorfia could form a nice lefty-righty platoon in right field. San Diego has Carlos Quentin slotted for left field, with Kyle Blanks and utilityman Alexi Amarista also vying for playing time somewhere in the outfield. Smith, acquired from Oakland in an off-season trade, batted .253 with eight homers in 2013. P.S. If a hot start in the spring is a good omen, then these guys should be smiling: Southern Miss product Brian Dozier (5-for-7 for Minnesota); Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (3-for-9 with two steals for Cincinnati); Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson (3-for-5 with three walks for Kansas City); Ole Miss product Zack Cozart (5-for-9 for the Reds); ex-Meridian CC star Corey Dickerson (5-for-10 for Colorado); former Jackson Generals right-hander Freddy Garcia (five scoreless innings in two starts for Atlanta); future Mississippi Braves outfielder Matt Lipka (4-for-12 with four RBIs for the big Braves); and ex-M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur (2-for-3 today with two RBIs for Cleveland).

02 Mar

road trippin’

If you had the means, which is to say a lot of free time, some disposable income and a dependable car (or, better yet, a helicopter), you could see some pretty good baseball (teams and/or players) around the state this week. … Start today in Hattiesburg, where Southern Miss is hosting Troy. The Golden Eagles are scuffling along at 5-6, but Mason Robbins is swinging a hot bat at .304 with a homer and 10 RBIs. On Monday, zip up to Jackson and catch Belhaven-Millsaps in a Maloney Trophy Series game at Twenty Field. The Blazers are 15-4, led by Paul Pickerrell, who’s hitting .373 with 15 RBIs and 16 runs. The Majors are 7-5, and their lineup features the red-hot Isaac Glenn (.455). Head for Cleveland on Tuesday for Delta State’s game against Harding. The Statesmen are 6-5 as of today, and Dex Herrington is rocking along with a .381 average. On Wednesday, in Starkville, surging Mississippi State (9-4 with five straight wins as of Sunday morning) takes on South Alabama. Wes Rea has been a power source for the Bulldogs, with three homers and 19 RBIs. Wheel over to Senatobia on Thursday to see nationally ranked Northwest Mississippi Community College (8-4 heading into a Wednesday doubleheader with unbeaten Jones County JC) play Arkansas Baptist CC. Luke Latham has belted five homers for the Rangers. Over in Oxford on Friday, Ole Miss hosts Arkansas-Little Rock. As of Sunday a.m., the Rebels were 10-1 with four straight one-run wins, all walk-offs. Luke Allen (.391, three homers, 17 RBIs) was responsible for two of those. Wind up the whirlwind week on Saturday in Clinton, where Mississippi College plays American Southwest Conference foe East Texas Baptist in a twinbill. The Choctaws were 2-6 at the start of the week, though Mississippi Gulf Coast CC transfer Marty Stringfellow has contributed a .462 average. … If you had the means, it would be a heckuva road trip.

01 Mar

closing in?

Add to the list of Mississippians in big league camps the names of Aaron Barrett and David Goforth, both right-handers out of Ole Miss and both aspiring closers. Barrett, on Washington’s 40-man roster, made his spring debut on Friday, working a scoreless inning against the New York Mets. A ninth-round pick in 2010, Barrett overcame some early struggles in pro ball and put up a 2.15 ERA with 26 saves in Double-A last season. The Nationals have a strong bullpen, so Barrett’s chances of making the club out of camp this year don’t appear great. Meridian native Goforth, on the other hand, is trying to crack the roster in Milwaukee, which would seem to have openings for relievers. Goforth, drafted in the seventh round in 2011, went 11-8 with five saves with a 3.17 ERA between high Class A and Double-A in 2013. He moved to the bullpen shortly after his promotion to Huntsville in the Southern League. He posted four saves and a 3.75 ERA in 12 games in the Arizona Fall League and enters 2014 as a top 10 Brewers prospect. P.S. Mississippi’s baseball talent gets some well-deserved recognition in the Feb. 28-March 14 issue of Baseball America. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton and Hunter Renfroe, the former Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs, are listed among the top 100 minor league prospects for 2014. Hamilton, who debuted last year with Cincinnati, is No. 43, Renfroe (San Diego) No. 80. Also mentioned as a possible top 50 prospect for 2015 is D.J. Davis, the ex-Stone County High standout now in the Toronto system. Bobby Bradley (Harrison Central first baseman) and Ti’Quan Forbes (Columbia shortstop) made BA’s high school preseason All-America chart, Bradley as a second-teamer, Forbes on the third team. And DeSoto Central, stocked with college prospects, was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll, and Oak Grove was 31st. … BA also has a note on the retirement of David Renfroe, the former South Panola two-sport star who had been playing in the Boston system.