Tag Archives: college baseball

09 Oct

campus notes

Southern Miss will play the first eight games of the 2016 season at home in Taylor Park, but the more interesting aspect of the schedule is where the Golden Eagles will play 10 of their road games. In addition to the annual games against Mississippi State (April 1) and Ole Miss (April 5) at Trustmark Park in Pearl, USM will visit three other minor league ballparks. USM is slated for three games in a March 4-6 tournament at Pensacola’s scenic Bayfront Stadium. The Eagles have two March games set for MGM Park in Biloxi and a three-game C-USA series March 18-20 against Marshall at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. USM opens the season Feb. 19 against Eastern Illinois. … After last weekend’s fall ball scrimmages in Oxford, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco singled out four pitchers for their work. Good stuff is expected from junior left-hander Wyatt Short, the Southaven product who was an All-SEC pick in 2015. The other three drawing praise were newcomers: juco transfer David Parkinson and freshmen Andy Pagnozzi and Parker Caracci. Caracci is from MAIS powerhouse Jackson Prep. … Pitching also has been in fashion of late at Mississippi State. In Sunday’s scrimmage, lefty Daniel Brown threw three shutout innings with five strikeouts. On Monday, Austin Sexton tossed four shutout innings with four K’s. And on Tuesday, freshman lefty Jared Padgett worked three scoreless innings. Padgett, from Florida, was a 26th round pick by the Chicago Cubs in June. P.S. Former Ole Miss left-hander Austin Wright was rated the top prospect in independent ball by Baseball America. Wright, who recently signed with Arizona, went 5-11 with a 4.46 ERA for Windy City in the Frontier League. He had a 4.26 ERA in four years in the Philadelphia system before being released – but he also has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s.

25 Sep

campus notes

Ole Miss fans of a certain age will remember John Shaw, a star second baseman for the Rebels from 1968-70. Shaw is among the five athletes being inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame this weekend. Shaw led the SEC in stolen bases three straight years, twice earned all-league honors and helped Tom Swayze’s team win the SEC championship in 1969. … Southern Miss will again host the C-USA Tournament at Taylor Park. Dates are May 25-29, 2016. USM has hosted the tournament five times previously but never won the title as the host school. The Golden Eagles’ lone tournament championship came in 2010, when the event was in Houston. … USM started fall ball on Sunday, with 16 newcomers joining a crop of returnees that includes five regulars – second-team All-C-USA pick Tim Lynch among them — from a 36-win team. … Mississippi State needed to do some rebuilding after last year’s disappointing finish, and coach John Cohen may have the parts to put together a better club in 2016. State’s recruiting class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Among the 22 newcomers are three players who were drafted by MLB clubs and three state players of the year. Here’s one to watch: Nate Lowe, a first-team NJCAA All-America pick and the Florida juco player of the year. He hit .373 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs at St. Johns River State College. … Ole Miss’ recruiting class was rated No. 23 by Collegiate Baseball, USM’s was not in the Top 25. … One of Jackson State’s big signees for 2016 was C.J. Newsome, a 5-foot-7 outfielder from Columbia High. Newsome, who batted .350 and stole 25 bags as a senior, was drafted by Miami in the 38th round in June. There must have been a big sigh of relief at J-State when Newsome didn’t sign.

16 Sep

boys of fall

Fall ball has launched in Starkville. Mississippi State held its first scrimmage on Tuesday night, with the Gray beating the Maroon 3-1 at Dudy Noble Field behind Luke Reynolds’ three RBIs. Brent Rooker homered for the Maroon in the six-inning contest. Fall ball at MSU will conclude the weekend of Oct. 16-18 with the Bulldog World Series. State’s team features nine players who earned all-star honors in their respective summer leagues. … Ole Miss will start fall practice with an intrasquad game on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium. Fall camp runs until Nov. 1. The Rebels return 16 players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including six starting position players. UM has announced its spring schedule, which will begin on Feb. 19 at home against Florida International. In the annual rivalry games at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Ole Miss will face Southern Miss on April 5 and State on April 26. The date for the USM-State game hasn’t been announced.

