Tag Archives: college baseball

06 May

wins and losses

Behind the stout pitching of Blake Gollott and Dylan Cope, Mississippi College beat Valdosta State 3-2 Monday in an elimination game and moved into the semifinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. MC (32-20) takes on West Alabama, unbeaten in the tournament, today. Gollott (5-0) allowed one run over five innings and Cope one over four as the fourth-seeded Choctaws eliminated No. 2-seed Valdosta at Oxford, Ala. MC put out top-seeded Delta State on Sunday. J.T. Vance had the big hit against Valdosta, driving in two runs for a 3-0 lead in the third inning. The Choctaws entered the event on a five-game roll that included a first-ever sweep of Delta State in Clinton to conclude the regular season. … Belhaven fell to Huntingdon (Ala.) for the second straight day in the title game of the CCS Tournament, losing 3-1 Monday at Maryville, Tenn. The Blazers (31-13) scored 35 runs in their first three tourney games, two in the two losses to Huntingdon. NCAA Division III Tournament at-large bids are hard to come by, but BU might have a shot at one. … In the twin NJCAA Region 23 tournaments: Meridian Community College beat Northwest 6-0 Monday in the play-in game at Poplarville and Holmes knocked off Southwest 6-2 in the Decatur play-in. For MCC, Connor Gehr threw 5 2/3 innings of lockdown relief and also got two hits; Brennon Wright drove in two runs. Mississippi Gulf Coast, behind Eli Waters’ three-hitter, beat Northeast 7-1 Monday in a first-round game at Poplarville, where host Pearl River will play Meridian today. At Decatur, Copiah-Lincoln, with Tucker Jones and Riese Thomas combining for seven RBIs, beat Jones College 13-6 in a first-round contest; host East Central gets Holmes today in the first round. P.S. Belated kudos to state juco alums — and former major league players — Corey Dickerson (Meridian) and Tim Dillard (Itawamba) on their recent induction into the MACCC Athletics Hall of Fame. Now the coach at Jackson Academy, Dickerson also celebrated his team’s dethroning of MAIS 6A champion Jackson Prep in the state playoffs last week.

05 May

frozen ropes

Belhaven University gets a second crack at the Collegiate Conference of the South championship today when the Blazers play Huntingdon (Ala.) at Maryville, Tenn. The Blazers (31-12) were unbeaten in the tournament and riding an eight-game win streak before the Hawks took them down 2-1 Sunday night. NCAA Division III Belhaven last won a conference title in 2011 when the program was in the NAIA Southern States Athletic Conference. Hill Denson was the coach. The Blazers won five titles in the NAIA-level GCAC under Denson between 2004-10. … Mississippi College eliminated Delta State 9-3 in a losers bracket game in the GSC Tournament as Jordan Evans doubled, homered, drove in two runs and scored three. MC meets Valdosta State next in Oxford, Ala. … William Carey lost to Loyola (La.) 9-7 in the SSAC Tournament title game, but the Crusaders will move on to an NAIA Opening Round tourney starting May 12 in Hattiesburg. … Capping Super Bulldog Weekend with a 6-1 win Sunday for a sweep of Kentucky, Mississippi State moved to 4-0 under interim coach Justin Parker. MSU pitchers yielded just 15 runs over the four games against Memphis and the Wildcats under their (former) pitching coach. Next up for State: Ole Miss at Dudy Noble Field. Won’t that be fun? … Ole Miss salvaged a win in the series finale at Oklahoma, climbing to 13-11 in the SEC but falling to No. 18 in the new Baseball America poll. … Southern Miss, 35-13 with a nine-game win streak, swept Arkansas State in a three-game Sun Belt set in Hattiesburg, getting its fifth walk-off win on Friday on a Matthew Russo home run. … Jackson State has won 10 in a row, including a home sweep of Mississippi Valley State; the Tigers are 27-17, 14-10 SWAC. … In MLB, DeSoto Central High alum Austin Riley hit two homers totaling 842 feet to power Atlanta past the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Riley, with 161 career homers, now ranks ninth among Mississippians on the career list. (Technically, he was born in a Memphis hospital, but he grew up in Southaven.) … Colt Keith, ex-Biloxi High star, homered for the third time in five games — and third time all year — to help Detroit beat the Angels 13-1. … Kansas City set a franchise record with seven homers in a wild win over Baltimore; former MSU standout Hunter Renfroe (192 career bombs) was not among the Royals who went yard and has yet to homer this season in 75 at-bats. … Ole Miss product Nick Fortes came off the injured list Sunday for Miami and went 1-for-3 as the starting catcher.

