Author Archives: Mike Christensen

09 Mar

worth noting

After 10 losses to open the season, Alcorn State finally put one in the win column on Saturday. It did not go down smoothly. The Braves blew a late 12-5 lead, as host Alabama A&M scored five in the eighth and two in the ninth to tie. Alcorn then scored three times in the 11th — on a passed ball, a sac fly and an error — to pull out a 15-12 victory. Jermel Ford, a senior from Hattiesburg, went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs and four steals. Ford, who pitched and took the loss in the series opener, entered the game batting .278 with no RBIs in 18 at-bats. New coach Carlton Hardy’s team will go for win No. 2 today at Huntsville, Ala. Reminder: The Braves went 6-43 in 2024. … Mississippi College swept a three-game Gulf South series against Auburn-Montgomery, the Choctaws’ first league sweep since 2021. MC is 13-8, 8-4 GSC, with six straight wins overall. … Tristan Pearson went 9-for-13 with five RBIs and J.D. Weed was 7-for-15 with six RBIs as Belhaven University (9-5) took two of three from LeTourneau at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Blazers are 6-2 at Trustmark, now their permanent home. … Rigoberto Hernandez, from Panama, went 8-for-13, including a four-hit, four-RBI game, and William Carey University (18-4, 10-2) got strong pitching from Matthew Davis, Luke Lycette, Conner Wilson and Bobby Magee in an SSAC series sweep over Point U. Carey is ranked 12th in NAIA. … Matthew Russo’s walk-off homer — his fourth bomb of the year — gave Southern Miss (10-5) a 2-1 win against visiting UNC-Wilmington. … Rust College’s five-game win streak ended Friday with a thud, 21-8 at Wiley College. Game 2 of the HBCUAC series on Saturday was suspended because of rain. … Pearl River Community College (19-4) has won seven straight, three by shutout, and allowed only nine runs all told during the streak. The Wildcats, fifth-ranked in NJCAA Division II, have a 2.27 staff ERA.

08 Mar

rebuilding project

Blaze Jordan seems to have been overshadowed by other prospects in Boston’s loaded minor league system. The precocious slugger out of DeSoto Central High, entering his fifth pro season, did not get an official non-roster invite to big league camp this spring, and he dropped off the Red Sox’s Top 30 prospects list released by MLB Pipeline this month. And yet, Jordan is still only 22 years old, and the Red Sox put him on the Spring Breakout roster with a bevy of their top prospects. The Red Sox will play the first game of the star-powered minor league event, facing Tampa Bay on March 13 on MLB Network. Jordan, who has played first and third base in the minors, batted .261 with seven homers and 61 RBIs in Double-A last year, when injuries limited him to 89 games. For his pro career, the righty hitter is batting .287 (.345 OBP) with 43 homers and 241 RBIs in 359 games. Jordan made news as a kid in Southaven by belting tape-measure bombs in national home run competitions, and he was Mississippi’s Gatorade player of the year in the abbreviated 2020 season. Boston took him in the third round as a 17-year-old that summer. He has been ranked as high as No. 6 on the club’s prospect list — based largely on his power potential — and has twice been an organization postseason All-Star (in 2022 and ’23). Injuries apparently set him back in 2024, but the fact the Red Sox have given him some at-bats with the big club this spring and put him on the Spring Breakout team indicates he hasn’t been forgotten. Jordan figures to make the majors someday — though it might not be with Boston. … Also on the Spring Breakout rosters are many of the Mississippians on Top 30 prospect lists (see previous post) and a few who are not. To wit: Ex-Southern Miss ace Tanner Hall, who pitched in A-ball in 2024, is on Minnesota’s squad; Will Bednar, a star on Mississippi State’s College World Series winner in 2021, is on San Francisco’s roster; Itawamba Community College alum Will Verdung, a 2023 draftee by Atlanta, is on the Braves’ team; and ex-MSU standout David Mershon, a 2024 draftee who debuted in Double-A, made the Los Angeles Angels’ roster. … Other games of note that could involve Mississippians: Pittsburgh-Philadelphia March 14 (MLBN), Texas-San Francisco March 15, Detroit-Atlanta March 16 (MLBN), Cincinnati-Milwaukee March 16 (MLBN) and Colorado-Chicago White Sox March 16.

