Monthly Archives: March 2017

17 Mar

small world

It’s a road trip weekend for the state’s small colleges. The only one slated for a home game is Tougaloo, which will start its three-game series against Loyola-New Orleans in Biloxi today before returning to Jackson on Saturday. … Delta State (15-7, 7-5 Gulf South) travels to Alabama-Huntsville. The Statesmen lost a home conference series against West Georgia last weekend, then bounced back with an 8-1 win over Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday. Zack Shannon, batting .442, hit his fourth homer of the year in that win. … Mississippi College is hoping to ride some momentum from a twinbill sweep at Union last Sunday as it takes on Christian Brothers in Memphis in a GSC series. Casey Echols (.393) continues to sizzle for the Choctaws, now 4-17, 2-9. … William Carey, ranked 12th in the new NAIA poll, takes its 19-5 record to Brewton-Parker for a Southern States Athletic Conference series. The Crusaders, 5-1 in league play, will look for more big things from Tyler Graves, batting .427 with 38 RBIs. … Blue Mountain (16-10, 2-4), which got a one-hitter this week from Jonas White against Crowley’s Ridge, travels to Bethel for an SSAC series. … Belhaven (10-7, 2-4) and slugging Stephen Sexton (.361, six homers) head to Texas to tangle with American Southwest Conference foe McMurry. … Millsaps takes on longtime rival Rhodes in a Southern Athletic Association series. The Majors are just 8-10 (0-2 SAA) but are one of just two teams to beat Emory, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III.

17 Mar

take it on run

Gotta love this comment from Jarrod Dyson: “I want to take that job and run with it.” The ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star was talking to an mlb.com writer about being Seattle’s everyday left fielder and leadoff batter. And of course, running is what Dyson does best. He has 176 stolen bases (and 211 runs) in 550 career MLB games. And he tracks down virtually everything in the outfield. The Mariners, who traded for Dyson in the off-season, want him to play every day. Manager Scott Servais has said the team is better with Dyson at the top of the lineup. The key will be how well the left-handed hitting Dyson fares against lefty pitching. He is a .231 career hitter against lefties, .260 overall with a .325 on-base percentage. The Royals used Dyson a lot as a pinch runner, pinch hitter and defensive replacement, and he played a key role in their World Series trips in 2014 and ’15. He had hopes of winning a regular job last spring but was derailed by an injury. Now the Mariners are going to give him another shot at full-time duty. The McComb native has had a great spring: .343, five steals. The former 50th-round draft pick is 32 but showing no signs of slowing down. He hit .278 with 30 bags for the Royals last summer.

16 Mar

hitters, ye be warned

It should be posted in the dugouts at Oxford-University Stadium this weekend as a warning to hitters: “Danger: High Voltage.” Ole Miss and Vanderbilt pitchers have been dealing electric stuff. Their staffs rank 2-3 in the SEC in ERA, first and fourth in batting average against and second and fifth in strikeouts. Ole Miss pitchers have thrown five shutouts in the team’s last six games. Rebels starters have worked 43 2/3 scoreless innings over those six games, one of which Ole Miss (12-5) actually lost. Regardless of the competition, that’s strong. The UM staff ERA has shrunk to 2.40. Opposing batters are hitting .185. Eight pitchers with at least 11 innings of work have ERAs under 4.00. Five are under 2.00, including Andy Pagnozzi (0.82) and Will Ethridge (1.15). David Parkinson (3-1, 2.52) is the reigning SEC pitcher of the week after tossing eight scoreless innings against Furman last Friday. Vanderbilt (12-6), which has a reputation for trotting out quality arms, has a 2.58 ERA, led by freshman starter Drake Fellows, who is 3-0 with a 1.00. Neither team has been a behemoth with the bats, but Ole Miss has been particularly puny. The Rebels have scored only 79 runs and rank 13th in the league in batting and last in slugging. So, if you like good pitching, this series should be crackling with excitement. P.S. Mississippi State (12-6) visits Arkansas to open SEC play in a series that matches the top two home run-hitting teams in the league. The Razorbacks have 25, the Bulldogs 19. Arkansas’ Dominic Smith and Grant Koch are tied with State’s Brent Rooker for second in the individual ranking with five homers apiece. … Southern Miss (13-4) is at Louisiana Tech to start C-USA play. Tech’s first year coach, Lane Burroughs, is a Mississippi College alum and former Southern Miss assistant. He also played at Meridian Community College when current USM coach Scott Berry was an assistant there.

