Author Archives: Mike Christensen

29 Mar

debut watch

Jake Mangum was recalled by Tampa Bay today, opening the door for the ex-Mississippi State star to make his long-awaited big league debut. The Rays’ lineup for today’s home game against Colorado has not been posted. Mangum, 29, a Flowood native, has been in pro ball since 2019 when he was drafted by the New York Mets and spent most of the last three seasons at the Triple-A level. A switch-hitter and outstanding defensive outfielder, he has a .296 career average in 432 games in the minors and was the SEC’s all-time hits leader when he left Starkville. He was optioned out from spring camp to Triple-A Durham last week but recalled today when the Rays put outfielder Josh Lowe on the injured list.

29 Mar

ring ’em up

For those aficionados of the game who consider a punchout by a pitcher as cool as a home run, Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton produced a toast-worthy performance Friday. The junior right-hander struck out 12 batters over eight shutout innings in an 8-2 win against South Alabama at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. It was the most strikeouts in a game for USM since the much-decorated Tanner Hall punched out 12 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in 2023. Middleton, out of tiny Benton Academy, allowed just one hit and one walk against the Jaguars. He is 5-1 with a 2.20 ERA for the nationally ranked Golden Eagles (19-7, 6-1 Sun Belt). Middleton had a 4.34 ERA working mostly as a reliever in 2024. … Jackson State pitchers also enjoyed some K-rations, striking out 28 Grambling State batters in a doubleheader split at Braddy Field. Eric Elliott fanned 13 in six innings and Erick Gonzalez K’d four more in 1 2/3 in relief in the Tigers’ 6-3 win in Game 2. Elliott, who walked seven, is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings for JSU (15-10, 3-5 SWAC). JSU’s staff ERA is 5.72. … At Trustmark Park in Pearl, Belhaven got a dominant effort from Colton Sylvester in a 4-0 win that completed a twinbill sweep over Covenant College (Ga.). Sylvester punched out eight in six innings as he improved to 4-1, 2.79, for BU (16-9, 5-3 CCS). … Delta State relied on the home run to batter visiting Alabama-Huntsville twice at Ferriss Field in Cleveland, blasting seven long balls all told in winning 10-8 and 12-7. Dylan Coleman, from Madison via Hinds Community College, hit three out in Game 1, including a walk-off shot in the ninth. Coleman leads the NCAA Division II nationally ranked Statesmen (24-8, 17-3 Gulf South) with nine homers. Drew Capobianco, from Guntown via Itawamba CC, hit a three-run bomb in an eight-run sixth inning that decided Game 2.

28 Mar

leading the pack

Heading into play today, No. 2-ranked Pearl River Community College still leads the MACCC standings at 7-1 after a sweep of Hinds CC on Wednesday. PRCC’s Jacob Johnson (6-1) leads the league in ERA with a 1.26, and Carson Fair is tops in saves with six. … The league’s most dominant pitcher to date has been Jud Files of Itawamba. He is 7-1, tied for the MACCC lead in wins, with a 2.76 ERA and a league-best 73 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. Files, a freshman, is a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Mooreville who originally signed with Mississippi State before transferring. ICC visits Copiah-Lincoln today for a twinbill which might pit Files against the Wolves’ Jennings Kimbrell, also 7-1 with a 2.54. Files’ teammate Evan McCarthy leads the conference in hitting with a .410 average for the Indians (18-12, 5-5). Co-Lin’s Tucker Jones has 24 steals, a league-high. … Resurgent Gulf Coast, 24-10 and 6-2 under first-year coach Zach Allen, features the league home run leader in Dom Jackson, who has 10. The Bulldogs host No. 23 Northeast (7-3 in the league, tied for third) today. … Barret Rodgers of fourth-ranked East Central (25-7, 7-3) tops the loop in RBIs with 35; he is batting .392 with seven homers. … Sixth-ranked Jones College is also 7-3 in the MACCC, and Meridian sits sixth at 6-4. P.S. Kudos to Ole Miss’ Hunter Elliott, who is tied for the SEC lead in wins after beating Florida 7-5 on Thursday night. The lefty from Tupelo, coming back from two seasons lost to injury, went 5 2/3 innings against the Gators, allowing three runs on a home run in the third inning. “One of the reasons he’s so good, he gets better … he answers the bell,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said in a postgame interview. Elliott hung up zeroes in the fourth and fifth and got the first two outs in the sixth while the Rebels (20-5, 5-2 SEC) were surging ahead for their fifth straight win. Elliott, 5-0 in seven starts, has a 3.12 ERA and 47 strikeouts — seven on Thursday — in 34 2/3 innings. … UM alum Drew Pomeranz, the veteran left-hander, has re-signed with Seattle on a minor league deal. He hasn’t pitched in the majors in four years.

