07 May

names to know

Billy Hamilton – The Taylorsville High product went 3-for-6 with two runs, two RBIs, a steal — his MLB-leading 19th — and a sensational catch in center field, sparking Cincinnati to a 14-2 win over San Francisco on Saturday.
Riley Self – The Mississippi State pitcher, now 5-0, threw 3 1/3 hitless innings in relief against Texas A&M as the Bulldogs rallied to notch a 4-3 win and claim the huge SEC series.
Mason Irby – Delivered a game-tying hit and scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning as Southern Miss scrambled to beat Florida Atlantic 6-5 and keep its grip on first place in Conference USA.
David Parkinson – Gets the ball today for Ole Miss in the rubber game of a big SEC series at Florida; he is 5-2 with a 3.43 ERA on the season.
Tre Hobbs – The Delta State lefty tossed an eight-hitter – his sixth complete game this year — with 13 strikeouts to lead the Statesmen past Alabama-Huntsville in their first game in the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
Devin Smith – Stepped up with an eight-hitter – improving his record to 7-1 — for William Carey as the Crusaders beat Blue Mountain 9-2 to stay alive in the SSAC Tournament.
Shelton Wallace – Drove in three runs, two in a nine-run sixth inning, to help Jones County Junior College beat Meridian CC 11-4 and finish the regular season 44-2 overall and 26-2 in the MACJC; No. 1-ranked JCJC has clinched a berth in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, which it will host.
Carlos Franco – Mashed his fifth home run of the season for the Mississippi Braves in a 5-3 victory at Birmingham, the fourth straight W for the M-Braves (15-14).
Matt Ramsey – Notched his seventh save of the year as the Biloxi Shuckers took down Montgomery 4-3, the seventh win in nine games for the Shuckers (14-15).

05 May

scatter shots

Through 40 major league games with San Diego, Hunter Renfroe has nine home runs. Extrapolated over a full season, that’s roughly 36 bombs, a good number. The other numbers aren’t so good for the Mississippi State product from Crystal Springs. His batting average is .281, but it’s just .212 in 29 games this season and .146 over the last 10. He has struck out 32 times and walked twice this season. He has three “hat tricks” in the last six games. The Padres are 12-18 and going nowhere this season, so one would think Renfroe will be allowed these growing pains. … Ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who has won three straight starts and yielded just two runs in that span, goes to the bump at SunTrust Park tonight when St. Louis visits Atlanta. Lynn didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2016 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He has shown no ill effects in 2017: 3-1, 2.45, 25 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. In case you were wondering, Mississippi Braves alum Freddie Freeman is 1-for-8 with three punchouts vs. Lynn. … Richton High product JaCoby Jones is 4-for-17 through five games on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo. Jones, who opened the season as Detroit’s center fielder, was hit in the mouth by a pitch on April 22 and went on the disabled list the next day. He was batting just .150 with a homer and four RBIs in 16 MLB games but was leading the club in Defensive Runs Saved at the time he was hurt. A converted infielder, Jones has excellent speed and a good arm. … The change of scene this season doesn’t appear to have rejuvenated former Ole Miss star Alex Yarbrough. Drafted out of the Los Angeles Angels’ system by Miami last December, Yarbrough is batting .254 with seven RBIs through 23 games for Double-A Jacksonville in the Southern League. After reaching Triple-A in 2015, Yarbrough fell back to Double-A last season and hit .267 (with a bunch of strikeouts) at Arkansas. The switch-hitting infielder is 25 and in his sixth pro season. … Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central standout and highly rated Atlanta prospect, is showing signs of settling in at high Class A Florida. He is at .259 with five homers and 19 RBIs, .282 with three homers in his last 10 games. A supplemental first-round pick in 2015, third baseman Riley just turned 20 on April 2.

05 May

that’s the spot

Tough call on the hottest spot this weekend. You could go with Hattiesburg, where Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic will face off for first place in Conference USA. Or you could go with College Station, Texas, where SEC championship contenders Mississippi State and Texas A&M are hooking up; the Aggies won Game 1 9-2 on Thursday. Of course, in Gainesville, Fla., you’ve got Ole Miss, battling for an NCAA regional spot, taking on Florida, also still in the SEC title conversation. Meanwhile, at Braddy Field in Jackson, Jackson State looks to secure first place in the SWAC East when it meets Alabama A&M. Cast a glance, too, at Montgomery, Ala., where William Carey plays Faulkner today in a winner’s bracket game in the SSAC Tournament. The loser will play Blue Mountain later today in an elimination game; the Toppers stayed alive on Thursday by whipping Martin Methodist 11-1. Carey already has earned an NAIA regional host bid. But hold on. Even with all of this other stuff going on, Cleveland wins. The Gulf South Conference Tournament begins Saturday at Ferriss Field with both top seed Delta State and seventh-seeded Mississippi College in action in separate four-team pools. The only way the two could meet again is in the championship game on Tuesday. DSU has won 13 tournament titles and, considering how the Statesmen dominated the regular season, is the odds-on favorite to win again. MC, officially back in the NCAA Division II GSC this season after 20-plus years, qualified for the tournament with an impressive late surge that included a win over Delta State last week. Second-year coach Jeremy Haworth’s team went 20-25 overall. MC’s last GSC Tournament appearance came in 1996, when the Choctaws went 2-and-out. The team’s best result came in 1984, when it won the South Division Tournament and lost to North Alabama in the championship series. P.S. Awards have been rolling in, including GSC player and coach of the year honors for DSU’s Zack Shannon and Mike Kinnison; SSAC player of the year for Carey’s James Land; and a national player of the week award for MC’s Blaine Crim. … The five finalists for the Ferriss Trophy will be named on Sunday, May 14. The announcement ceremony, featuring former Ole Miss star and big leaguer Don Kessinger, is May 22.

