frosh faces

Remember the great recruiting classes reeled in by the state’s Big Three for the 2012 campaign? All three programs were ranked in the top 14 in the nation by Baseball America and in the top 20 by Collegiate Baseball. What kind of impact have the freshmen in those classes had? At Southern Miss, quite a lot. Mason Robbins, Mr. Baseball from George County, is hitting a team-best .357. Connor Barron, from Sumrall, is at .287, pitcher Taylor Nunez has put up a 3.86 ERA (1-3 record) in 21 innings and Bradley Roney has five saves. Others have also contributed. The frosh at Ole Miss and Mississippi State have not contributed as much, though the Rebels’ Hawtin Buchanan stood out in Tuesday’s Governor’s Cup Game to record his first college win. Buchanan, a man mountain from Biloxi, has a 0.93 ERA and 18 strikeouts in limited action (9 2/3 innings). Josh Laxer, from Madison Central, is 3-0 for the Rebels but has a 6.43 ERA, highest on the staff. UM’s most touted recruit, two-sport star Senquez Golson from Pascagoula, who turned down major money from the Boston Red Sox, is hitting .204 in 54 at-bats. MSU started one of its heralded freshmen hurlers, Brandon Woodruff from Wheeler, on Tuesday, but he got knocked around and took the loss. His ERA is 4.24 in limited time. Jacob Lindgren from St. Stanislaus has a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings, but the shining star among Bulldogs newcomers has been Jonathan Holder of Gulfport. In 16 innings, he has not allowed an earned run and has recorded a W and a save. P.S. Props to Millsaps for claiming the Maloney Trophy on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Belhaven. The Majors went 4-2 in the small college series, beating BU three times. The Blazers (2-3) and Mississippi College (2-3) finish off the series next Monday at Smith-Wills Stadium.