07 Mar

spring flings

Jake Mangum, vying for a spot on Tampa Bay’s opening day roster, had a double and two RBIs in Grapefruit League action today. The Mississippi State alum, who was subbed in in left field, is batting .417 with three RBIs in 12 at-bats. … Ex-State slugger Hunter Renfroe checked in with his first homer of the spring, a 422-foot blast for Kansas City in the Cactus League. Renfroe is sitting on 192 career homers, tied for fifth (with Brian Dozier) on the all-time list of Mississippi natives in MLB. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star, went 2-for-3 while playing shortstop today for the Los Angeles Angels. The former All-Star, in camp as a non-roster invitee, is batting .217 in 23 ABs with one homer and two steals. He has worked at short, second base and center field this spring. … Former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan, in Boston’s A-game today as a minor leaguer, went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs and an RBI as the Red Sox put up 20 runs against Miami. … The Milwaukee Brewers rank No. 7 in MLB Pipeline’s new list of the top farm systems in the majors. Biloxi, which started play in 2015 after moving from Huntsville, Ala., hosts Milwaukee’s Double-A team and should have a stacked roster this summer, including former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt. P.S. Fun Fact: Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of former Forrest County AHS and MLB star Charlie Hayes, mentioned on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today that his mom, Gelinda, was pregnant with him when dad made the catch that ended the 1996 World Series. “They call me the World Series baby,” Ke’Bryan said. That Series, won by the New York Yankees, ended in October. Ke’Bryan was born Jan. 28, 1997, in Tomball, Texas. Speaking about his dad, who played 14 years in The Show, the younger Hayes said, “He’s my biggest fan. … He eats and breathes baseball 24/7. … Our whole family (he has two brothers), we eat and breathe baseball. It’s what we love to do.” Hayes is entering his sixth MLB campaign; he hit .233 with four homers in an injury-curtailed 2024 season.

07 Mar

eye on …

The most intriguing college series of the weekend might be Rust College at Wiley College, a matchup of two of the best teams in the HBCUAC (formerly GCAC). Rust, making the trip from Holly Springs to Marshall, Texas, has won five straight to reach 7-8 and 3-0 in the league. The NAIA Bearcats scored a jaw-dropping 81 runs in their win streak, albeit against overmatched competition. Wiley (13-8, 5-1), the defending GCAC regular season champ, will pose a much bigger challenge. Kyrent Cole, a sophomore from Chicago, has been the sparkplug for Rust. He is batting .333 with a .554 on-base percentage; he has more walks (16) than hits (11). He has scored 17 runs, driven in 14 and stolen 14 bags. Malik Berrien leads the Bearcats in hitting at .432. Wiley’s top pitchers, whom the Bearcats are sure to face, are Isaac Burciaga, 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA, and Keyon Guillory (3-3, 3.06). Ivan Del Villar is batting .395 with five homers and 23 RBIs for the Wildcats. … Of note: William Carey University, ranked No. 12 in the new NAIA coaches poll, hosts SSAC foe Point U. this weekend in Hattiesburg, and Blue Mountain Christian welcomes NAIA No. 13 Faulkner for an SSAC series. Carey is 15-4 and 7-2 in the league, 10-2 at Wheeler Field. Point comes in at 6-15, 3-6. BMC has won seven of its last nine to reach 12-9 overall (5-4 SSAC). Faulkner, a traditional league power, brings a 14-3 (5-1 SSAC) record to the BMC SportsPlex.

06 Mar

leading man

Though he doesn’t profile as an old-school leadoff batter, it’s looking like that might be Matt Wallner’s role for Minnesota in 2025. The Southern Miss product, a corner outfielder/DH who goes 6 feet 4, 220 pounds, has been used there exclusively this spring, including in today’s Grapefruit League game, when he hit a three-run bomb off New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said putting Wallner atop the lineup is “a concept in action right now.” The lefty-hitting Wallner is just 2-for-20 this spring, both hits homers, with two walks, two HBPs and seven strikeouts. “He gets on base and hits balls hard,” Baldelli told The Minnesota Star Tribune. That he does. USM’s career homer king, Wallner hit .259 with 13 homers in 75 games for the Twins last season. He posted a .372 on-base percentage, having drawn 24 walks and been hit by a pitch 16 times. He joked in an ESPN interview today that Baldelli calls him “Cement Bones.” He has 29 career homers and 31 HBPs over 169 games. In an 82-80 2024 campaign, Minnesota reportedly used 10 different leadoff batters. Wallner hit there once. He told the ESPN crew that he’s fine with giving it more of a go in 2025.

