Tag Archives: college baseball

02 Jan

poll positions

The best performance by a state college in 2016 was delivered by Jones County Junior College, which won its first national championship. Do the Bobcats have an encore in them? The editors of Collegiate Baseball magazine apparently think so. CB’s comprehensive 2017 preseason issue is out, and it’s got JCJC ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II. Chris Kirtland’s Bobcats lost a few key players from last season (most notably Mason Irby, now at Southern Miss) but return a strong core from a 54-win squad. Mason Strickland, Ben Stiglets and Logan Robbins were a combined 28-0 on the bump. Erick Hoard batted .409 with 19 homers, Tanner Huddleston .392 with 12 homers and Fred Franklin .378 with 22 steals. The Bobcats may be challenged for state supremacy by Meridian CC, ranked 18th in CB’s poll. … Ole Miss is ranked No. 22 in the NCAA Division I poll. The Rebels, 43-19 and a regional host in 2016, return the likes of Tate Blackman, Colby Bortles and Will Stokes, and Mike Bianco reeled in what CB ranked as the No. 2 recruiting class in the country. Mississippi State, which won the SEC regular season title and hosted a regional and Super Regional last year, is picked fifth in the SEC West. New coach Andy Cannizaro has some rebuilding to do, as does Southern Miss’ Scott Berry. USM, which won the Conference USA Tournament in 2016, is pegged for a third-place finish in the league. … In the SWAC, Jackson State is picked second, Alcorn State third and Mississippi Valley fifth in the five-team East Division. JSU’s Cornelius Copeland emerged last year as one of the league’s best players. … In NAIA, William Carey checks in at No. 23. The Crusaders won 40 games last year, made the postseason and welcome back top hitters Tyler Odom and Adrian Brown, slugger James Land and pitcher Devin Smith. Believe it or not, Carey opens Feb. 3.

27 Oct

there and here

Former Ole Miss standout Aaron Barrett is now a free agent after refusing an assignment to the minors by the Washington Nationals. Barrett, 28, missed all of 2016 because of injuries. The right-hander has a 3.47 ERA in 90 MLB relief appearances. … Jackson native and former big leaguer Stan Cliburn will speak at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi on Friday as part of the “Our Love Affair with Baseball” exhibit. Cliburn was recently named manager of the year in the independent Atlantic League after steering the expansion New Britain Bees to a 71-69 record. Cliburn has won over 1,600 games as a minor league skipper. … A couple of Mississippi products were saddled with losses on Wednesday in the Arizona Fall League. Mississippi State alum Chris Stratton gave up nine hits and five runs in three innings for Scottsdale. Stratton, who made his big league debut with San Francisco this season, is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three AFL appearances. Madison Central High product Spencer Turnbull, a Detroit prospect, allowed just two hits and one earned run in three innings for Salt River but saw his record dip to 0-2 (5.00 ERA) in three starts. … Anthony Alford, the ex-Petal High star and Toronto prospect, had a triple and three RBIs for Mesa in the AFL and is now batting .306. … Joey Meneses of the 2016 Mississippi Braves is playing for his hometown team, Culiacan, in the Mexican Pacific League and batting .288 with two homers and 12 RBIs for the Tomateros. Meneses, an outfielder/first baseman, hit just .234 for the M-Braves after batting .342 at Class A Carolina to begin last season. … Colby Bortles, enjoying a huge fall ball campaign at Ole Miss, homered and doubled on Wednesday to pace Team Bortles to an 8-1 win over Team Blackman in the opener of the Pizza Bowl at Oxford-University Stadium. James McArthur got the win. Game 2 of the best-of-3 series is today. … Southern Miss will conclude its fall season with a 3-game Fall World Series set for Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at Pete Taylor Park. … Cole Gordon hit a bomb for the Maroon team in a 4-0 win over the Gray on Wednesday in Game 8 of Mississippi State’s 19-game fall scrimmage schedule. They’ll play again today (and Saturday and Sunday) at Dudy Noble Field.

