Tag Archives: Alcorn State

29 Jul

field notes 3

Mason Robbins produced a four-hit game on July 22, and the ex-Southern Miss star has been raking ever since for Class A Kannapolis. Robbins, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 25th round in 2014, is 11-for-34 (.324) during his seven-game hit streak, boosting his average to .260. A left-handed hitting outfielder, Robbins has three homers, 34 RBIs and 35 runs in 89 games. The George County High product, the state’s Mr. Baseball in 2011, has three four-hit games this season in the South Atlantic League. … Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State’s all-time saves leader, made his first relief appearance of the season on Monday for Class A Tampa, working 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Holder’s first 12 appearances for the New York Yankees’ Florida State League club were starts. The right-hander from Gulfport made three starts of just nine total innings during a brief stay with the rookie Gulf Coast League Yankees before returning to the Tampa club. Holder, a sixth-round pick in 2014, is 5-2 with a 2.44 ERA. He started eight of 12 games last year. … Ole Miss alumnus Chris Ellis continues to shine at Double-A Arkansas in the Los Angeles Angels’ system. He’s 4-1 with a 3.61 ERA in eight starts for the Travelers, striking out 35 and walking 22 in 42 1/3 innings. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander says command, not power, is key to his success. “When you can locate four different pitches, it’s easy. When you only locate two, it’s a little harder. When you locate one, it’s impossible,” Ellis, a 2014 third-round pick, told milb.com. … Alcorn State product Earl Burl III has experienced lots of ups and downs in his rookie season. The outfielder is batting .240 with 13 RBIs, 15 runs and eight steals over 33 games for rookie-level Vancouver in the Toronto organization. Burl, an outfielder, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs in his first game on June 18 and has six other multi-hit games. But he hasn’t been able to get his average above .268 since that debut effort.

05 Jul

by the numbers

4 – RBIs on Saturday for Tyler Moore, the former Mississippi State standout. Moore went 3-for-4 to help Washington, the National League East leader, beat San Francisco 9-3. He has 17 RBIs for the year.
5 – Wins for Mississippi Braves ace Tyrell Jenkins. The right-hander threw seven strong innings in a 4-2 win over Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Jenkins is 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA for the M-Braves, now 5-4 in the second half.
5 – Wins by Lance Lynn, the former Ole Miss star. Lynn (5-5, 2.74 ERA) starts today for St. Louis, the NL Central leader, against San Diego. Lynn has a 1.47 ERA in his last five starts.
7 – Shutout innings on Saturday by Kendall Graveman, the ex-State star. Graveman, now 6-4, 3.16 for Oakland, outdueled Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in a 2-0 A’s win.
7 – Holds for Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss alumnus. The converted starter worked a scoreless eighth inning for Oakland in relief of Kendall Graveman.
20 – Stolen bases by Corey Wimberly, the Alcorn State product. Wimberly got a bag for Yucatan in a 6-5 win over Tijuana and also went 1-for-3 to boost his average to .323 in the Mexican League.
62 – Runs by Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss standout. Dozier, who leads the American League in runs, tallied one in Minnesota’s 5-3 win against Kansas City.

19 Jun

a fast start

Earl Burl III, the 902nd player picked in the recent MLB draft out of Alcorn State, made quite a splash in his pro debut on Thursday night: 2 hits (both doubles), 3 runs, 3 RBIs, 2 steals and a walk. Batting leadoff and playing center field, he sparked Vancouver to an 11-2 win over Salem-Keizer on opening day in the short-season Class A Northwest League. Toronto picked Burl in the 30th round. He was an All-SWAC performer this season, batting .298 with five homers and 20 steals for the Braves.