01 May

names to know

JoJo Parker (No. 14), J.B. Middleton (31), Landon Harmon (47), Talon Haley (84), Pico Kohn (102) and Mason Morris (116): All are ranked among MLB Pipeline’s new Top 150 MLB draft prospects for 2025. Parker (Purvis), Harmon (East Union) and Haley (Lewisburg) are high school players; Middleton pitches at Southern Miss, Kohn at Mississippi State and Morris at Ole Miss.
Brent Rooker: The ex-Mississippi State All-American hit his eighth homer to spark a six-run ninth as the A’s, 16-15 with six wins in eight games, beat Texas 7-1 in the major leagues on Wednesday.
Colt Keith: The former Biloxi High star, battling a sophomore slump in MLB, hit his first homer of the season and scored twice for Detroit in a 7-4 victory at Houston; Keith, a .260 hitter in 2024, is batting .181.
Brandon Johnson: The Ole Miss alum, a fourth-year pro, notched his fourth save for Double-A Northwest Arkansas (Kansas City chain) and now has a 1.42 ERA over 10 appearances.
Konnor Griffin: The ex-Jackson Prep standout, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect, belted his fifth homer for Low-Class A Bradenton and is batting .265 over 20 games as a pro rookie.
Ti’Quan Forbes: The Columbia High product, the state’s Mr. Baseball in 2014, has signed with the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters; Forbes, 28, an infielder, was a second-round draft pick by Texas 11 years ago and reached the Triple-A level in affiliated ball.
Austin Canale: The Belhaven freshman shortstop drove in five runs on a four-hit day as 2-seed Belhaven beat Huntingdon 16-1 on Wednesday in the first round of the CCS Tournament at Maryville, Tenn.
Eli Collins: The senior outfielder went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs to lead William Carey to a 15-5 win against Tennessee Southern in the first day of pool play in the SSAC Tournament.
Mason Nichols: The Ole Miss senior pitcher has been named the 2024-25 SEC Male H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the conference office. Nichols, a Jackson Prep grad, is a biological sciences major and is 3-1 with a 5.40 ERA this season.

29 Apr

fasten your seatbelt

What was already going to be a fascinating week for Magnolia State teams got a lot more interesting on Monday, when Mississippi State decided to make “a change in baseball leadership.” Suddenly, Chris Lemonis was out as head coach. Justin Parker will make his debut as the interim coach tonight when the Bulldogs host Memphis at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. Lemonis, who had a 232-135 record, won a national title in 2021, but the team’s results since then, especially in the SEC, have been decidedly mediocre. Ranked in the preseason, MSU takes a 25-19 record (7-14 SEC) into tonight’s game. … Also today, Jones College will host East Central Community College in a doubleheader that will decide the second seed in the MACCC playoffs. Both are ranked in the top 10 nationally in NJCAA Division II. Postseason positioning is on the line in several other MACCC games today. No. 2-ranked Pearl River already has claimed the regular season championship and will host a sub-regional starting May 5. … Jackson State completed a series sweep of Alcorn State on Monday, outscoring the struggling Braves 30-7 in the three games at Lorman. JSU, on a six-game win streak, is 23-17, 11-10 SWAC, and will host New Orleans on Wednesday and Mississippi Valley State next weekend. … In the SSAC Tournament opening round on Wednesday at Jackson, Tenn., No. 1 seed William Carey plays Tennessee Southern and No. 5 Blue Mountain Christian meets Middle Georgia. The Mississippi schools are in the same four-team pool. … Belhaven, seeded second in the CCS Tournament at Maryville, Tenn., plays Huntingdon (Ala.) on Wednesday in the first round. … Rust College will take on Wiley (Texas) on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the HBCUAC Tournament in North Little Rock, Ark. … Delta State is the top seed and Mississippi College No. 4 in the GSC Tournament that begins Friday at Oxford, Ala. DSU meets Montevallo (Ala.) and MC gets West Alabama in first round games. … NCAA Division III rivals Millsaps and MUW, whose conference tournaments start next week, will tangle today at Twenty Field in Jackson. Millsaps, as the top seed, will host the SAA Tournament starting on May 8. MUW’s seeding in the SLIAC tourney has not been set. P.S. With Baltimore having paced ex-State standout Jordan Westburg (hamstring) on the injured list, there are now 11 Mississippians on the major league IL and 11 on active rosters. (Cleveland sent Ole Miss alum Doug Nikhazy back to the minors after his inauspicious debut.)

