Tag Archives: college baseball

24 Feb

statistically speaking

Southern Miss’ Taylor Braley isn’t going to hit 50 home runs this season, but he is on a good pace with three bombs in three games. He is also batting .444 with six RBIs and five runs. Stats don’t mean a whole lot at this stage of the college campaign, but some jump off the page just the same. Blue Mountain’s Miciah Heard has scored 16 runs in 12 games. Mississippi College’s Logan Ferrell has 16 runs in just 10 games, and he is hitting .459. Mississippi State’s Jack Kruger has nine hits, nine RBIs and eight runs in four games. William Carey’s Adrian Brown has a .471 on-base percentage, eight RBIs, six runs and three steals over 11 games. Delta State’s Ben Pickard has three homers, 12 RBIs and a .409 average in 11 games. Millsaps’ Isaac Glenn is hitting .406 with nine runs and five RBIs in eight games. Ole Miss’ Tate Blackman has rolled sixes in hits, RBIs and runs over three games. Jackson State’s Jesus Santana has two homers, four RBIs and seven runs in four games. P.S. On the subject of numbers, Jones County Junior College’s Mason Irby tallied nine hits, two homers, nine RBIs and four runs in four games last week to earn MACJC player of the week honors. The catcher-turned-outfielder is a USM signee. Jarod Wright, a right-hander at Northwest CC, was named pitcher of the week after throwing six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a win over Rend Lake (Ill.).

22 Feb

the way it was

There were hot starts (see Ole Miss and Southern Miss, who registered Opening Weekend sweeps). And there were lukewarm starts (Mississippi State went 2-2, with both losses to Florida Atlantic, and Jackson State also split its four games). Alcorn State celebrated the first win of the Brett Richardson era (6-2 vs. Southern University on Sunday) but lost its other two games in the MLB Urban Invitational. On the colder end of the scale, Mississippi Valley State went 0-4 at Nicholls State. Among the small four-year schools, Blue Mountain, now 8-4, swept three games over the weekend from Tougaloo, which fell to 0-14 on the year. William Carey beat NAIA No. 21 Missouri Baptist two of three. Delta State took two of three from West Alabama to start its Gulf South Conference schedule. (Worth noting: Tre Hobbs, a lefty out of Mississippi Delta Community College, threw a six-hit shutout for the Statesmen and is now 3-0 with an 0.47 ERA.) Mississippi College won one of three GSC games against West Florida, and Millsaps went 1-2 in a tournament at Piedmont College. Which brings us to the most inspiring performance of the weekend. That has to go to Belhaven, which bounced back from a 25-0 loss in its season opener last Tuesday to sweep a road series at Louisiana College. Senior slugger Adam Kowalczyk led the way with two homers, five RBIs and six runs in the three games. BU is slated to play at Millsaps on Tuesday in the first game of the Maloney Trophy Series.

18 Feb

save the date

New Alcorn State coach Brett Richardson will debut on Friday when the Braves play UNO in the MLB Urban Invitational in New Orleans. Four of the state’s other NCAA Division I schools open at home Friday: Mississippi State against Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss vs. Florida International, Southern Miss vs. Eastern Illinois and Jackson State vs. Tennessee-Martin. Mississippi Valley State is at Nicholls State. Here are some more dates of note on the Mississippi calendar for 2016:
Feb. 23: Belhaven at Millsaps (first Maloney Trophy Series game)
March 1: Jackson State-Southern University at MGM Park in Biloxi
March 2: Southern Miss-South Alabama at MGM Park
March 9: William Carey-Delta State at MGM Park
March 11: Jackson State at Alcorn State (series opener)
March 22: Southern Miss-Tulane at MGM Park
March 29: Southern Miss-Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl
April 1: Ole Miss at Mississippi State (series opener)
April 2: Milwaukee Brewers-Biloxi Shuckers exhibition at MGM Park
April 4: Jackson State-Biloxi Shuckers exhibition at MGM Park
April 5: Southern Miss-Ole Miss at Trustmark Park
April 7: Pensacola at Mississippi, Chattanooga at Biloxi (Southern League openers)
April 12: Mississippi Valley State at Delta State
April 15: Jackson State-Alcorn State at MGM Park
April 20: Mississippi State–Louisiana-Monroe at MGM Park
April 22: Biloxi at Mississippi (first meeting of season)
April 26: Mississippi State-Ole Miss at Trustmark Park
April 30: Mississippi College at Delta State (series opener)
May 25: Conference USA Tournament starts at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg
June 21: Southern League All-Star Game at Trustmark Park

