Monthly Archives: June 2015

05 Jun

good stuff

The 200th minor league appearance for Jake Brigham was no doubt the best. The Mississippi Braves right-hander took a perfect game into the ninth inning and wound up with a one-hit gem as the M-Braves beat Jackson (Tenn.) 8-1 Thursday night at Trustmark Park. “I’ve never done that before,” the 27-year-old Brigham told milb.com. It was his second career complete game and first since 2010, when he threw a shutout in the Class A South Atlantic League while in the Texas organization. Brigham was drafted by the Rangers in 2006 and also has pitched in the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh organizations, reaching the Triple-A level. Atlanta signed him in the off-season, and he has been a dependable member of an improving rotation. Brigham is 5-2 with a 3.42 ERA. The team also has a 3.42 ERA, third in the Southern League, and two other regular starters are in the top 20 in the SL in ERA: Victor Mateo at 2.74 and Tyrell Jenkins at 2.86. Highly rated Jason Hursh, who has begun to round into form, has a 5.61. The M-Braves (29-23) will throw Jorge Reyes against Jackson in tonight’s series finale. Reyes is 5-2 with a 1.36 while working mostly in relief.

03 Jun

touching the bases

Mallex Smith, the Mississippi Braves’ 5-foot-9 center fielder and leadoff batter, did a lot of little things that helped the team sweep a Tuesday doubleheader against Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Smith made three sensational catches in Game 1, lending support to the strong pitching of Victor Mateo and Mike Nesseth in a 3-0 win. In Game 2, Smith went 1-for-1 with two walks, two runs and a stolen base in a 5-2 victory. Smith, one of Atlanta’s top prospects, is leading the Southern League in hitting at .340 and has 18 steals and 28 runs in 43 games. The M-Braves are 28-22, second in the SL South, and will have ace Tyrell Jenkins (4-2, 3.00 ERA) on the mound and possibly rehabbing big leaguer Joey Terdoslavich in the lineup tonight against the Generals. …. Former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson suffered a left shoulder injury in an outfield collision while playing for Birmingham of the SL on Tuesday. There was no immediate word on the severity of the shortstop’s injury. Anderson, one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects, is batting .316 with 22 RBIs, 19 steals and 31 runs. He recently had a 4-hit, 3-steal game and also hit for the cycle in a game last month. … Ex-Alcorn State star Corey Wimberly is on a tear in the Mexican League, raising his average to .329 with 16 steals and 39 runs in 42 games for Yucatan. Wimberly, a switch-hitting center fielder, is in his 11th pro season. … Pillow Academy product Louis Coleman is 3-1 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA at Triple-A Omaha in Kansas City’s organization. Coleman, who has a 3.25 career MLB ERA, is no longer on the Royals’ 40-man roster. … Ole Miss alum Cody Satterwhite, pitching at Triple-A Las Vegas in the New York Mets’ system, has registered six scoreless outings in his last seven, trimming his ERA to 6.38. He has a win and two saves. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product and former big leaguer Fred Lewis, with Southern Maryland in the independent Atlantic League, is batting .224 in 33 games. He has been out of the lineup for over a week. … Ex-UM star Drew Pomeranz is eligible to return today to the Oakland A’s active roster. He is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in eight starts; reports say he may be moved to the bullpen. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson (Colorado) and Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings (Tampa Bay) remain on the disabled list with no clear indication of when they might come off. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton continues to lead the majors in stolen bases. He got No. 22 on Tuesday night but was also picked off during Cincinnati’s 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.