28 Apr

watch list

Delta State, which has never had a Ferriss Trophy winner, has produced quite a few viable candidates over the years. The Statesmen have another solid one in 2025. Right-hander Drake Fontenot is 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA, a .208 batting average against, 78 strikeouts and 19 walks in 91 2/3 innings for the Gulf South Conference regular season champion. Fontenot’s only loss came on Friday at Mississippi College in his worst outing of the season (seven runs in six innings). The Ferriss Trophy — named in honor of Delta State coaching legend Boo Ferriss — will be awarded to the best college player in the state for the 21st time on May 19 by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The finalists, who will attend the ceremony, have not yet been named. As usual, there are a bunch of players around the state who have put up mighty impressive numbers. Throwing out a few more names: Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton, regarded as a top pro prospect, is 8-1 with a 1.92 ERA for the Golden Eagles. Teammate Nick Monistere, on a recent tear, has 16 homers, 56 RBIs, 42 runs and a .335 average for 31-13 USM. Ole Miss’ Luke Hill is batting .352 with 51 runs for the nationally ranked Rebels (31-13). Mississippi State’s Ace Reese has 16 bombs and 53 RBIs. Jackson State’s Jordan McCladdie is hitting .381 with 51 runs and 33 steals. Millsaps’ Gray Berry (.426, 61 runs) and Nick Tarantino (9-1, 2.74) have been stellar for a 28-11 conference championship club. MC’s Korey Cooper is a .376 hitter with 12 homers, 55 RBIs and 52 runs. At William Carey, also a conference champ, Rigoberto Hernandez is batting .386 with 12 homers, 51 RBIs, 63 runs and 17 bags for a 33-13 team. Blue Mountain Christian’s Hayden Redding has 46 steals and a .339 average. P.S. Mississippi College’s stunning blowout of Delta State in Clinton last weekend was the first-ever three-game sweep for the Choctaws over their longtime rival. MC (31-19, 21-12 GSC) outscored the Statesmen 40-7 and will go into the GSC Tournament next weekend as the No. 4 seed. DSU (32-16, 23-10) is the top seed, having gotten some help elsewhere over the weekend to win the regular season title. … Ole Miss jumped to No. 13 (from 22) in the new Baseball America Top 25 after taking two of three from then-No.8 Vanderbilt last week.

27 Apr

around the horn

Actors have their “Oscar scenes.” Austin Riley might have had his “Gold Glove moment” on Saturday night. The former DeSoto Central High star and current Atlanta third baseman threw out an Arizona runner at first base, with the tying run charging home from third, to end the Braves’ 8-7, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks. If you saw it, your jaw dropped. Riley fielded Randall Grichuk’s grounder behind the bag near the foul line and launched a two-hopper to first baseman Matt Olson, who made a clean scoop. The umpire clearly blew the call, but it was corrected on review. Braves win. The play that ended the game essentially upstaged the record-tying four-homer effort by Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez. Riley, a two-time All-Star in his seventh MLB campaign, has yet to win a Gold Glove. Those who watch him regularly have to wonder why. He has handled 65 chances this year with 49 assists and just two errors. He has a .965 career fielding percentage, tied with Clete Boyer for 33rd all-time. But apparently, Riley doesn’t rate high in the new-fangled metrics. “You can take those defensive metrics and put it you know where. I judge defense with my eyes,” Braves manager Brian Snitker once said of Riley. Matt Chapman won the National League Gold Glove at third last year, Ke’Bryan Hayes in 2023, breaking Nolan Arenado’s long stranglehold on the award. Maybe it’s Riley’s time. … Doug Nikhazy’s MLB debut was not one to remember. The Ole Miss product gave up six runs (including a steal of home) on five hits and six walks in three innings, taking the loss for Cleveland against Boston. … The A’s have placed right-hander J.T. Ginn on the injured list with elbow soreness. The ex-Mississippi State star joins nine — nine! — other Mississippians on the current MLB injured list. … Former Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin had his first three-hit game as a pro on Saturday for Low-Class A Bradenton in Pittsburgh’s chain. He hit his fourth homer, swiped his 11th bag and raised his average to .243. … Hail to the college champs: Delta State, William Carey, Millsaps and Pearl River Community College have won their conference regular season titles. Now it’s on to tournament play.