16 Feb

by the numbers

14 – Pitchers used by Millsaps College in going 1-2 in the Millsaps Invitational over the weekend. Daniel Ross went 5 1/3 innings against LaGrange on Friday to get the lone win.
13 – RBIs by Pearl River Community College’s Carter Hankins in six games over the weekend. The Wildcats (8-2) won five of the six.
11 – Runs in six games this season by Mississippi College’s Logan Ferrell.
10 – RBIs in seven games for Delta State’s Will Robertson.
9 – Losses to start the season for Tougaloo College.
8 – Road games scheduled to start the season for Belhaven University, which opens today against Huntingdon in Montgomery, Ala.
4 – Wins in four games to start Chris Kirtland’s coaching career at Jones County Junior College.
2 – Wins in two starts for William Carey University’s J.D. Little, who has a 1.38 ERA.
1 – Home run on Friday by Mississippi Gulf Coast CC’s Brian Lane, the first at Biloxi’s MGM Park for the Bulldogs.

08 Feb

weekend wrap

No one had a better opening weekend than Mississippi College’s Hunter Bolin. The junior from Starkville went 9-for-13 with five RBIs and five runs as the Choctaws launched the Jeremy Haworth era with a three-game sweep of Tougaloo at Frierson Field in Clinton. MC outscored the Bulldogs 32-14, and its pitchers posted a 2.63 ERA. If there was a downside, the Choctaws committed seven errors; Haworth is counting on defense to be a strength of this club, which is entering its second season of NCAA Division II play. … Jasper James, a junior from Wiggins, had eight hits and five RBIs in three games for Tougaloo. … Blue Mountain College took three of four from Judson College in New Albany, capping the weekend with a brilliant performance by Collin McCrory, who threw a one-hitter in a 5-0 victory. The junior from Amory was one out away from a seven-inning no-hitter. … Will Robertson, a senior from Falkner coming back from a 2015 injury, went 5-for-12 with two homers and four RBIs to help Delta State sweep Harding in a three-game series at Ferriss Field in Cleveland. … Nick Lowe and James Land each hit a homer and the pair combined for 10 RBIs but William Carey went just 1-2 on its trip to Ave Maria in Florida. … Millsaps put up 20 runs but won only once in three outings at the Firehouse Classic at Montgomery, Ala. Lee Ogletree, a 2015 transfer from Hinds Community College, had six hits and four RBIs for the Majors. He picked up three of his RBIs in an 11-7 win over Southwestern on Saturday. P.S. Worth noting: Pearl River CC scored in every inning of both games of a doubleheader sweep of Mineral Area CC on Saturday in Poplarville. The Wildcats won 14-7 and 16-8. After losing the season opener to Mineral Area on Friday by a 20-9 count, PRCC won Game 2 of that twinbill 14-4. Carter Hankins, a sophomore from Purvis, banged out nine hits and drove in six runs for the weekend.