28 Mar

cue the highlights

With one triple to his name over his first four big league seasons, Nick Fortes delivered a second three-bagger Thursday that helped Miami make a little history. The former Ole Miss catcher led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple off the center-field wall, and moments later Kyle Stowers knocked in pinch runner Javier Sanoja to give the Marlins their first opening day walk-off win, 5-4 over Pittsburgh. Fortes, whose defense is his real forte, sorta picked up where he left off in 2024, when he batted .290 after the All-Star break. His big hit was one of several highlights for Mississippians in the majors on opening day: Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High star, hit the first 2025 home run by a Magnolia State product, going yard for Atlanta in its 7-4 loss at San Diego. … Mississippi State alum Jordan Westburg smacked one of the six homers Baltimore hit in a 12-2 rout of Toronto. … After all those fireworks had settled, former Southern Miss star Nick Sandlin pitched a clean ninth inning in his Blue Jays debut. … Garrett Crochet, Ocean Springs High product, threw five innings (two runs, four strikeouts) in his Boston debut and got a no-decision in a game the Red Sox won late, 5-2, at Texas. … Ex-George County High standout Justin Steele allowed three runs in five innings, good enough to get the win for the Chicago Cubs in a 10-6 victory at Arizona. … Biloxi High alum Colt Keith had a chance to be a hero for Detroit but, with two on and two out in the ninth, fouled out against Blake Treinen, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 win in their home opener. Keith went 0-for-5. … A couple of lowlights: Brent Rooker, the former State slugger, went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for the A’s in a 4-2 loss at Seattle, and East Central Community College product Tim Anderson went 0-for-4 with three punchouts in his Angels debut, an 8-1 loss to the White Sox, his original team.

27 Mar

appetizers

Fun facts about MLB’s Opening Day:
Garrett Crochet will make his second straight opening day start when he takes the bump for Boston against Texas. The Ocean Springs native started Game 1 for the Chicago White Sox last year and — perhaps foreshadowing the team’s dismal season — took a loss despite allowing just a lone run in six innings against Detroit, which won 1-0 behind Tarik Skubal. Incidentally, ex-Biloxi High star Colt Keith made his big league debut in that game and got his first hit off Crochet.
The record for consecutive opening day starts by a Mississippi native belongs to Roy Oswalt, the Weir High and Holmes Community College alum who made eight starts for Houston between 2003-10. The right-hander, who won 163 games in his stellar career, was in his third big league season when he got the Day 1 call for the Astros in 2003, and he beat Colorado, yielding one earned run in seven innings.
The record for highest on-base percentage all-time on opening day (at least 10 starts) is .500, according to mlb.com research. Ellisville native and Mississippi State alum Buddy Myer shares that mark with two others. Myer, a leadoff batter most of his career, played from 1925-41 and had a career .389 OBP, in the top 100 all-time.
The record for home runs on an opening day is three, and Vicksburg native Dmitri Young is among the four players to accomplish that feat. “Da Meat Hook” did it 20 years ago for Detroit; he went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs in an 11-2 victory against Kansas City. Young belted 171 career homers and hit two in a game six times.
The only opening day cycle in major league history belongs to Gee Walker, a Gulfport native and ex-Ole Miss star who pulled it off on April 20, 1937, for Detroit against Cleveland. He went 4-for-4 and scored twice in that game, a 4-3 win; he batted .294 in a 15-year career.
Two former Mississippi Braves standouts — Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward — homered on opening day in their first career at-bat, both for Atlanta, Schafer in 2009 and Heyward in 2010. Schafer would hit only 11 more homers in a brief career. Heyward, still playing, has 184 bombs.
P.S. The Los Angeles Angels optioned Chuckie Robinson, ex-Southern Miss star, to Triple-A on Wednesday. Now in his third organization, the 30-year-old catcher, a good defensive player, has a career .132 average in 51 MLB games.