02 Jun

that’s a wrap

Ole Miss went a long way for its short stay in the NCAA Tournament. Losses to Maryland and Cal State Bakersfield in the Los Angeles Regional over the weekend ended the Rebels’ season – and put a lid on the college season in the state. A year after making a deep run at the College World Series, a rebuilt UM team finished 30-28. Not a glittery record, but, yes, it did come against a tough slate. Reliever Wyatt Short (4 wins, 11 saves, 1.38 ERA) emerged as a Big Man on Campus (subcategory: pitcher) for the Rebels. The Rebs’ BMOC hitter was Sikes Orvis, who belted 16 homers, drove in 53 runs, scored 41 and slugged .587. … Southern Miss had a good year – a 35-16-1 regular season and a third-place finish in C-USA – that ended on a sour note. After going 1-2 in the league tournament in Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles did not get a bid to the NCAAs. This year marked the 25th anniversary of USM’s first regional appearance; it would have been sweet if the current bunch could have duplicated the feat. Right-hander James McMahon (11-1, 1.56 ERA) was perhaps the biggest man on any campus in the state, winning the Ferriss Trophy as the state’s best player at a four-year school. Tim Lynch (.313, nine homers, 32 RBIs, 38 runs) was USM’s best all-around hitter. … Mississippi State endured what was likely the most disappointing season among the state’s four-year colleges. The Bulldogs, nationally ranked early in the year and 13-0 at one point, finished 24-30, 8-22 in the SEC. BMOCs for the Bulldogs were Jacob Robson (.324, 41 runs) and Trevor Fitts (2-4, 2.03, six saves). … Jackson State could not manage a third straight SWAC championship but wound up 32-25, getting a monster year from Melvin Rodriguez (.422, seven homers, 65 RBIs). The Tigers’ other BMOC: Vincent Anthonia (5-3, 4.45). … Alcorn State went 16-41 but did make the SWAC Tournament. BMOCs: Scotty Peavey (.345, 11 homers, 46 RBIs) and Cedric Walker (6-3, 7.59). In Aaron Stevens’ first year as coach, Mississippi Valley State ended 8-35-1, an improvement on 2014 (4-38). BMOCs: Kalik May (.335, four homers, 22 steals) and Tyler Case (3-10, 7.20). Delta State overcame a slow start to wind up 25-18, falling short, however, of a Division II regional bid. The Statesmen were led by BMOCs Jacob Swiney (.396, 35 RBIs, 32 runs) and Jonathan Moody (5-2, 4.04). In its first year back in D-II, and in Brian Owens’ final season as coach, Mississippi College finished 12-34. BMOCs: Hunter Bolin (.342, 24 RBIs, 24 runs) and Brooks Fortenberry (2-6, 5.87). New coach on campus: Jeremy Haworth. Southern Athletic Association player of the year Keith Shumaker (.390, 52 runs; 8-3, 2.48) led Millsaps to a 29-14 mark and a trip to the D-III regionals. Adam Kowalczyk, an All-Southern States Athletic Conference selection, hit .329 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs as a BMOC for Belhaven (33-24). The Blazers’ best pitcher was Ben Allison (7-4, 4.15). William Carey wound up 30-23, led by All-SSAC picks Tyler Richardson (.385, 50 runs) and Gavin Culpepper (9-2, 2.75). Seth Davis (.396, eight homers, 40 RBIs) was an All-SSAC performer for Blue Mountain, which finished 17-27. The Toppers’ other BMOC: Dylan Earnest (4-6, 4.52). Tougaloo went 7-40 in Earl Sanders’ first year as coach. BMOCs: Lige Mims Jr. (.305, four homers, 28 RBIs) and Bennie Warner (2-7, 8.10).

01 Jun

feeling a draft

One week out from the major league draft, which begins June 8 and lasts three days, it’s a good time to take a glance back at the top Mississippians picked in last year’s draft. Blake Anderson from West Lauderdale High, taken in the first round by Miami, hasn’t been assigned to a team for 2015, nor have Columbia product Ti’Quan Forbes (second round, Texas) or George County’s Justin Steele (fifth round, Chicago Cubs). The short-season clubs, their likely destination, open after the draft. Ex-Mississippi State star Jacob Lindgren, picked in Round 2 by the New York Yankees, is already in The Show. In three games, he has a 5.40 ERA. Ole Miss alum Chris Ellis (third round, Los Angeles Angels) is 3-5, 4.37 in 10 starts at Inland Empire in the high Class A California League. A third-round selection by Cleveland, Bobby Bradley out of Harrison Central is batting .253 with five homers and 20 RBIs at Lake County in the Class A Midwest League. He was sidetracked for a time with an oblique strain. Last year’s Ferriss Trophy winner, Auston Bousfield of Ole Miss, a fifth-round pick by San Diego, is hitting .313 with 14 stolen bases at Lake Elsinore in the Cal League. Also of note: Former Southern Miss star Bradley Roney, an eighth-rounder by Atlanta, is pitching at Class A Rome and has a 5.29 ERA with a save in 11 appearances. He could make it to the Double-A Mississippi Braves by next season. P.S. Left-handed reliever Donnie Veal was designated for assignment by Atlanta and may be looking for a new team. Veal, a Jackson native and big league vet, had a 14.54 ERA in 4 1/3 innings for the Braves. Three of the eight hits he allowed were homers.

01 Jun

mc’s next step

The transition to NCAA Division II proved to be a bumpy ride for Mississippi College. The Choctaws finished 12-34 overall and 4-28 in their first year back in the Gulf South Conference. Phase two of this project will come under the direction of Jeremy Haworth, hired on Saturday as MC’s new coach, succeeding Brian Owens, who announced his resignation late in the season. Haworth previously coached at D-II Ouachita Baptist, where he was named Great American Conference coach of the year this past season. He went 102-96-1 at the Arkansas school. Haworth was a star player – a D-II All-America third baseman in 2007 – at OBU when it was in the GSC, so he knows the caliber of talent it takes to compete in the league. He was also an assistant coach at D-I Arkansas-Little Rock. Haworth might want to bring a hard hat to Clinton, because there is work to do, especially on the pitching staff. There were 29 underclassmen on the Choctaws’ 2015 roster, including some promising players. A lot of them figure to return, but a large influx of newcomers might also be expected.