03 Jun

touching the bases

Mallex Smith, the Mississippi Braves’ 5-foot-9 center fielder and leadoff batter, did a lot of little things that helped the team sweep a Tuesday doubleheader against Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Smith made three sensational catches in Game 1, lending support to the strong pitching of Victor Mateo and Mike Nesseth in a 3-0 win. In Game 2, Smith went 1-for-1 with two walks, two runs and a stolen base in a 5-2 victory. Smith, one of Atlanta’s top prospects, is leading the Southern League in hitting at .340 and has 18 steals and 28 runs in 43 games. The M-Braves are 28-22, second in the SL South, and will have ace Tyrell Jenkins (4-2, 3.00 ERA) on the mound and possibly rehabbing big leaguer Joey Terdoslavich in the lineup tonight against the Generals. …. Former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson suffered a left shoulder injury in an outfield collision while playing for Birmingham of the SL on Tuesday. There was no immediate word on the severity of the shortstop’s injury. Anderson, one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects, is batting .316 with 22 RBIs, 19 steals and 31 runs. He recently had a 4-hit, 3-steal game and also hit for the cycle in a game last month. … Ex-Alcorn State star Corey Wimberly is on a tear in the Mexican League, raising his average to .329 with 16 steals and 39 runs in 42 games for Yucatan. Wimberly, a switch-hitting center fielder, is in his 11th pro season. … Pillow Academy product Louis Coleman is 3-1 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA at Triple-A Omaha in Kansas City’s organization. Coleman, who has a 3.25 career MLB ERA, is no longer on the Royals’ 40-man roster. … Ole Miss alum Cody Satterwhite, pitching at Triple-A Las Vegas in the New York Mets’ system, has registered six scoreless outings in his last seven, trimming his ERA to 6.38. He has a win and two saves. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product and former big leaguer Fred Lewis, with Southern Maryland in the independent Atlantic League, is batting .224 in 33 games. He has been out of the lineup for over a week. … Ex-UM star Drew Pomeranz is eligible to return today to the Oakland A’s active roster. He is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in eight starts; reports say he may be moved to the bullpen. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson (Colorado) and Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings (Tampa Bay) remain on the disabled list with no clear indication of when they might come off. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton continues to lead the majors in stolen bases. He got No. 22 on Tuesday night but was also picked off during Cincinnati’s 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.

17 May

hitting up a storm

The recently released ESPN-produced documentary “Thunder and Lightning” shines a well-deserved spotlight on Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, heroes of Mississippi State’s 1985 College World Series team. They are generally regarded as two of the best college players the state has ever produced. Both are in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, and both were All-Stars in the big leagues. Clark lit up opposing pitchers for a .420 mark at State in 1985, when he won the Golden Spikes award. Palmeiro’s best year in Starkville was 1984, when he batted .415 (with 29 homers and 94 RBIs to win the SEC Triple Crown). He “slumped” to .300 in ’85. Just for the record, the record for highest average by a Division I player in Mississippi belongs to Greg Daniels, a one-man storm who batted .545 in 1983 for Alcorn State. Daniels was 55-for-101. He played only 32 games, but .545 is still quite a feat. That’s the second-highest average ever recorded by a D-I player, according to the NCAA record book. New Mexico’s Keith Hagman hit .551 in 63 games in 1980. The fifth-highest average belongs to Dave Magadan, who hit .525 at Alabama in 1983, two years before he starred for the Jackson Mets. P.S. Today is the great James “Cool Papa” Bell’s birthday. The late Hall of Famer, a Negro Leagues star known for his blazing speed, was born in Starkville in 1903. He died in 1991.

15 May

one, meet two

This should be good. Hinds Community College and LSU-Eunice, ranked 1-2 in the NJCAA Division II poll, will meet tonight in a winner’s bracket game in the Region 23 Tournament at Eunice, La. The Eagles (42-5) clubbed East Mississippi 12-1 on Thursday, and LSU-E (42-9) routed Northwest Mississippi 12-0. Hinds and LSU-E did not meet in the regular season, though the Bengals did play a couple of MACJC schools. Randy Bell got the win against EMCC and moved to 12-0 for Hinds. Jonathan Washam went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, and Tyler Cox belted a two-run homer. LSU-E was powered by Steven Sensley, who hit his 18th homer, and Madison Nickens, who had three hits. The Bengals threw ace Mitch Sewald (12-1) on Thursday, so the Eagles might face lefty Ben Braymer, who has 113 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings. P.S. Jim Page notched his 700th win as Millsaps coach on Thursday when the Majors held off Whitworth 7-6 in the first round of the NCAA Division III West Regional. Annon Etheridge and Andy Page had two RBIs apiece for Millsaps. The Majors’ next game is today against old rival Trinity (Texas) in the weather-plagued tournament at Tyler, Texas. … Omar Johnson got win No. 300 at Jackson State when the Tigers beat Prairie View 10-1 in a SWAC Tournament elimination game. Jevon Jacobs threw a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts. The Tigers play Alabama State today. Alcorn State also stayed alive on Thursday, beating Alabama A&M 13-3 behind Cedric Walker’s complete game. The Braves earned a rematch with Texas Southern, which beat them on Wednesday. … Northeast Mississippi CC announced that assistant Richy Harrelson will replace Kent Farris as head coach. Farris is now the school’s athletic director. Harrelson was a legendary prep player at Iuka and Tishomingo County before going on to star at Ole Miss. He also worked as an assistant at Southern Miss.

