Monthly Archives: March 2015

Tyler Moore, the former Mississippi State standout, belted a triple and a homer and drove in five runs for Washington on Friday, so far the most eye-opening performance by a Mississippian in spring training. But quite a few other state-connected players have made box score news, starting with Anthony Alford (Petal High/Toronto) scoring a run in his debut on Tuesday. Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville/Cincinnati) homered on Wednesday, T.J. House (Picayune High/Cleveland) threw two perfect innings and Jarrod Dyson (Southwest Mississippi Community College/Kansas City) went 2-for-3 that same day. Thursday: Cliff Lee (Meridian CC/Philadelphia), coming back from injury in 2014, tossed two shutout innings; Cody Satterwhite (Ole Miss/New York Mets) worked a scoreless inning with two strikeouts; Bobby Wahl (UM/Oakland) put up a clean inning; Joey Butler (Gulf Coast CC/Tampa Bay) went 2-for-2 with a homer; Hunter Renfroe (Mississippi State/San Diego) scored a run in his debut; and Tim Anderson (East Central CC/Chicago White Sox) went 1-for-2 but made two errors at shortstop in his. But Thursday’s big highlight came from Bobby Bradley (Harrison Central High), just drafted by Cleveland last June, going 1-for-2 in his first MLB spring game. Had to be a major thrill. Friday: Paul Maholm (MSU/Cincinnati) pitched two shutout innings, as did Kendall Graveman (MSU/Oakland), who started and got the win, and Alex Yarbrough (UM/Los Angeles Angels) went 1-for-2 in his spring debut. So much more to come … .

If Delta State’s confidence has been shaken during its 2-7 start, the arrival of the Christian Brothers series might serve as a boost. Might. DSU, which visits CBU in Memphis for a three-game Gulf South Conference set this weekend, is 83-11 all-time against the Bucs. The Statesman have won an amazing 37 in a row in the series, taking four games last year by a combined score of 45-3. But, as they say, that was last year. The preseason pick to win the league, DSU is 1-4. CBU is 2-4 and 6-7 overall. Delta State’s hitting has been decent enough, with four batters above .300, led by Brandon Cummins (.306, eight runs) and Ethan Gill (.303, nine RBIs). But the pitching has been woeful. The staff ERA is 6.78. Jonathan Moody, All-GSC in 2014 with a 9-4 record and 2.98 ERA, has a 7.94 in three starts. Drew Milligan, who put up a 1.45 last year, is at 4.50, as is Nick Goza, expected to be a bullpen stalwart. The Statesmen need to get things rolling in the CBU series or their season might skid off the rails. P.S. Surely no newcomer in the state has had a bigger impact than Adam Kowalczyk at Belhaven University. The juco transfer from Delaware Tech, who goes 6 feet 3, 225 pounds, is batting .370 with five home runs, 27 RBIs and a .630 slugging percentage for the Blazers. Kowalczyk started his BU career by hitting safely in 18 straight games. … Junior colleges start league play on Saturday: Northeast hosts Gulf Coast, NJCAA Division II No. 11 Jones County hosts newcomer Meridian, Itawamba hosts No. 2 and 12-0 Hinds, Copiah-Lincoln hosts Delta, Southwest hosts East, Northwest hosts East Central, and Pearl River hosts Coahoma. Holmes starts league play at Northwest on March 11. Every team plays every other team twice under the MACJC’s new format. Postseason qualifying also changed for 2015, with the top two teams from each division and the next four best records getting in. … Keep an eye on Pearl River CC right-hander Jacob Taylor, generally considered the top pro prospect in the state juco ranks. The Picayune product, an LSU signee, is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA this season. He went 1-1 with a save and a 3.14 ERA in 28 1/3 innings, striking out 33, in 2014. … Nice numbers: Northwest’s Stuart Chick is batting .600, second in the nation, and JCJC’s Daniel Goff is 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA.

Lance Berkman, perhaps the brightest star produced by the Jackson Generals, will be inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in June. Berkman won national player of the year honors at Rice in 1997, when he hit .431 with 41 home runs and 143 RBIs (with the lightning bat of that era) and led the Owls to the College World Series. He was drafted 16th overall by Houston in ’97 and was sent to the Double-A Generals at the start of the ’98 season. The switch-hitting outfielder — a nice guy who was accommodating to fans and media alike — batted .306 that year with 24 homers and was promoted to Triple-A New Orleans in August. He was in the big leagues to stay in 1999. Over a 15-year MLB career, Berkman, aka the Big Puma, hit .293 with 366 homers, made six All-Star Games and played in two World Series, winning a ring with St. Louis in 2011. He should get consideration for that other Hall of Fame, the one in Cooperstown.