16 Mar

spotlight on …

In Goodyear, Ariz., Cincinnati and San Diego hooked up in a wild Cactus League game on Wednesday that saw several Mississippians make an imprint. For the Padres, former Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe hit his first homer of the spring, a two-run shot in the first inning against Northwest Mississippi Community College alum Cody Reed. Renfroe, expected to be the Padres’ opening day right fielder, is hitting .278 this spring. Lefty Reed, battling for a job on the Reds’ staff, went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, a walk and three runs while punching out seven. His CL ERA is now 4.91. The Reds rallied to win the game 8-7 as Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Stuart Turner chipped in with noteworthy contributions. Taylorsville’s Hamilton, batting just .233 this spring, went 3-for-3, stole two bases, scored a run and drove in one. Ole Miss product Cozart, a .360 hitter, went 2-for-3 with his first CL homer, and ex-Rebels star Stuart Turner, in camp as a Rule 5 draftee, boosted his average to .450 with a pair of hits. P.S. Greenwood native Louis Coleman, yet another Mississippian with the Reds, made his spring debut on Tuesday and threw a clean inning. He had been shelved by a minor arm problem.

14 Mar

if the role fits

Former Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier is getting a lot of at-bats – and hits – while playing a lot of positions for Pittsburgh this spring, tuning up for what is expected to be a role as a super-utility player. Frazier batted leadoff and went 4-for-4 against Atlanta on Monday, raising his Grapefruit League average to .462. He has a homer, seven RBIs and seven runs in 26 ABs. He played center field, the sixth position he has manned this spring. “Anyway to get on the field,” Frazier said in an mlb.com article. “That’s the role I have on this team, I believe.” Frazier, a sixth-round pick in 2013 out of State, rose swiftly in the Pirates’ system and made his big league debut last summer, batting .301 in a reserve role. “We like what he’s doing,” said manager Clint Hurdle, the former Jackson Mets skipper. … Spring cleaning: State alum Mitch Moreland hit his first Grapefruit League homer for Boston on Monday; he’s batting .316 with his new club. … Ex-Ole Miss star Stuart Turner, trying to make Cincinnati’s roster as a Rule 5 draftee, is batting .389, the best average among any catcher in Reds camp. … Oakland has optioned UM alum Bobby Wahl to Triple-A, and San Francisco did the same with State product Chris Stratton. … Picayune High product T.J. House, hit in the back of the head by a batted ball last Friday, is back in Toronto’s camp but not expected to participate in any baseball activities for a few more days. The left-hander is in camp on a minor league contract. … Former Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley, expected to play at the Double-A level this year, has gotten some ABs with Cleveland’s big league team the last couple of days, going 1-for-4. Bradley, a top prospect at first base, hit 29 homers in A-ball in 2016. … Other minor league players with Mississippi ties who have gotten called to big league camp this month include: Austin Riley (Atlanta), Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee), Tim Dillard (Milwaukee), Cody Satterwhite (Baltimore), Auston Bousfield (San Diego), Jacob Waguespack (Philadelphia), Ti’Quan Forbes (Texas), Daniel Sweet (Cincinnati), J.B. Woodman (Toronto) and D.J. Davis (Toronto).

13 Mar

have a week

Talk about dialed in. Itawamba Community College’s Tyreque Reed went 11-for-12 in four games last week. The sophomore from Houlka hit four home runs, drove in 10 runs, scored eight times, stole three bases and walked four times to boot. A 6-foot-1, 260-pound third baseman/outfielder, Reed helped the Indians sweep doubleheaders from Blue Mountain’s JV team and Snead State, improving to 11-3 on the season. Reed is batting .512 overall with five homers and 19 RBIs. … For the record, Reed is not the MACJC’s top hitter. According to the NJCAA Division II stats page, Coahoma’s Zachary Gilder, a freshman from Olive Branch (Center Hill), is batting a robust .577 through 11 games. Not far behind Reed is East Central’s Luke Yancey, a sophomore from Morton (East Rankin Academy) who is at .500 through 14 games.