06 Mar

midweek madness

In the second game of their home-and-home series, Mississippi State got sweet revenge against Southern Miss with an 18-3 massacre Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field. State (8-4) racked up 20 hits and six walks in just six innings. Five of those hits left the yard, two struck by Nolan Stevens. USM (9-4) shut down the Bulldogs 3-0 on Feb. 18 in Hattiesburg. In the rematch, the Golden Eagles used eight arms to get 18 outs, and seven of those pitchers allowed two runs or more. Go figure. … A six-run inning gave Murray State a 7-4 lead through seven innings in Oxford, but Ole Miss (11-1) rallied for its 10th straight win, 8-7 in 10 innings. Hayden Federico got the walk-off knock for the Rebels. Judd Utermark hit two more homers, giving him seven on the year. … Jackson State moved its home game against UNO to New Orleans, where the Privateers took a 16-10 victory in a game that “featured” 20 hits, 21 walks and seven errors. A reported 289 fans sat through — maybe — the 3-hour, 43-minute game. The Tigers’ Jordan McCladdie drove in three runs and scored three more as JSU slipped to 9-3. … At Poplarville, pitching was the story. Yay! Pearl River Community College beat Meridian 3-1 and Copiah-Lincoln 4-0 in a round-robin. K.K. Clark, from Brandon High (via MSU), threw seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts in the opener, and Camden Clark, out of West Jones, tossed six shutout frames with 10 K’s in Game 2. No. 5-ranked PRCC is 16-4.

05 Mar

prospecting

Twenty-one Mississippians (natives or school alums) appear in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 30 prospect rankings for each big league organization. The highest rated among this group is former Jackson Prep uber-star Konnor Griffin, No. 2 in Pittsburgh’s system before ever playing a regular season pro game. (The ninth overall pick last July, he has been in big league camp this spring.) … Elsewhere in the National Central: Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt is No. 3 in Milwaukee’s system and targeted for Double-A Biloxi this season, and K.C. Hunt (Mississippi State), who pitched in Double-A in 2024, is rated No. 25 in the Brewers’ chain. … In the American League Central, former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery — a 2024 first-rounder — is No. 5 in the Chicago White Sox’s organization, and Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) checks in at No. 14. Doug Nikhazy (Ole Miss) is No. 22 on Cleveland’s list, and Eric Cerantola (MSU) is ranked 28th on Kansas City’s. … In the NL East: ex-Southern Miss standout Hurston Waldrep ranks No. 4 in Atlanta’s system. Waldrep made his MLB debut in 2024. Kemp Alderman (Ole Miss) is Miami’s No. 11; Nate Dohm (MSU) is the New York Mets’ No. 19; and Tyler Stuart (USM) ranks 15th in Washington’s system. … In the AL East: Jackson Prep product Will Warren is No. 5 on the Yankees’ list; he also debuted in The Show last season. Cade Smith (Mississippi State) is No. 16 in the Yankees’ chain. Elsewhere in the AL East, Colton Ledbetter (MSU) and Matthew Etzel (Southern Miss) rank Nos. 26 and 27 for Tampa Bay, and Khal Stephen (MSU) is ranked 11th in Toronto’s system. … In the NL West, Dakota Jordan (MSU), a 2024 draftee, is ranked sixth on San Francisco’s list. In the AL West, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) — 15th overall pick last July — is ranked No. 9 in Seattle’s system. The A’s have J.T. Ginn (MSU), who debuted in MLB last summer, at No. 14 and Gunnar Hoglund (Ole Miss) at 16. Justin Foscue (MSU), who got some limited time with Texas in 2024, is rated No. 15 in the Rangers’ chain. … Griffin (43), Montgomery (54) and Pratt (56) are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s overall Top 100. P.S. Props to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s James Vines and Dom Jackson for earning the MACCC pitcher and hitter of the week honors. Vines posted a 1.12 ERA and 15 strikeouts in eight innings last week; he is 1-0 with a 2.00 in five games on the season. Jackson hit three homers and drove in 10 runs as the Bulldogs won four of six games. He has seven homers on the season. … Copiah-Lincoln CC’s Tucker Jones, a Northwest Rankin High alum, ranks second in NJCAA Division II with 19 stolen bases in just 12 games for the 15-8 Wolves, and teammate Jennings Kimbrell, a St. Joe product, is 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA, tied for the national lead in wins.