26 Mar

play ball!

A pair of Mississippi high school products will be on the mound as starting pitchers on Thursday, opening day for most of the major league clubs. Garrett Crochet, out of Ocean Springs, will go for Boston — in his Red Sox debut — at Texas and Justin Steele, ex-George County standout, gets the ball for the Chicago Cubs at Arizona. Steele is 0-1, having lost in the Cubs’ second game in Japan last week. There are state connections in just about every game. Austin Riley is back at third base for Atlanta, which opens at San Diego. Hunter Renfroe likely will be in the lineup for Kansas City against visiting Cleveland. Baltimore, with Jordan Westburg at third base, visits Toronto, where Nick Sandlin now works out of the bullpen. There’s Chris Stratton with the Royals, Brent Rooker with the A’s, Matt Wallner with Minnesota, Colt Keith with Detroit, Will Warren with the New York Yankees, Nick Fortes with Miami. Adam Frazier is back with Pittsburgh after side trips to San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore and Kansas City. Thursday will bring the Washington debut of Nathaniel Lowe when the Nationals host Philadelphia. Tim Anderson, who made the Los Angeles Angels’ club as a non-roster invitee, returns to Chicago, where he was once a batting champ for the White Sox. Marcus Thames is the hitting coach for the White Sox and Bobby Dickerson the infield coach for the Phillies. Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee), James McArthur (Kansas City) and J.P. France (Houston) will start the season on the injured list. … Of note: Four former Biloxi Shuckers, including the starting pitcher, and a former Mississippi Braves star are expected to be in Milwaukee’s Day 1 lineup, and four former M-Braves and one ex-Shuckers star are projected as starters for Atlanta. (And Ronald Acuna could return to Atlanta’s active roster by late April.) P.S. Ole Miss alum and MLB veteran Drew Pomeranz, 36, was released by Seattle. He was in camp as a non-roster invitee and posted a 4.70 ERA in eight games. … Ex-Rebels star Hayden Dunhurst, a 24-year-old catcher from Carriere, has re-signed with Kane County of the independent American Association.

26 Mar

three stars

J.T. Vance, Mississippi College: In a slugfest at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg, Vance stood out, belting three home runs Tuesday night to power the Choctaws to a 16-11 victory over William Carey University. Vance, from Union via East Central Community College, now has seven homers for the season. He and Logan Shurden combined to drive in 11 runs for MC (22-9). Carey (26-5), which had a 12-game win streak snapped, hit four homers.
Jackson Ware, Millsaps College: Ware, a grad student, went 3-for-5 and knocked in three runs as the Majors beat Belhaven University 7-3 in the first game of the Maloney Trophy Series at Twenty Field. The Majors moved to 17-6, while Belhaven dropped to 14-9 in the battle of NCAA Division III neighbors.
Harper Jordan, Nicholls State: The Hattiesburg native and ex-Pearl River CC star pitched 2 2/3 innings (one hit, one run) in relief to notch the win as the Colonels beat Southern Miss 7-3 at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi. Jordan is 3-2 for 11-15 Nicholls. Matthew Russo hit two bombs — one off Jordan — for nationally ranked USM (18-7).
P.S. Brayden Randle, a Texas native, drove in three runs as nationally ranked Ole Miss (19-5) beat Memphis 7-5 at Swayze Field in Oxford, spoiling a homecoming of sorts for the 10 Mississippi prep alums on the Tigers’ roster. The Tigers are coached by Matt Riser, a Picayune Memorial High alum and Pearl River CC product who is in his second year there after a successful run at Southeastern Louisiana. Memphis slipped to 11-13 with Tuesday’s loss.

