June 10, 2022 - All Mississippi Baseball

meanwhile, out west …

While much of the state’s attention will be focused on Hattiesburg’s Super Regional this weekend, some will be keeping track of the events in Corvallis, Ore., and Palo Alto, Calif. Auburn, coached by Amory’s Butch Thompson, is in the Super Regional hosted by Oregon State. (The winner of that best-of-3 series is paired against the winner of Ole Miss-Southern Miss in the first round of the College World Series.) On the Tigers’ roster is former Germantown High and Pearl River Community College star Bryson Ware, batting .228 in 47 games. Thompson is in his seventh season as coach of the Tigers, the No. 14 national seed. He played at Amory High and Itawamba Community College — he is in the Indians’ Hall of Fame — and served as an assistant coach at Mississippi State from 2009-15. In Palo Alto, you’ll find Braden Montgomery, the ex-Madison Central star and 2021 Gatorade player of the year who is one of the key players for Stanford, the No. 2 national seed. The Cardinal is playing host to UConn. Montgomery, the Cardinal right fielder, is hitting .301 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs. The Pac-12 freshman of the year has also pitched in 15 games, posting a 5.79 ERA. The Palo Alto Super Regional is in the same CWS bracket as Hattiesburg and Corvallis.

on the rise

Baltimore has put Jordan Westburg, the former Mississippi State standout, on a fast track in the minors, and he is keeping up the pace. The No. 30 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, Westburg is 5-for-9 in two games at Triple-A Norfolk. He hit his first homer at the new level on Thursday night. Westburg, who has played shortstop and third base this season, batted .247 with nine homers and 32 RBIs at Double-A Bowie before the Orioles moved him up. He hit .285 with 15 homers and 79 RBIs at three levels in 2021, his first pro season. MLB Pipeline ranks Westburg as the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect. … Ex-State star Justin Foscue, who was drafted 14th overall in 2020 by Texas, hit a tape-measure homer for Double-A Frisco on Thursday, the ball leaving the stadium and landing in a parking lot beyond left field (per video on milb.com). Foscue, a second baseman, is batting .300 with four homers and 22 RBIs in 30 games for Frisco; he has had two stints on the injured list. He is rated the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect. P.S. Ole Miss product Mike Mayers, designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels late last month, has made one appearance at Triple-A Salt Lake. It didn’t go well for the veteran big leaguer: four runs in 1 2/3 innings. … Billy Hamilton, the former Taylorsville High star, is a free agent (again), having opted out of a minor league deal with Seattle on June 1. Hamilton was hitting .186 (with four stolen bases) at Triple-A Tacoma.