21 Oct

campus notes

Delta State, in a major rebuilding mode this fall, is holding its Green-and-White Series today and Saturday at Ferriss Field in Cleveland. Most of the key players from last year’s 42-17 team are gone, and 22 newcomers were positioning for jobs during fall ball. The notable returnees are left-hander Tre Hobbs, a 13-game winner and All-America candidate, Juwan Burney (.321 in 26 games) and Dakota Glore (.290 in 32). … Alcorn State’s program took a tough 0-for-4 this week. According to the penalties handed down by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, all of the Braves’ wins from the 2012 through the 2015 seasons are vacated. As in, gone. Brett Richardson gets to keep the 16 wins he picked up in 2016, his first season as coach. The SWAC Tournament championship from 2011 was unaffected. … Ole Miss’ highly touted recruiting class has generated a lot of buzz this fall, but veteran Colby Bortles rates some attention, too. The senior third baseman has been raking this fall, according to every report out of Oxford. He had seven hits, including two homers, and four RBIs in last weekend’s scrimmages. Bortles hit .269 with eight homers and 50 RBIs for the Rebels in 2016. … Fall ball has to feel a little weird in Starkville with John Cohen expected to move into the athletic director’s chair and hand the reins to a new coach for 2017. Mississippi State has scrimmages set for today, Saturday and Sunday. Freshman Dustin Skelton, the ex-Magnolia Heights star who can catch and play third base, reportedly stood out in last weekend’s games. … Southern Miss players will be presented with their 2016 Conference USA championship rings at the Oct. 29 homecoming football game against Marshall. The Golden Eagles made the NCAAs last season for the first time since 2011 and finished 41-20.

10 Oct

oh so close

A champion has been crowned in college baseball. And Ole Miss just missed being the subject of this coronation. Collegiate Baseball, in its Oct. 1 issue, anointed Arizona State as the recruiting champion of 2016. Ole Miss was rated No. 2. Mississippi State was 20th, and six other SEC schools finished among the top 25. They’ll still have to play the games and stuff next spring, but it’s a good start for the Rebels and Bulldogs, a little something to fuel their fall ball workouts. Collegiate Baseball uses a rating system to produce its list, taking into account the number of players who were drafted, high school All-Americans, junior college All-Americans, etc. Arizona State brought in eight MLB draftees among its 20 signees, a group that includes an NCAA Division I transfer and four jucos. Ole Miss, which may have to rely on some newcomers in 2017, signed 18 players, five of whom were drafted. Included in the Rebels’ class are 15 freshmen, led by the bunch from Oxford High and Madison Central’s Trace Tyre, and three jucos. One to watch: Timothy Rowe, a lefty-hitting outfielder from Itawamba CC who batted .418 with eight homers, 48 RBIs and 46 runs this past season.

30 Sep

campus notes

Mississippi State has announced its 20-game fall scrimmage schedule, which begins on Oct. 13 and concludes with the Bulldog World Series Nov. 11-13. Brent Rooker, who opted to return to Starkville rather than go pro, and Ferriss Trophy winner Jake Mangum highlight the list of veterans at State. Mangum led the SEC in hitting at .408 last season and Rooker hit .324 with 11 home runs for the 2016 Bulldogs, who went 44-18 and won an SEC title and an NCAA regional. Among the newcomers of note are former Magnolia Heights stars Riley Self and Dustin Skelton and ex-Madison Central standout Will Brooks. … Southern Miss began fall ball last week with 21 new players on the roster. “There will be a lot jobs up in the air this fall with the tremendous influx of players that we have this year,” coach Scott Berry said in a school release. Dylan Burdeaux and Taylor Braley are among key returnees in Hattiesburg. A bunch of junior college transfers could be impact players, including Mason Irby (Jones County), LeeMarcus Boyd (Northwest), Colt Smith (Northwest), Houston Case (Hinds), Jaylon Keys (Meridian) and Casey Maack (Eastfield in Texas). The Golden Eagles went 41-20 in 2016, winning the Conference USA Tournament and earning an NCAA Tournament berth. … Ole Miss has scrimmages set for today and Saturday in Oxford. Colby Bortles hit a pair of homers last weekend, and newcomer Chase Cockrell (Hinds CC) also went yard. … Mississippi College will host an Alumni Game at Frierson Field in Clinton on Oct. 15 as part of its fall ball season. Returnees at MC include Casey Echols, Colton Johnson, Blaine Crim and Kyle Smith, each of whom was an All-Star in the Mountain West Summer League.

29 Aug

campus notes

With college classes having begun, it’s time for those “what I did on my summer vacation” stories. Mississippi State’s Konnor Pilkington and Jake Mangum showed out in the Cape Cod League, earning recognition from Baseball America as top 30 prospects from the prestigious summer circuit. Pilkington, a left-hander from Hurley and East Central High, was 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA in seven games for Brewster. He also made the All-CCBL team, as chosen by the league. At State this past season, he was 3-1, 2.08 in 14 appearances. Mangum, a Jackson Prep product, hit .300 with nine RBIs and 11 steals in 35 games for Bourne. The Ferriss Trophy winner batted .408 for the Bulldogs as a freshman last spring. … Of the Ole Miss players who took part in summer league ball, none has more to boast about than Parker Ciracci, another Jackson Prep product who redshirted at UM last spring. Right-hander Ciracci posted an 0.78 ERA, five wins and seven saves in 21 games in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Fellow Rebel D.J. Miller had a fun time, too, batting .286 with 32 runs and 10 steals in the Cal Ripken League. UM’s Kyle Watson, a DeSoto Central alum, swiped 21 bags in the Alaska League. … Southern Miss’ Mason Irby, a transfer from juco national champ Jones County Junior College, played on the NJCAA National Team that went 3-1 in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan. Golden Eagles J.C. Keys and Matthew Guidry were Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game picks. Guidry finished at .331 with 14 RBIs and 24 runs in 40 games for Acadiana, and Keys put up a 4.13 ERA in 13 games for the same club. … Mississippi College’s Hunter Lacefield, a lefty transfer from Northwest CC, went 4-1 with a 0.76 ERA for the North Delta Dealers, the best team in the New Albany-based Cotton States League this summer. … Alcorn State has a new pitching coach, David Duncan, a former Florida A&M pitcher who has some pro experience. The Braves had a staff ERA of 8.03 in 2016, so Duncan has some work to do. … New head coaches are settling in at jucos Pearl River and Mississippi Delta. Michael Avalon left Delta to replace Josh Hoffpauir at PRCC, and longtime Hinds assistant Dan Rives filled the vacancy at Delta, where he played.