04 Feb

choosing nine

Time to take a break from the football recruiting blather and Super Bowl hype. Enough already with the Golden State Warriors. Opening Day Eve for college baseball is upon us. To get in the spirit of the new season, here’s a list of nine Magnolia State players to watch over the coming months:
1. Seth Davis, Blue Mountain, first baseman. No player in the state made a bigger leap forward in 2015 than Davis. A .195 hitter as a sophomore, the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder raked at a .396 clip last season, belting eight homers and driving in 40 runs. He was BMC’s first first-team All-SSAC selection.
2. Adrian Brown, William Carey, outfielder. Brown was a first-team All-NJCAA Region 23 pick for Copiah-Lincoln CC in 2015 after batting .318 with seven homers and 12 steals. If the name sounds familiar, it should. Brown’s father, also named Adrian Brown, played in the big leagues from 1997-2006.
3. Isaac Glenn, Millsaps, outfielder. Glenn, who played in the shadow of Keith Shumaker in 2015, will get a bigger share of the stage now. He led the Majors with a .436 average and 45 RBIs last year and earned first-team All-SAA honors. He’s now getting NCAA Division III preseason All-America notice.
4. Ethan Gill, Delta State, third baseman. Slugging is making a comeback, and the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Gill can accurately be called a slugger. He came in last year as a transfer from Itawamba CC and led the Statesmen in homers (10), RBIs (51) and slugging percentage (.610). He also batted .325.
5. Gavin Collins, Mississippi State, catcher/third baseman. Collins made the SEC All-Freshman team at catcher in 2014 and was a preseason All-SEC pick last year but was set back by a hand injury. He wound up hitting just .228 in 35 games. Expect a bounce-back season.
6. Brady Bramlett, Ole Miss, right-hander. Drafted in the 22nd round by Oakland last summer, Bramlett opted to return to Oxford. That’s a real shot in the arm (pun intended) for the Rebels. After missing the 2014 season with an injury, Bramlett went 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 2015.
7. Nick Johnson, Southern Miss, right-hander. The former Ridgeland High star is poised for a bigger role with the Golden Eagles, who lost a lot from a very good 2015 staff. Johnson was 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 12 games and 27 2/3 innings. He limited batters to a .198 average.
8. Jesus Santana, Jackson State, third baseman. As a freshman in 2015, the Puerto Rico native led the SWAC in homers with 12 while batting .283 with 48 RBIs. He was All-SWAC last year and is now showing up on some black college preseason All-America charts.
9. Collin Carroll, Alcorn State, first baseman. Carroll won’t sneak up on anyone in 2016. Collegiate Baseball has pegged the senior as the SWAC’s projected player of the year and a third-team All-America. Carroll, a transfer from Southwest Mississippi CC last year, batted .337 with 12 homers and 50 RBIs.

22 Jan

two weeks notice

Gather the hats and hooters: Feb. 5, a mere two weeks from today, is the start of the college season in Mississippi. Tougaloo College visits Mississippi College (and new coach Jeremy Haworth); William Carey travels to Florida to play Ave Maria University; Millsaps takes on Randolph-Macon in a tournament in Montgomery, Ala.; and Blue Mountain hosts Judson College in New Albany. Delta State plays its first game at refurbished Ferriss Field on Feb. 6, when Mike Kinnison’s Statesmen host Harding. … Belhaven, making the move from NAIA to NCAA Division III, opens on Feb. 16 at Huntingdon in Alabama. … Alcorn State will launch the Brett Richardson era on Feb. 19 in the MLB Urban Invitational in New Orleans. Richardson, a longtime Florida A&M assistant, replaced Barret Rey last summer. … The state’s Big 4 D-I schools open at home on Feb. 19: Mississippi State — which is showing up in most of the national preseason polls — against Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss vs. Florida International, Southern Miss vs. Eastern Illinois and Jackson State vs. Tennessee-Martin. Mississippi Valley State is on the road that day against Nicholls State. P.S. Also opening on Feb. 5 is Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which will play Jackson State (Tenn.) CC in a twinbill at MGM Park in Biloxi. The Bulldogs are playing their home games at the Shuckers’ stadium this season.