11 Sep

campus notes

Wes Thigpen, a former Mississippi State catcher, was recently hired as the new pitching coach at Hinds Community College, replacing former big leaguer Chad Bradford. Thigpen was a graduate assistant at State the past two seasons. He played at Meridian CC before starting for the Bulldogs in 2010 and ’11. He also played pro ball in the Detroit Tigers’ system. … Southern Miss has announced it will play host to two games against longtime coastal rivals at MGM Park in Biloxi next season. The Golden Eagles will meet South Alabama on March 2 and Tulane on March 22. MGM Park, home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, formally opened on June 6. … When fall ball starts at Mississippi State, outfielder Brent Rooker might have a little swagger in his walk. He was named the New England Collegiate Baseball League Most Valuable Player and its second-best prospect by Baseball America. He finished first in the league in home runs (10), RBIs (33) and runs (36) and third in batting (.360). Rooker hit .257 with two homers in 74 at-bats for the Bulldogs in 2015. … Ole Miss shortstop Errol Robinson is also coming off a strong summer. Playing in the top-drawer Cape Cod League, he hit .312 with 25 runs and 15 steals, made the All-Star game and was rated the No. 9 prospect. … Jackson State’s Jamal Wilson, a senior right-hander, was rated among the Valley League’s top prospects. He went 2-3 with a 5.16 ERA during the summer league’s regular season and 1-1, 2.25 in the playoffs. … William Carey may have made a key pick-up for 2016 when it added former Petal High and Jones County Junior College catcher Tyler Graves to its roster. As a sophomore at JCJC in 2014, Graves was named NJCAA D-II Spalding National Defensive Player of the Year and was a third team All-America pick. He had 28 assists and batted .371. He signed with Delta State out of JCJC but didn’t play there in 2015.

27 Aug

campus news

Mississippi State alumnus Mitch Moreland recently made a $100,000 donation toward the new Dudy Noble Field, the MSU Bulldog Club announced today. In recognition of his generosity, the indoor batting cages at the facility will be named for him. Moreland, now with the Texas Rangers, starred at State from 2005-07, batting .332 for his career and helping the Bulldogs reach the College World Series in his final season in Starkville. Moreland’s donation will go toward the $40 million renovation plan for venerable Dudy Noble. … Delta State will dedicate a statue honoring former coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss and unveil its new-look stadium on Oct. 3. The statue, crafted by Kim Sessums of Brookhaven, is located in front of Ferriss Field, which has undergone renovations. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be part of the annual Statesmen Baseball Reunion activities. … Fall ball will begin soon, and Alcorn State players will go to work under new coach Brett Richardson, who recently replaced Barret Rey. Richardson was a longtime assistant at Florida A&M, where he also played. The Rattlers won the MEAC championship this past season. Rey won a SWAC championship with the Braves in 2011, his second year at the helm, but wasn’t able to repeat that success. The Braves were 16-40, 7-18 SWAC, in 2015. … It will be interesting to track the progress of the four players from MAIS juggernaut Jackson Prep who signed with SEC schools back in November. Parker Caracci is at Ole Miss, Noah Hughes and Jake Mangum at State and Gene Wood at Alabama. … Ole Miss’ pitching staff should get a big boost from the return of Brady Bramlett, who was drafted by Oakland in the 22nd round in June. He was 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA for the Rebels in 2015. … New Mississippi College coach Jeremy Haworth has bolstered the Choctaws’ roster since his arrival. Recent additions include outfielder Will Elliott (an Alabama transfer from Oxford), outfielder Parker Thurman (Mississippi Valley State/Pearl), infielder/outfielder Chance Whitten (East Central Community College) and pitchers Perry Turner (Jones County JC), Scott Szush (Southeastern Louisiana) and Matt Payne (Volunteer State CC).