13 Mar

pitching in

Four wins in five games, including a weekend sweep against Furman, propelled Ole Miss to the No. 18 spot in Baseball America’s new Top 25. The Rebels (11-5) aren’t hitting (.246 as a team) – the cause of much hand-wringing in Rebel Nation — but when your pitching staff allows just two runs over five games, you can still win. The Rebels make a rare road trip on Tuesday to play Nicholls State at MGM Park in Biloxi. … Mississippi State got a brilliant pitching performance from Konnor Pilkington on Friday to beat South Alabama 2-0. The sophomore left-hander struck out 13 in 7 2/3 innings. Clutch hits on Sunday by Brant Blaylock (a walk-off knock vs. Columbia) and Brent Rooker (a tie-breaking home run vs. South Alabama) gave the Bulldogs (10-6) a spotless record for the weather-interrupted weekend event heading into a matchup today against Columbia. … Southern Miss yielded two runs in three games against Xavier (Ohio) over the weekend but won only two of the three games. Hayden Roberts and J.C. Keys put up zeroes in their Saturday starts as USM swept the doubleheader without allowing a run. Kirk McCarty pitched well enough to win on Friday, but the Golden Eagles were shut out. USM’s staff ERA is now 3.36. The Eagles take an 11-4 mark into a two-game set with Columbia on Tuesday and Wednesday. … Jackson State’s Miguel Yrigoyen threw a five-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 4-1 win against Alabama State on Sunday. Yrigoyen’s gem prevented the Hornets from sweeping JSU (10-6) in the SWAC series at Braddy Field. … Corey Beard notched his third win and Zach Osbon his third save as Delta State beat West Georgia 5-2 in the first of two games on Sunday in Cleveland. DSU, 14-6 and ranked 18th in NCAA Division II, lost the second contest 8-4; the rubber game in the Gulf South Conference series is today. P.S. Thirty high school teams, including a couple from Alabama, will assemble on the Coast this week for the inaugural Battle at the Beach tournament. Games start today and will be played at several Coast schools as well as MGM Park.

12 Mar

carey on

Keep an eye on William Carey University, which jumped 11 spots in the NAIA poll last week and then validated the ranking by taking a series at Middle Georgia State, another Top 25 team. The 12th-ranked Crusaders crushed their hosts 13-3 in Friday’s series opener at Cochran, Ga., then bounced back from a tough loss in Game 1 of Saturday’s twinbill to take the rubber match 5-4. Tyler Odom and Tyler Graves hit homers for the Crusaders (17-5, 5-1 SSAC) in that game, Braden Smith notched his fourth win with six strong innings and Lane Fazende picked up the save. Carey, which has played only seven home games, in part because of the January tornado damage on campus, is batting .305 as a team with 189 runs. Graves, from Petal, leads the way with a .417 average and 35 RBIs. Tyler James is hitting .364 with 30 runs and 20 steals, McComb’s Adrian Brown .361 with four homers, 30 runs and 16 steals and Gulfport’s James Land .342 with six bombs. Fazende, a Picayune product, has three wins, two saves and a 0.76 ERA out of the bullpen, while Brookhaven’s Braden Smith (4-1, 4.91), Devin Smith (4-0, 4.99) and Cole Edgens (3-0, 2.68) have been solid starters. The Southern States Athletic Conference is one of the best NAIA leagues in the country. It has four teams currently ranked, including No. 1 Faulkner (23-3), which finished as national runner-up in 2016. Carey and Faulkner will meet in late April. … Blue Mountain is 14-10 and 2-4 in SSAC, having taken a series from Martin Methodist in the first games at the new BMC Sportsplex. The Toppers won the rubber game on Saturday 1-0, getting stellar pitching from Josh Letson and Jonas White and a walk-off hit from Blake Key in the ninth inning.

