Monthly Archives: March 2016

04 Mar

numbers to crunch

2,326 – Announced attendance for Wednesday’s South Alabama-Southern Miss game at MGM Park in Biloxi. The Golden Eagles (7-2) were a hospitable host, losing to the Jaguars 4-2, their second straight loss to USA.
.563 – Jack Kruger’s batting average in nine games for Mississippi State. The California juco transfer also leads the 7-2 Bulldogs with 12 runs, 13 RBIs, two homers and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
5 – Hits by Errol Robinson, Ole Miss’ preseason All-America shortstop who is hitting just .217 over seven games. The Rebels, ranked in several polls, are 7-1 despite slow starts by veterans Robinson, Colby Bortles and Will Golsan.
7 – Steals in seven attempts by Jackson State’s Bryce Brown, whose speed nicely complements the power of Jesus Santana (four bombs) in the 5-3 Tigers’ lineup.
0 – Home runs in 10 games by Alcorn State’s Collin Carroll, picked by some as the SWAC’s preseason player of the year. The ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star from Ridgeland hit 12 homers in 2015.
10.70 – Mississippi Valley State’s staff ERA. The 2-7 Delta Devils (both wins came against Tougaloo) are hitting .233 and have made 30 errors.
11 – Consecutive wins by Delta State against Union, the 9-5 Statesmen’s opponent in this weekend’s Gulf South Conference road series.
9 – Pitchers used, one in each inning, by Millsaps in a 5-2 win against Adrian at Twenty Field on Wednesday. The nine combined for a seven-hitter with eight strikeouts for the 4-6 Majors.
.621 – Timothy Rowe’s batting average for Itawamba Community College. That leads the state and ranks fifth in NJCAA Division II. Jones County JC’s Mason Irby and Pearl River’s Zachary Clark are tied for the state and national lead with six homers each. Irby’s 24 RBIs tops the state and ranks fourth in the country. Jones’ Clint Sasser has an MACJC-best 20 steals, tied for most in the nation.

03 Mar

spring things

Jarrod Dyson, the former Southwest Mississippi Community College star from McComb, experienced some disappointment on Wednesday, suffering an injury in his first at-bat of the spring with Kansas City. Dyson, 31, is expected to be a regular — in right field — for the first time in his seven big league seasons. Speculation is the strained right oblique will keep him out about two weeks, maybe more. Dyson is a career .255 hitter with 146 steals and is a plus-defender. … There were some notable bright spots on Wednesday for Mississippians in spring camps. Former Richton High standout JaCoby Jones homered for Detroit. In that same game, Mississippi State product Adam Frazier picked up a hit and an RBI for Pittsburgh, and fellow State alum Ed Easley had a walk and a run. In another Detroit split-squad game, ex-Ole Miss standout Will Allen, summoned from the minor league camp, got a base hit. Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings went 1-for-2 with a couple of RBIs for Tampa Bay. Northwest CC’s Cody Reed worked two innings for Cincinnati, yielding one earned run and fanning two. Ole Miss alum Seth Smith was 2-for-2 with a run for Seattle, and in that same game former State star Hunter Renfroe got two hits for San Diego. Ex-UM standout Chris Ellis, in his first appearance for Atlanta, threw two scoreless innings. Also worth noting from that Braves game: Mississippi Braves alum Mallex Smith swatted two triples and a home run.

02 Mar

small talk

Mississippi College, which stopped a five-game losing streak with a win at Spring Hill on Tuesday, makes its first Gulf South Conference road trip this weekend, facing Shorter at Rome, Ga. It could be a telling series for the Choctaws, 7-7 overall and 1-5 GSC under new coach Jeremy Haworth. He said before the season that the pitching staff might be in for some growing pains, and that has held true. MC has a 5.73 ERA, though sophomore Jake Fraze (3-1, 3.77) and senior Tyler Scholl (0.77 in nine relief outings) have been stoppers. The defense, which Haworth was banking on for slick play, has endured some rough patches. The Choctaws have committed 27 errors with a cost of 20 unearned runs. Can’t afford that. The hitters have held up their end, with a .314 average. Logan Ferrell is off to hot start in his senior campaign, batting a team-best .418 with 19 runs. Hunter Bolin is hitting .393, Toler Robinson .348, Blaine Crim .333 and Caleb Upton .255 with 11 RBIs. MC lost 14 of its final 15 games last year under a lame-duck coach and limped to a 12-34 finish, 4-28 in the GSC in its return to the NCAA Division II conference. With a new coach in charge, the Choctaws figure to be more energized for the stretch run this spring. P.S. Delta State (9-5 and 8-4 at home) is 4-2 in the GSC and faces its first conference road series at Union this weekend. Will Robertson tops the Statesmen with a .491 average; Tre Hobbs is 4-0, 1.71. … Most of the other small colleges will open conference play this weekend. William Carey (11-5 with five straight wins) is at Martin Methodist in Southern States Athletic Conference play. The Crusaders have been led by Tyler Odom (.451) and J.D. Little (3-1, 2.08). … Blue Mountain (12-4) opens SSAC play at Mobile. … Belhaven, yet to play a home game at Smith-Wills Stadium, has won five of six after the 25-0 loss in its opener and hosts Sul Ross State in an American Southwest Conference series on Friday and Saturday. Adam Kowalczyk is hitting .385, and Tanner Cable is 2-0, 2.57. … Millsaps, off since Feb. 21, will take a sub-.500 mark into its first Southern Athletic Association series at Oglethorpe. Isaac Glenn was hot before the break, batting .406. … Tougaloo, after starting 0-16, has won its last two and will play its first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference series at Talladega.

01 Mar

time for march madness

They played ball in Florida and Arizona today, actual MLB Grapefruit and Cactus League games. Adam Frazier, the former Mississippi State standout, had a triple for Pittsburgh. Richton High alum JaCoby Jones, a Detroit farmhand who homered on Monday against a Florida Southern College pitcher, went 0-for-2 against pro hurlers today. Petal’s Anthony Alford, another former Mr. Baseball, was hitless in two at-bats for Toronto, while Southern Miss alum Scott Copeland pitched a clean inning for the Blue Jays. Picayune High product T.J. House got roughed up a bit (two runs in two innings) for Cleveland, and former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout Joey Butler was 0-for-2 for the Indians. Mississippi Braves alums Freddie Freeman, Daniel Castro, Mallex Smith and Rio Ruiz all had hits for Atlanta. Finally, box score browsing is back in fashion.