04 May

there’ll be better days

Ole Miss product Bobby Wahl made his big league debut Wednesday night. He is no doubt anxiously awaiting his second opportunity. Mississippi State alum Kendall Graveman suffered his worst start of the season for Oakland and Wahl offered little relief in a 7-4 loss to Minnesota. Graveman gave up six runs in 3 1/3 innings, yielding four walks and five hits, including Kennys Vargas’ three-run homer. Wahl, recalled from Triple-A Nashville earlier in the day, came on in the sixth inning and lasted just four batters. He hit one (ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier) and allowed two hits and a run. Wahl, a fifth-round pick in 2013, had a 1.93 ERA and three saves this season at Nashville. Rated the A’s No. 26 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the right-hander was added to the 40-man roster over the winter. Over 116 games in the minors – working mostly in relief – Wahl, 25, has a 3.79 ERA, 27 saves in 31 chances and 205 strikeouts in 171 innings. His fastball has touched 100 mph. P.S. Former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz seems to be putting to rest any concerns about his left arm. He improved to 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA by throwing 5 1/3 strong innings on Wednesday in Boston’s 4-2 win vs. Baltimore, yet another controversy-filled game in their series. Pomeranz has made three of his five 2017 starts against the Orioles, beating them twice.

03 May

holding his own

The shadows cast in the New York Yankees’ bullpen are considerable. There’s Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren — they get most of the high-leverage work. But Jonathan Holder, the Mississippi State product from Gulfport, has earned his seat in that bullpen. And he figures to get more pressurized opportunities as the season progresses for a team that looks like a playoff contender. Scouting reports rave about Holder’s swing-and-miss stuff. In his second big league tour, he has posted a 3.00 ERA in 11 appearances, including a scoreless ninth inning in Tuesday’s 11-5 win over Toronto. He has fanned 10 and walked one in nine innings, yielded no homers and been credited with two holds. He didn’t get a hold on April 28, when he did some of his most impressive work. When Holder came on in the seventh, the Yankees trailed Baltimore 11-4. Holder shut the O’s water off, retiring all five batters he faced. The Yankees rallied for a stunning 14-11 win in 10, with Clippard and Chapman also hanging up scoreless frames. Holder was a record-setting closer at State and was drafted in the sixth round in 2014 by New York, which converted him to starter in the minors for two years. He went back to the pen in 2016 and sailed through three levels – with a 1.65 ERA — to arrive with the Bronx Bombers on Sept. 2. He had mixed results (5.40 ERA) then, but he made the big club out of spring training and has continued to impress. P.S. Former Petal High star Anthony Alford made Baseball America’s All-Prospect team for April. The highly regarded Blue Jays farmhand, now playing in Double-A, hit .356 with two homers, eight RBIs, 12 runs and seven steals.

01 May

here and there

Rivals William Carey University and Blue Mountain College will meet Wednesday in the first round of the SSAC Tournament at Montgomery, Ala. NAIA No. 23 Carey (36-15) is the third seed, BMC (31-23) the sixth in its first SSAC postseason appearance. The Crusaders won two of three from the Toppers in the regular season. Middle Georgia State is the top seed in the eight-team, double-elimination event. … Delta State, regular season champion in the Gulf South Conference, will host the league tournament May 6-9 at Ferriss Field in Cleveland. DSU is 37-11 and ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II South Region. … With four games left in the regular season, Jones County Junior College has clinched the MACJC championship and a berth as host in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament set for May 17-20. Jones, ranked No. 1 in Division II, is 40-2, 22-2 MACJC. The Bobcats are the defending D-II national champs. … Millsaps went 2-1 in the weather-interrupted SAA Tournament in Memphis over the weekend and ends its season at 19-23. Rhodes, which didn’t play Millsaps, went 2-0 in the event and advanced to the league’s championship series. The Majors will miss the NCAA Division III postseason for the second straight year. … Belhaven, ranked seventh in the April 25 NCCAA poll, is still awaiting word on a bid to the organization’s national tournament. The Blazers, in their second year as a D-III program, are 26-14. … Three Mississippians are among the statistical category leaders after MLB’s opening month. Ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton (Cincinnati) is tied for the lead with 10 stolen bases, this despite batting just .213. McComb’s Jarrod Dyson (Seattle) is third in steals with eight, while hitting .229. Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland (Boston) has 12 doubles, obviously feeling right at home in his first year in Fenway Park. Former Ole Miss star Zack Cozart (Cincinnati) leads with four triples. His season-high is five, set in 2014. A career .249 hitter, Cozart is sitting at .352, eighth in the majors. … Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson (Tampa Bay) leads Mississippians in homers with six; he is batting .330 with nine doubles for the Rays.