08 Apr

long shots

This seems like an apropos note for 715 Day: They say records are meant to be broken, but there is one mark in the Magnolia State that will be especially tough to top. In 2018, Zack Shannon of Delta State blasted 31 home runs, breaking a single-season record for state college players that had stood for 34 years. (The previous record of 29 had been set by Mississippi State’s Bruce Castoria in 1982, then tied by the Bulldogs’ Rafael Palmeiro in 1984.) But there are some players producing big pop around the state this year — even without torpedo bats. The leader of the pack as of April 7 is Josh Alexander of William Carey University. The Louisiana native, who previously played at Louisiana-Lafayette, has 14 homers. Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Mississippi College’s Bryce LaRocca are hot on Alexander’s heels with 11 homers each. There is a large contingent at 10: Ole Miss’ Judd Utermark; Southern Miss’ Carson Paetow; Mississippi College’s J.T. Vance and Korey Cooper; and Carey’s Preston Ratliff and Rigoberto Hernandez. The junior college leaders are Dom Jackson of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Holmes CC’s Hunter Azemar, both with 10. Delta State’s Dylan Coleman, who has nine bombs, has the distinction of hitting three in a game twice. MC’s Vance also has managed a three-homer game, along with Carey’s Jayden Mark, who has only four total. P.S. In keeping with the home run theme, on this date in 1986, Will Clark famously homered in his first career MLB at-bat — against Nolan Ryan, no less. After an All-America career at MSU, Clark was the No. 2 overall draft pick by San Francisco in 1985. His debut homer was one of six he would hit off Hall of Famer Ryan, and it helped the Giants beat Houston 8-3 at the Astrodome.

02 Apr

numbers to crunch

From April 1, no foolin’:
.636 — Jake Mangum’s batting average through three MLB games after a 3-for-4 effort in Tampa Bay’s 7-0 win Tuesday against Pittsburgh. Today, the Mississippi State product gets to face Paul Skenes.
5 — RBIs by both Nick Monistere and Ozzie Pratt in Southern Miss’ 13-6 win over Tulane.
5 — RBIs by Judd Utermark in Ole Miss’ 18-7 romp past Jackson State.
2 — RBIs by Owen Abney on a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning, putting Belhaven ahead in its 4-1 victory vs. Millsaps in the Maloney Trophy Series.
4 — Stolen bases by Hayden Redding in Blue Mountain Christian’s 7-6, 10-inning win at Williams Baptist. Redding leads NAIA in steals with 41 in 43 attempts.
0 — Hits allowed by K.K. Clark over five innings for Pearl River Community College in a 14-0, run-rule win against Meridian CC. No. 2-ranked PRCC swept the doubleheader to move to 31-5, 11-1 MACCC.
1 — Hit allowed by Will Warren over five innings for the New York Yankees, who blew a late lead and cost the ex-Jackson Prep star his first big league win.
10 — Strikeouts in 22 at-bats by former DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley, reflective of Atlanta’s offensive woes in an 0-6 start.
7 — Strikeouts recorded over five innings by Hurston Waldrep, the Southern Miss alum who won his season debut for Triple-A Gwinnett in the Atlanta system.
90 — Career minor league homers by ex-MSU star Justin Foscue, who went deep for Triple-A Round Rock (Texas affiliate) in a win over Toledo.