04 Mar

one fine day

Making a strong bid for a role on the New York Yankees’ pitching staff come opening day, Will Warren threw three strong innings against Philadelphia today in the Grapefruit League. The former Jackson Prep star allowed one run with four strikeouts — Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner — and now has an ERA of 1.13 over eight innings. The Yankees’ No. 5 prospect, right-hander Warren apparently has enhanced his repertoire from last season, when he endured a wobbly six-game MLB debut. “Getting ahead is the biggest thing,” Warren recently told mlb.com. “Looking back at some stuff last year, I was always fighting back (in the count).” He is 25-18 with a 4.31 ERA over three minor league seasons after being an eighth-round pick out of Southeastern Louisiana in 2021. … Ex-Southern Miss standout Matthew Etzel, in Tampa Bay’s camp as a non-roster invitee, put on a show today, banging out a double and a home run with three RBIs in the Rays’ 4-1 win against Detroit. Etzel, a 10th-round pick in 2023 by Baltimore, is 3-for-16 this spring. He reached Double-A last season, when he was traded from the Orioles to Tampa. Overall in 2024, the 6-foot-2, 211-pound outfielder belted 11 homers and stole 45 bases. Jake Mangum, another ex-Prep star and Mississippi State alum who is battling for an opening day roster spot with the Rays, went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a sac bunt. The 28-year-old outfielder is 4-for-10 in Grapefruit games. … In that same game today in Clearwater, Fla., Biloxi High product Colt Keith was 1-for-3 with a run for Detroit and is batting .375 in 16 spring at-bats. He hit .260 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs as a rookie for the Tigers last year.

03 Mar

next man up

Perhaps sooner than expected, Drake Baldwin — Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect — will join the lengthy list of former Mississippi Braves catchers to reach the majors. The injury to starting catcher Sean Murphy that will sideline him at the start of the 2025 season opens the door for Baldwin to make Atlanta’s opening day roster. In camp as a non-roster invitee, Baldwin is 4-for-12 with two RBIs in Grapefruit League games. At age 23, he already has impressive seasoning. A former third-round pick from Missouri State, the lefty slugger hit .244 with four homers in 52 games for the Double-A M-Braves in 2024 before finishing the season at Triple-A, where he belted 12 more bombs. He batted .377 in a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League and then played for Team USA in the World Baseball Premier 12 tournament. Since Brian McCann jumped to the big leagues from Mississippi in 2005, 10 other M-Braves catchers have made the climb, including Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Christian Bethancourt, William Contreras, Shea Langeliers, Alex Jackson, Willians Astudillo, Clint Sammons and Jesus Sucre.

03 Mar

weekend wrap

Riding a nine-game win streak, Ole Miss (10-1) has jumped in at No. 19 in the new Baseball America poll released today. Oxford’s Swayze Field was the wrong place for Wright State over the weekend. The Rebels swept three from their visitors, including a 7-3 win Sunday that featured some sparkling relief work from Mason Morris. The junior from Tupelo threw three hitless innings to get his second career win. Ole Miss, 8-0 at home, plays its next five games in Oxford. … For Southern Miss, which cracked the BA poll at No. 24, Matthew Russo hit two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Golden Eagles to an 11-3 win in Sunday’s rubber game at TCU. The Golden Eagles, crushed by Ole Miss last week, will take a 9-3 record into Tuesday’s intrastate clash at Mississippi State. … The Bulldogs (7-4) lost two of three in the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston over the weekend and tumbled from No. 15 to No. 22 in BA’s rankings. … Jackson State (9-2 with five straight W’s) overwhelmed rival Alcorn State 43-10 in a non-conference series sweep at Smith-Wills Stadium. JSU’s Jordan McCladdie went 8-for-10 with nine runs in the series, and Joseph Eichelberger had a five-hit, five-RBI game on Saturday. … Alcorn, under new coach Carlton Hardy, fell to 0-9. … Mississippi College (9-8, 5-4 Gulf South) moved over .500 with a doubleheader sweep at Union (Tenn.) on Saturday. In the 10-1 win in Game 2, cousins Blake Gollott (2-0) and Coby Gollott (first save), both from the Coast, combined on a three-hitter. … Amari Conley, Holmes Community College’s leadoff batter from Grenada, is hitting .417 with 27 runs, 16 RBIs and 14 steals for the 16-3 Bulldogs, who’ve won nine in a row. P.S. In MLB, Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High and Mississippi Braves star, blasted his first home run of the spring in Atlanta’s win over the New York Yankees in the Grapefruit League. Off to a slow start this spring after missing the last month and a half of the 2024 season (broken hand), Riley had two hits Sunday and is batting .214 in 14 at-bats. … Former Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin, rated the top power prospect in Pittsburgh’s system by MLB Pipeline, hit his first spring bomb on Saturday. (Note: He is also very fast.) The 2024 first-round pick is 2-for-7 in five Grapefruit games and has played exclusively in center field. … Ole Miss product Doug Nikhazy, now on Cleveland’s big league roster, has been impressive this spring, throwing four scoreless innings with four punchouts in Cactus League play. … Ex-Biloxi High star Colt Keith, a breakout rookie with Detroit in 2024, was a guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today and talked about his move to first base, dealing with the highs and lows of an MLB season and his Star Wars-themed Bobblehead Night coming on May 9. (He said he’s never watched any Star Wars movies.)