25 Mar

into the arena

We like rivalries. Kong vs. Godzilla. Batman vs. Joker. Red Sox-Yankees. State-Ole Miss. Tonight brings a pair of intrastate clashes that don’t rise to the level of those conflicts but do have some spice. Some history. Belhaven University is at neighboring Millsaps College in the first game of the Maloney Trophy Series, and Mississippi College is at William Carey University in a rare inter-classification contest. … Belhaven leads its all-time series with fellow NCAA Division III member Millsaps by a 34-18 count (30-19, per MC’s website). The Blazers — once an NAIA team that had a great rivalry with Carey — have won four straight against Millsaps and 12 of the last 13. The Majors haven’t claimed the Maloney Trophy since 2018. Both appear to have solid teams this season. Belhaven is 14-8, Millsaps 16-6 (and 13-5 at Twenty Field). J.D. Weed has been a force at the plate for BU, batting .437 with three homers and 22 RBIs. Millsaps features the reigning SAA player of the week, Gray Berry, who went 11-for-21 last week and is at .407 with four homers and 26 RBIs for the year. Never know what kind of pitching you’ll see in a midweek game, but for what it’s worth: Belhaven has a 3.85 staff ERA, Millsaps a 5.12. … Carey, an NAIA power under coach Bobby Halford, leads its series with NCAA D-II MC 14-10, but the Choctaws have won the last three meetings and seven of eight. MC — a D-III school for a time and once part of the Maloney Trophy competition — is 21-9 overall and 8-4 on the road. Carey, ranked No. 8 in NAIA, is 26-4 with 12 straight wins and holds a 16-2 record at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Korey Cooper tops MC’s batters with a .413 average; Bryan LaRocca (.383) has 10 homers and 40 RBIs. Carey’s leading hitter is Tyler Ducksworth at .382, while Josh Alexander has smacked 12 homers and Preston Ratliff 10. The Crusaders’ team ERA is 4.41, MC’s 4.37.