02 Jun

that’s a wrap

Ole Miss went a long way for its short stay in the NCAA Tournament. Losses to Maryland and Cal State Bakersfield in the Los Angeles Regional over the weekend ended the Rebels’ season – and put a lid on the college season in the state. A year after making a deep run at the College World Series, a rebuilt UM team finished 30-28. Not a glittery record, but, yes, it did come against a tough slate. Reliever Wyatt Short (4 wins, 11 saves, 1.38 ERA) emerged as a Big Man on Campus (subcategory: pitcher) for the Rebels. The Rebs’ BMOC hitter was Sikes Orvis, who belted 16 homers, drove in 53 runs, scored 41 and slugged .587. … Southern Miss had a good year – a 35-16-1 regular season and a third-place finish in C-USA – that ended on a sour note. After going 1-2 in the league tournament in Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles did not get a bid to the NCAAs. This year marked the 25th anniversary of USM’s first regional appearance; it would have been sweet if the current bunch could have duplicated the feat. Right-hander James McMahon (11-1, 1.56 ERA) was perhaps the biggest man on any campus in the state, winning the Ferriss Trophy as the state’s best player at a four-year school. Tim Lynch (.313, nine homers, 32 RBIs, 38 runs) was USM’s best all-around hitter. … Mississippi State endured what was likely the most disappointing season among the state’s four-year colleges. The Bulldogs, nationally ranked early in the year and 13-0 at one point, finished 24-30, 8-22 in the SEC. BMOCs for the Bulldogs were Jacob Robson (.324, 41 runs) and Trevor Fitts (2-4, 2.03, six saves). … Jackson State could not manage a third straight SWAC championship but wound up 32-25, getting a monster year from Melvin Rodriguez (.422, seven homers, 65 RBIs). The Tigers’ other BMOC: Vincent Anthonia (5-3, 4.45). … Alcorn State went 16-41 but did make the SWAC Tournament. BMOCs: Scotty Peavey (.345, 11 homers, 46 RBIs) and Cedric Walker (6-3, 7.59). In Aaron Stevens’ first year as coach, Mississippi Valley State ended 8-35-1, an improvement on 2014 (4-38). BMOCs: Kalik May (.335, four homers, 22 steals) and Tyler Case (3-10, 7.20). Delta State overcame a slow start to wind up 25-18, falling short, however, of a Division II regional bid. The Statesmen were led by BMOCs Jacob Swiney (.396, 35 RBIs, 32 runs) and Jonathan Moody (5-2, 4.04). In its first year back in D-II, and in Brian Owens’ final season as coach, Mississippi College finished 12-34. BMOCs: Hunter Bolin (.342, 24 RBIs, 24 runs) and Brooks Fortenberry (2-6, 5.87). New coach on campus: Jeremy Haworth. Southern Athletic Association player of the year Keith Shumaker (.390, 52 runs; 8-3, 2.48) led Millsaps to a 29-14 mark and a trip to the D-III regionals. Adam Kowalczyk, an All-Southern States Athletic Conference selection, hit .329 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs as a BMOC for Belhaven (33-24). The Blazers’ best pitcher was Ben Allison (7-4, 4.15). William Carey wound up 30-23, led by All-SSAC picks Tyler Richardson (.385, 50 runs) and Gavin Culpepper (9-2, 2.75). Seth Davis (.396, eight homers, 40 RBIs) was an All-SSAC performer for Blue Mountain, which finished 17-27. The Toppers’ other BMOC: Dylan Earnest (4-6, 4.52). Tougaloo went 7-40 in Earl Sanders’ first year as coach. BMOCs: Lige Mims Jr. (.305, four homers, 28 RBIs) and Bennie Warner (2-7, 8.10).

28 May

hurdles for the rebels

Maryland won’t have suspended coach John Szefc on Friday when it plays Ole Miss in the Los Angeles Regional, but arguably more important to the Terrapins are Mike Shawaryn, Brandon Lowe and Jose Cuas. Shawaryn, a 6-foot-3 sophomore right-hander reputed to have overpowering stuff, is 12-2 with a 1.65 ERA. He’s the likely starter on Friday. Second baseman Lowe, a freshman All-America in 2014, is hitting .342 with nine homers and 52 RBIs. Cuas, a junior third baseman who goes 6-2, 190, has blasted 11 homers and driven in 53 runs, both team-bests. The Terps have won 39 games this season, and many on the roster are NCAA Tournament-tested. Maryland won the Columbia Regional last year, beating host South Carolina twice, and took Virginia to three games in their Super Regional. Even without their strong-willed coach, the Terps won’t go gently. … On the other side of the bracket at Jackie Robinson Stadium is host UCLA, 42-14, the No. 1 overall seed, the Pac-12 regular season champion, the 2013 national champion, a team well-stocked with talent, especially pitching. But don’t dismiss Cal State Bakersfield, which Ole Miss could also see on Saturday. The Roadrunners (36-22-1) won three straight do-or-die games to claim the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title. They are 19-12-1 away from home. They’ve beaten UC Santa Barbara, Arizona State, Purdue and Gonzaga. They’ve got a roster replete with California kids, led by 5-8 David Metzgar, who is hitting .358 with 42 RBIs, 46 runs and 10 steals. And they’re playing for a coach, Bill Kernen, who founded the program in 2007 and is expected to retire when the season ends. No, the Roadrunners won’t go gently, either.