12 May

crunch time (again)

While undefeated Oxford High is the highest ranked Mississippi school in two different national polls, Northwest Rankin definitely rates attention. The Cougars, also ranked in the Top 25 by both MaxPreps and Baseball America, are 29-2 headed into the MHSAA Class 6A North championship series against DeSoto Central. The Cougars, coached by Jeff McClaskey, feature Shelton Wallace (.464, 25 steals), Ian Ladner (.409, five homers, 38 RBIs) and Hunter Smith (9-0, 0.96 ERA). They are 4-0 in the postseason and have won eight straight overall. Both of NWR’s losses were by one run. DeSoto Central (24-9) is led by the highly touted Austin Riley, hitting .456 with 11 homers and 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA as a pitcher. Keegan James hits .336, and Dallas Woolfolk is 7-1, 2.07. In the 6A South finals, defending state champion Oak Grove (24-7) meets Biloxi (21-11) in the best-of-3. The Warriors have the 1-2 pitching punch of Drew Boyd (9-0, 1.04) and J.C. Keys (8-0, 1.01) and a hot hitter in Matthew Guidry (.426). Biloxi counters with the arms of Austin Creel (7-1, 2.01) and Blake Johnson (7-2, 2.00) and the bat of Darrell Montiforte (.296, three homers). In 5A, Oxford puts its unblemished mark (32-0) on the line against New Hope in the North finals. P.S. The SWAC Tournament begins Wednesday in New Orleans. Jackson State, the two-time defending champion, meets Southern University and Alcorn State plays West Division winner Texas Southern in the opening round of the eight-team event. The tourney winner earns an automatic NCAA Tournament bid (though Southern is ineligible). With probable league MVP Melvin Rodriguez (.444, seven homers, 72 RBIs) in its lineup, JSU certainly has a shot at a three-peat. … In Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday, third-seeded Millsaps faces 4-seed Whitworth in the first round of the NCAA Division III West Regional. … At Eunice, La., on Thursday, Hinds Community College meets East Mississippi and Northwest Mississippi plays LSU-Eunice in the first round of the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament. No. 1-ranked Hinds is the defending region champ.

07 May

random numbers

0.84 — ERA (to go with six saves) for Ryan Kelly, the Mississippi Braves closer who was named the team’s pitcher of the month for April.
1 – Hit (in 1 at-bat) by Adam Frazier, the Mississippi State alumnus just back from a spring training injury and playing for Altoona (Pittsburgh) in the Eastern League.
1.08 – ERA (through three starts) for Matt Maloney, the ex-Ole Miss star now with Sugarland in the independent Atlantic League.
3 – Triples by D.J. Davis, the Stone County High alum now playing for Lansing (Toronto) in the Midwest League.
3 – Home runs by Brandon Jones, the former Mississippi Braves standout now with York in the Atlantic League.
6 – Ranking for unbeaten Oxford High in Baseball America’s latest prep Top 25. (Northwest Rankin is 13th.)
7 – Stolen bases by Auston Bousfield, the Ole Miss product now with Lake Elsinore (San Diego) in the California League.
9 – Hits (all singles, in 41 at-bats) for Fred Lewis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum playing for Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League.
11 – Stolen bases by Corey Wimberly, the ex-Alcorn State star now playing for Yucatan in the Mexican League.
11 – Saves by Roy Corcoran, the former Gulf Coast CC standout with Aguascalientes in the Mexican League.
16 – Strikeouts (in 12 1/3 innings) by Jacob Lindgren, the ex-State standout now pitching for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (New York Yankees) in the International League.
18 – RBIs for JaCoby Jones, the Richton High product now with Bradenton (Pittsburgh) in the Florida State League.
7,920 – Average announced attendance (second in the nation) this year at Oxford-University Stadium, where Ole Miss hosts Mississippi State in a three-game SEC series that starts tonight.