01 Apr

on the docket

This promises to be a terrific Tuesday. Among the numerous compelling matchups is Game 2 of the Maloney Trophy Series, with Millsaps College visiting Belhaven University at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Majors won the first game and can clinch the trophy with a victory. Both of these NCAA Division III teams are good: Millsaps is 19-7, Belhaven 17-9. The Blazers are 13-3 at Trustmark. … In Oxford, Ole Miss, 21-6 and ranked 10th by Baseball America, hosts Jackson State, which is 16-10 but likely doesn’t have the pitching depth (5.65 ERA) to subdue the Rebels’ bats. The Tigers lost to Mississippi State 16-3 two weeks ago. … Southern Miss (20-8, ranked 24th by BA) plays host to old rival Tulane in Hattiesburg. Going back to 2005, the Golden Eagles lead the series 26-23. USM is coming off a gritty Sun Belt series win over South Alabama, while the Green Wave (17-11) was just swept by AAC rival South Florida. … Mississippi State, reeling from a sweep at LSU, visits Memphis, reeling from an eight-game losing streak. The Bulldogs are 16-12. Memphis — coached by Mississippi native Matt Riser and listing numerous state prep products on its roster — is 11-16, including a loss to Ole Miss. … In the junior colleges: No. 2-ranked Pearl River Community College (29-5, 9-1 MACCC) might be tested in a trip to Meridian CC, which has been ranked this season and sits at 21-13, 8-4. Of note: PRCC will play an exhibition game Wednesday against the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi. East Central CC (27-7, 9-3), ranked fourth in NJCAA Division II, visits Hinds on Tuesday, and No. 8 Jones College (23-8, 9-3) hosts Copiah Lincoln. … In the big leagues, former Jackson Prep star Will Warren will make his 2025 debut for the New York Yankees, starting against Arizona at Yankee Stadium. At West Sacramento, new home of the A’s, George County High product Justin Steele (1-1, 8.00 ERA) will pitch for the Chicago Cubs against the A’s and ex-MSU slugger Brent Rooker. P.S. Jake Mangum (see previous posts) delivered a 4-for-4 performance — three singles and a double — in his second big league game, driving in two runs, scoring one and stealing two bases in Tampa Bay’s 6-1 win Monday night against Colorado. Ex-Mississippi State star Mangum even had two hits from both sides of the plate. “I can’t wrap my head around it still,” the 29-year-old rookie, already a fan favorite in Tampa, said in an mlb.com story. … Ex-Ocean Springs High standout Garrett Crochet has received a 6-year, $170 million extension from Boston. The 25-year-old lefty, acquired from the White Sox in an off-season trade, has a 3.29 ERA in 105 MLB games, 33 as a starter the last two years. He was an All-Star in 2024.

30 Mar

worth noting

Mississippi State is in a lot of pain. The Bulldogs lost 17-8 Saturday night at LSU, which scored eight times in the first inning. State fell to 1-8 in the SEC and 16-12 overall. Six Bulldogs pitchers allowed 19 hits and seven walks. … Southern Miss is in a little pain. Closer Colby Allen blew a save, allowing four runs in three innings as South Alabama took a 6-3 victory at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. Allen (3-2), who has six saves, saw his ERA jump to 2.73. USM is 19-8, 6-2 Sun Belt, heading into today’s rubber game vs. USA. … Former MSU star Jordan Westburg went 4-for-5 Saturday with two homers — one off Max Scherzer — two RBIs and three runs in Baltimore’s 9-5 win against Toronto. Westburg, batting .462 in three games, also homered on opening day. … Ex-MSU standout Nathaniel Lowe hit his first homer as a member of the Washington Nationals — the 90th of his MLB career. … USM alum Matt Wallner is 0-for-8 with a walk in his first two games as Minnesota’s leadoff batter; the Twins are 0-2. … Former Mississippi Braves star Drake Baldwin, now Atlanta’s starting catcher, got his first major league hit Saturday in the winless Braves’ loss at San Diego. … M-Braves alum Spencer Strider threw three innings (one run, six strikeouts) in a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett. … Mississippi Valley State’s Jace Jones put up an eight-RBI game in a win over Alcorn State on Friday. There were 80 runs scored in that three-game SWAC series, swept by the Delta Devils (8-10, 4-5) at Magnolia Field in Itta Bena. Alcorn fell to 4-19, 0-8. … In a matchup of top 10 NAIA teams, No. 3 Georgia-Gwinnett swept No. 8 William Carey 9-7 and 10-9 in a couple of wild affairs Friday at Hattiesburg. The Crusaders’ power-hitting lineup did not manage a home run in either game. … Here’s a name to know: Cannon Hensarling. The Ocean Springs senior went 7-for-11 with four RBIs and seven runs and threw a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts in three games last week, per an si.com piece. P.S. In the current issue of Sports Weekly, USA Today writers rank a top 100 Names to Know of rising stars based on their “anticipated impact” in MLB in 2025. Among the group are three Mississippi college products now in Triple-A: Ole Miss alum Doug Nikhazy (Cleveland), USM’s Hurston Waldrep (Atlanta) and UM’s Gunnar Hoglund (A’s).