26 May

tough enough

On April 9, after a 6-0 loss to Vanderbilt, Ole Miss certainly didn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team. The Rebels were 16-18 and 5-8 in the SEC. But the Rebels won the next two games against the then top-ranked Commodores, the start of a 14-7 charge to the end of the regular season. On Monday, Ole Miss received an at-large bid to the NCAAs, the 20th in program history. There are some who might say Ole Miss still doesn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team. The Rebels are 30-26. They finished one game above .500 in the SEC and, as a 6-seed, were bounced in the first round of the league tournament by Alabama. They were 11-15 away from Oxford. UM was 10th in the SEC in hitting (.269) and 13th in pitching (4.44 ERA). So, how’d the Rebels get in when teams like Nevada-Reno (41-15), Michigan State (34-23), North Carolina (34-24) and Southern Miss (36-18-1 and 2-0 vs. UM) were left out? Score one for strength of schedule. Ole Miss played the toughest slate in the country, according to a couple of different rankings. The Rebels were 11-11 against other tournament invitees, 7-6 against top 10 teams and 5-4 against No. 1 teams. Apparently, the selection committee was impressed enough to make Ole Miss a No. 2 seed in its regional. Of course, it’s not all mint juleps. There is a downside. UM must travel to Los Angeles to play in the bracket with the No. 1 overall seed, UCLA (42-14). The Rebels’ first game is against Maryland, a strong 3-seed which went 39-21 and reached the Big Ten Tournament final. P.S. Former Rebels star David Goforth, who has emerged as a bullpen ace in Milwaukee’s system, has been called up for the first time by the Brewers.

18 May

regional appeal

Ole Miss needs to beat Alabama on Tuesday to stay alive in the SEC Tournament. Whether the Rebels need to beat Alabama to stay in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid is less clear. UM has won six of its last seven to get to 30-25 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Still, a one-and-done performance in the SEC tourney at Hoover, Ala., might not look so good. The sixth-seeded Rebels will throw Scott Weathersby (4-1, 2.39 ERA), a recent addition to the rotation who got the last five outs in a 4-0 win over Alabama in Oxford in late April. Ole Miss took two of three from the Crimson Tide in that series, winning the opener 10-2 and losing the finale 13-4. The Tide (30-26) showed its offensive potential in that one, with 17 hits and seven two-out RBIs. … Southern Miss (35-16-1) has won 13 straight games to play its way into the NCAA regional picture and has a legitimate shot at winning the C-USA Tournament and claiming the automatic bid. USM is the 3-seed in the double-elimination event that it is hosting at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles open Wednesday with UAB (30-24), which it beat two of three at “The Pete” in early April. In the rubber game of that series, James McMahon – the likely starter on Wednesday – got the W in the 3-2 victory with relief help from Luke Lowery and Cody Livingston. USM is flush with good arms. P.S. As we eagerly await today’s announcement of the 2015 Ferriss Trophy recipient, a check on last year’s winner, Auston Bousfield, shows the Ole Miss product batting .308 with a homer, 15 RBIs and 14 steals for Class A Lake Elsinore in the San Diego system. Bousfield was a fifth-round pick last June.

17 May

down to two

Only two Mississippi college teams are still standing after a generally rough weekend. Hinds Community College, the No. 1-ranked team in NJCAA Division II, was eliminated Saturday night in the Region 23 championship round by No. 2 LSU-Eunice. The Eagles (43-7) lost twice to the host Bengals in the regional. East Mississippi Community College went 2-and-out in the tournament, and Northwest Mississippi was flushed in its third game, losing an elimination game to Hinds on Saturday. Meanwhile, Mississippi State’s season ended with a whimper as the Bulldogs lost three straight to Tennessee, which claimed the 12th and final berth in the SEC Tournament. Jackson State and Alcorn State bowed out Friday in the SWAC Tournament, where both went 1-2. Millsaps, after winning its opener on Thursday, went down (and out) twice on Friday in the NCAA Division III West Regional. Still playing are Southern Miss, which will take a 13-game winning streak into its Conference USA Tournament opener against UAB on Wednesday at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, and Ole Miss, which has won six of seven heading into an SEC Tournament clash with Alabama on Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.