11 Mar

keeping up with jones

The Detroit Tigers page on mlb.com lists Richton’s JaCoby Jones third on the depth chart of center fielders, behind Mikie Mahtook and Tyler Collins. Of the three, all competing for the starting job, Jones has clearly had the better spring. He is 7-for-18 with three doubles and a homer, which he hit on Thursday. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has said he is impressed with Jones’ defensive abilities. Yet there remains much debate about whether Jones will make the big league team to start 2017. “He’s got the potential to be a very talented major league player, but even the best major league players usually require some honing of their skills prior to the big leagues,” Ausmus told mlb.com. In the Sporting News’ preseason yearbook, a rival scout questioned Jones’ maturity. Jones, 24, batted .214 in 13 games for the Tigers in 2016. In 364 minor league games, the 2013 third-round pick has hit .269 with 47 homers and 58 steals. He was a middle infielder at Richton and LSU and played mostly shortstop in the low minors before transitioning to third base and then the outfield. Bottom line: Jones, who goes 6 feet 2, 205 pounds, might start 2017 in Triple-A, but it would be surprising if he’s stuck in Toledo for very long. P.S. Former Picayune High standout T.J. House apparently is OK after being struck in the back of the head by a line drive while pitching for Toronto on Friday. A bloodied House was taken off the field on a stretcher and spent the night in a Florida hospital. He tweeted shortly after the incident that “things are looking good.” The left-hander, who has big league time with Cleveland, is in the Blue Jays’ camp as a non-roster invitee.

10 Mar

leading men

The state’s college teams have played enough games to where the stats are starting to be meaningful. Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum, the 2016 SEC batting champ and Ferriss Trophy winner, isn’t experiencing any apparent symptoms of a sophomore slump. The Jackson Prep product currently leads the SEC in hits with 26; he’s second in runs (20) and fifth in hitting (.456). Brent Rooker sits third in the league with 18 RBIs. … Ole Miss pitcher Will Ethridge ranks second in the league in batting average against (.082) and fourth in strikeouts (26), while teammates Dallas Woolfolk and Will Stokes are tied for second with two saves apiece. … Southern Miss’ Taylor Braley is second in C-USA in on-base percentage (.542) and first in walks (12), while Mason Irby leads the loop in sacrifices with five. Hayden Roberts’ 25 strikeouts ranks second among C-USA pitchers. … Lamar Briggs is crushing it for Jackson State, leading the SWAC in batting (.429) and slugging (.571). The Tigers’ C.J. Newsome ranks first in runs (15), Jonathan Aponte first in wins (three) and Jose Tirado t-first in saves (two). … Alcorn State’s Jason Sanez is No. 2 in SWAC hitting at .375, and Mississippi Valley State’s Jackson Webb is second in slugging (.563). Webb and teammate Arrington Smith have two homers each, ranking second in the SWAC. … Delta State, 12-4 and ranked as high 18th in NCAA Division II, is led by Zack Shannon, whose 20 RBIs rank fifth in the Gulf South Conference; his .403 average is ninth. With four homers, Clay Casey is tied for fifth. Tre Hobbs’ 29 strikeouts is sixth-best in the league. … Mississippi College’s Casey Echols (son of former State star Tracy Echols) is seventh in the GSC with a .404 average while leading the Choctaws in hits and runs. … William Carey’s Tyler Graves tops SSAC hitters with a .443 average and is No. 2 in RBIs with 32. Adrian Brown is first in runs (28), Tyler James in stolen bases (19) and Lane Fazende in ERA (0.81). James Land’s four homers rank fourth. … Blue Mountain’s Miciah Heard is third in the SSAC with 17 steals, while teammate Caleb Leach, having a big year, is eighth in batting at .368. … Millsaps’ Jacob Mardick, a junior left-hander, leads the Southern Athletic Association with 31 K’s and is third in ERA at 2.28. He is 3-0 for an 8-8 team. … Belhaven’s Terrell Hodges is third in the American Southwest Conference with a .735 slugging average, and Daniel Ammirati is tied for second with seven doubles.