02 May

meanwhile …

While the focus of the sports world this weekend will be elsewhere — in places like Las Vegas, Louisville, Ky., Chicago and Talledega, Ala. — there will be some relatively significant stuff going on in Jackson and Lorman, specifically at Braddy Field and Rat McGowan Stadium. Jackson State, third in the SWAC East with a 14-7 mark, hosts first-place Alabama State (16-5) in the final regular season conference series. The Tigers, led by Melvin Rodriguez (.448, 68 RBIs) could steal the crown (with some help) in this three-game set. JSU’s pitching hasn’t been so great (6.36 ERA), but the club has found compensation in a .310 team batting average. Meanwhile, Mississippi Valley State will visit Alcorn State in a battle for fourth place in the East Division — and a SWAC Tournament berth. Neither the Delta Devils (9.21) nor the Braves (8.82) scare you much with their arms, but they trot out some hitters of note. Valley’s Brady McBride is batting .352, and Alcorn’s Scotty Peavey is at .345. The Braves’ Collin Carroll has bashed 10 homers, tied for the SWAC lead with JSU’s Jesus Santana. P.S. William Carey was bounced from the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday and joins Belhaven, which went 2-and-out, on the sidelines. The Crusaders are 30-23 and the Blazers 33-25, but neither is going to get an NAIA postseason bid.

26 Mar

trending

Delta State is moving in the right direction heading into a Gulf South Conference series against West Georgia this weekend in Cleveland. The Statesmen have won six of eight to climb to 7-10 overall. They are 6-5 in the GSC after taking two of three from NCAA Division II No. 6 Alabama-Huntsville last weekend. Jacob Swinney (8-for-13, five RBIs) and Jonathan Moody (10-strikeout complete game) were named GSC players of the week after their performance in the UAH series. Swinney, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College transfer out of St. Martin, is hitting .370, second on the club to Brandon Cummins (.382). … Also riding a wave into the weekend is William Carey, which took two of three games from NAIA No. 2 Faulkner at Montgomery, Ala., last weekend. The Crusaders, who started slow this season, are 17-15 and 9-6 in the Southern States Athletic Conference with Blue Mountain coming to Hattiesburg for a three-game league series. In the rubber game of the Faulkner series — a 9-5 win against Eagles ace Kurt Lipscomb — Tyler Richardson scored four runs and Alex Buechler and Michael Wells drove in three apiece. Even bigger: Larson Barkum delivered seven strong innings in relief to get the win. … Melvin Rodriguez, a senior from Puerto Rico, has been a driving force for Jackson State, which has won three straight to move to 15-8. Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in a win over Southern University at Braddy Field on Tuesday night. For the year, the left-handed hitting second baseman is batting .444 with nine doubles, a homer and 30 RBIs. … Millsaps, 15-4 and on a seven-game win streak, hosts Southern Athletic Association rival Centre this weekend. … Either Alcorn State or Mississippi Valley State, both struggling, will get a lift when the rivals play a SWAC series in Itta Bena this weekend. The Braves, 7-19 and 2-6 in the league, took a 10-game losing streak into a Wednesday twinbill with Tougaloo, which the Braves swept. The losing skid started with 13-0 and 21-0 losses at Oklahoma State in early March. The Delta Devils, under first-year coach Aaron Stevens, are 4-14-1, 1-7 with six consecutive losses, including a couple to JSU. P.S. The outcome was predictable when East Mississippi CC met Coahoma on Wednesday in Scooba — the first-place Lions took two from the last-place Tigers — but there is a wow factor in the details. EMCC, now 10-0 in the MACJC, won by scores of 31-2 and 13-2. The Lions scored 14 runs in the first inning of the first game. Drew Standland drove in six runs in the opener, and Kyle Liberto and David Pimentel picked up seven RBIs apiece on the day. Coahoma dropped to 1-19, 1-9.