24 Mar

a short fall

Pearl River Community College lost its grip on the No. 1 ranking in the NJCAA Division II poll after going 3-1 last week. Now ranked No. 2, PRCC (25-5, 5-1 MACCC) split a twinbill against then-No. 4 East Central CC and blasted then-No. 24 Holmes two times. The Wildcats have 11 wins against ranked teams, per the school website. Caston Thompson, a Brookhaven Academy product, leads PRCC hitters at .390 with six homers, 24 RBIs and 30 runs. Jacob Johnson, out of Pearl River Central High, threw five shutout innings at Holmes and is 6-1 with a 1.26 ERA. … ECCC (23-7, 5-3), ranked No. 1 two weeks ago, remained fourth in the national poll after a 2-2 week. Jones (19-8, 5-3) is 10th after losing two heartbreakers to Northeast on Saturday. Northeast (19-13, 6-2), freshly ranked No. 23, won 7-6 on a walk-off HBP and 2-1 on a walk-off knock by Kody Gilmore. Northeast’s stars included Layth Holliday, who drove in four runs in Game 1, and Dean McCallum, who tossed a five-hitter in Game 2. Also at 6-2 in the league is unranked Meridian (19-11), which got one of the best performances of the season by Brennon Wright, a Starkville High alum who hit for the cycle and stole two bases in a 29-9 victory Saturday against Delta. MCC ran out of ammo in Game 2 and lost 6-3. The big game upcoming is Jones hosting Meridian on Wednesday. P.S. After a show of power that swept away Missouri over the weekend, Ole Miss moved up to No. 15 (from 19) in Baseball America’s new poll. Isaac Humphrey, a Louisville transfer, belted four homers and drove in 13 runs in that series for the Rebels, now 18-5, 4-2 SEC. They’ll face No. 19 Florida in Oxford next weekend. The top five teams — and 11 of the top 19 — in the BA poll are SEC schools. No. 5 LSU hosts scuffling Mississippi State (15-9, 1-5) next weekend. Southern Miss, which beat Ole Miss last week in Pearl and swept Louisiana-Monroe on the road over the weekend, is No. 23 in the BA poll. The Golden Eagles are 18-6, 5-1 Sun Belt. … It’s been a rough start to the SWAC season for the Mississippi schools. Alcorn State is 0-6, Mississippi Valley State 0-5 and Jackson State 2-4. Senior Erick Gonzalez, one of JSU’s best arms, got shelled on Sunday, surrendering 10 runs in three innings in a rubber-game loss to Bethune-Cookman at Braddy Field. Valley (4-9 overall), for whatever reason, has had 13 games cancelled this season. … The top five in the new MaxPreps Mississippi poll has Magnolia Heights and Lewisburg at 1-2 again, followed by Madison Central, Hartfield Academy and Ocean Springs. Purvis, Jackson Academy and Southeast Lauderdale slipped to the second five.

23 Mar

runs-apalooza

It’s officially spring, and runs are in bloom in college ballparks all over the place. At Columbia, Mo., Ole Miss belted six homers Saturday to overpower Missouri 17-10 in Game 2 of their SEC series. The Rebels (17-5, 3-2) have 46 homers on the season; seven players have four or more, led by Judd Utermark with nine. … At Wilberforce, Ohio, Rust College’s Shamaar Stapleton, an Olive Branch native, had a day: 5-for-6 with nine RBIs in a 27-7 win Saturday that completed a three-game sweep of the HBCUAC series. … In Hattiesburg, William Carey’s array of mashers put up 57 runs in a three-game sweep of Mobile. Josh Alexander drove in 11 runs and Rigoberto Hernandez 10 for the NAIA No. 8 Crusaders, 26-4 (16-2 SSAC) with 12 straight wins. … At Clinton, Mississippi College scored 37 times in a series sweep of Trevecca Nazarene. J.T. Vance went 6-for-13 with a homer, five RBIs and four runs on the weekend for the Choctaws (21-9, 13-5 GSC). Of note: MC coach Jeremy Haworth notched his 300th career victory. … In Jackson, Millsaps (16-5, 4-2 SAA) clinched its series victory over Hendrix with a five-run sixth inning in an 11-10, seven-inning win in Game 2 of a Saturday twinbill. E.J. Ousley drove in three runs and scored the go-ahead tally in that rubber game. … Mississippi State (15-8, 1-4 SEC) was on the short end of a 13-11 game at Oklahoma; the Bulldogs got two homers from Ace Reese and another from Hunter Hines (No. 58 career) but couldn’t hold a late lead. … At Goodman, No. 1-ranked Pearl River Community College swept No. 24 Holmes CC 16-1 and 10-3 in a big juco showdown. The Wildcats (25-5, 5-1 MACCC) blasted four homers on the day, and Jaxon Milam went 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and five runs. P.S. Something completely different: Run prevention was the story for Delta State, which swept a Gulf South series at West Alabama, getting shutouts from the amazing Drake Fontenot (7-0, 0.64) and Logan Eldridge (3-2, 5.88) in Games 1 and 3. The Statesmen, ranked 10th in NCAA Division II, are 22-7 and 15-3 GSC.