21 Jan

campus notes

Delta State junior Jacob Swiney was named to the Preseason All-Gulf South Conference squad announced on Wednesday. The Biloxi native, also cited as a top player in NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball, batted .396 with three home runs and 35 RBIs last season, making All-GSC first team. Junior college transfer pitchers Dalton Moats and Jacob Howell were listed on the GSC’s top newcomer list. The Statesmen were pegged for a third-place finish in the league. … Mississippi College’s Will Elliott and Perry Turner also made the list of top newcomers in the GSC. Elliott, a junior outfielder from Oxford, is a transfer from Alabama. Turner, a junior pitcher, came in from Jones County Junior College. MC, still in transition to D-II, is not yet eligible for the GSC championship. … Millsaps College outfielder Isaac Glenn was an honorable mention pick on the d3baseball.com preseason All-America team. The junior from Madison hit .436 with 17 doubles and 45 RBIs in 2015. He led the Southern Athletic Association last year in slugging and on-base percentage. … Jackson State had three players named to the Black College Nine preseason All-America team. Third baseman Jesus Santana and DH Sam Campbell were named to the first team and outfielder Lamar Briggs to the second team. Santana led the Tigers and the SWAC with 12 home runs in 2015. … Former USM and MLB standout Chad Bradford will be the keynote speaker at the Southern Miss Dugout Club Banquet on Feb. 6. Bradford played at Byram High School and Hinds Community College before signing with USM. He went 5-4 with a 3.59 earned run average and three saves in 1996, his only season with the Golden Eagles. The submarine-style right-hander, featured in “Moneyball,” pitched for 12 years in the majors, posting a 36-28 overall record with a 3.26 ERA. He served as pitching coach at Hinds CC in 2014-15. … Tougaloo, one of three GCAC schools that play baseball, will be eligible to compete for the Association of Independent Institutions Baseball Championship this year. A total of 15 teams will vie for eight spots and a chance to play for one of the three NAIA Tournament bids given to the tournament champion, runner-up and third-place finisher. The Bulldogs went 7-40 in 2015 in the first year of coach Earl Sanders’ second stint with the program. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves third baseman Wes Timmons is the new coach at Shorter University, which plays in the Gulf South Conference.

22 Dec

poll position

If the Collegiate Baseball poll is out, then the season can’t be far behind. Mississippi State, coming off a 24-30 season but welcoming back 16 lettermen, is ranked 11th in the NCAA Division I poll released on Monday. The D-I start date is Feb. 19, with the Bulldogs opening in Starkville against Florida Atlantic. Neither Ole Miss nor Southern Miss, who had winning seasons in 2015, made CB’s “Fabulous 40.” There are four SEC schools in the top seven, with Florida opening at No. 1. For what it’s worth, State was ranked No. 20 in CB’s 2015 preseason poll. Ole Miss was unranked but made the NCAA Tournament field, the only one of the Big 3 to do so. … The college season in Mississippi actually starts on Feb. 5 – just 45 days away! — when Tougaloo College visits Mississippi College and William Carey University travels to Florida to play Ave Maria University. For MC, the game at Frierson Field in Clinton will mark the debut of coach Jeremy Haworth.

14 Nov

wait for it …

Oxford High’s Jason Barber, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi in 2015, has officially signed with Ole Miss, which announced a boatload of early signees this week. Mississippi State inked highly regarded Magnolia Heights products Riley Self and Dustin Skelton, among others, for its 2017 team. Southern Miss picked up juco stars Colt Smith and LeeMarcus Boyd from Northwest Mississippi Community College. Barber had a tremendous 2015 season: 10-0, 0.00 ERA as a pitcher, .337, eight homers as a hitter. Boyd’s numbers suggest an impact player: .330, 18 steals, 42 runs, 29 RBIs in 49 games at NWMCC. Of course, there is a catch. The “excitement,” if it can be called that, of the early signing period in college baseball is always tempered by the realization that the best of the signees may never put on the uniform of their chosen school. The MLB draft tends to snap them up. See Austin Riley, State signee from the fall of 2014, now a hot prospect in the Atlanta Braves’ system. It’s a quirky issue the other major sports don’t have to deal with. P.S. Conference USA might have scored a hit with its decision to hold its tournament at MGM Park, the new home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, in 2017 and 2018. The Coast, with its casinos and beaches, might just draw some big crowds. Dates for the events haven’t been announced, but they’ll fall somewhere in mid-May.