15 Jun

big picture

The last impression of the college season in the state is of that ground ball leaking into right field at Dudy Noble. The base hit by Cesar Salazar scored the game-winning, series-clinching run for Arizona in the Super Regional in Starkville. The crowd was crushed, and so was one of the great seasons in Mississippi State’s deep history. But that final thud was preceded by a whole lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ in the Magnolia State. To wit: Jones County Junior College won 54 games and a national title. Five four-year schools won 40 games, and three won conference titles. Each of the Big 3 NCAA Division I schools played in a regional, and so did D-II Delta State and NAIA William Carey. Jackson State (34-26) and Belhaven (20-18) had winning seasons, the Blazers while making the tricky transition from NAIA to D-III. Millsaps slipped to an uncharacteristic 20-21 overall but did go 12-10 in the Southern Athletic Association. Alcorn State, under first-year coach Brett Richardson, was 16-33 but 14-13 in the SWAC. Mississippi College, still in transition from D-III to D-II, improved from 12-34 to 17-30 under first-year coach Jeremy Haworth. Blue Mountain, still building an NAIA program (and a new field for 2017), set a school record for wins in a 23-32 campaign. Only Mississippi Valley State (6-36) and Tougaloo (9-42) had truly bad years. The disappointment in Starkville — and Oxford and Hattiesburg — will diminish with time. Looking back on the 2016 season, the sad end shouldn’t wipe out the joy of the journey. P.S. Southern Miss catcher Chuckie Robinson, a 21st-round pick last week (see previous post), has signed with the Houston Astros, according to mlb.com.

09 Jun

intangible force

We compile batting average, on-base percentage, earned run average, strikeouts per nine innings, fielding percentage and all those other stats, and they tell us something, if not quite everything, about a team. There is no stat for energy level, and that might be the most telling factor in the outcome of the Super Regional in Starkville that starts Friday. Mississippi State, which fairly cruised through its regional at Dudy Noble Field, should be fully charged. Visiting Arizona, on the other hand, who knows? The Wildcats have traveled some 12,000 miles since May 19, according to a story on the school’s web site. In their regional tournament, at Lafayette, La., they fell into the loser’s bracket and had to win three games in roughly a 27-hour span to advance. Their ace, Nathan Bannister, threw a reported 198 pitches over four days to help keep the ‘Cats alive. One has to wonder if there is enough juice left for Arizona to get past Dakota Hudson, Jake Mangum, Jack Kruger, Austin Sexton and friends in a three-game series in front of the rowdy Dudy Noble throng. The Wildcats (42-21 in a “rebuilding” year) do have some arms: Bannister (11-2, 2.63), lefty J.C. Cloney (6-4, 2.86), Bobby Dalbec (9-4, 3.28, seven saves). Ryan Aguilar provides some power (seven homers, 21 doubles), and Zack Gibbons is a .380 hitter. But the Bulldogs (44-16-1) appear to have more pitching and more hitting. And even if they don’t, surely they’ve got more energy.

29 May

champs like us

The play at the plate – following two relay throws – long will be remembered in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss won its first Conference USA Tournament title since 2010 today, cutting down a Rice runner at home to preserve a 3-2 victory at Taylor Park. And so this remarkable season for Magnolia State baseball barrels ahead. USM’s tournament title is the second for the state in 2016; Delta State won the Gulf South Conference crown. Mississippi State won the regular season title in the SEC, and the Bulldogs will join the Golden Eagles and Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament, all three possibly hosting regionals. And don’t forget that Jones County Junior College, which claimed its region tournament, is still playing in the NJCAA Division II World Series, having won its opener on Saturday. DSU reached the championship round of the NCAA Division II South Region tourney, and William Carey did the same in its NAIA regional, both coming up just short of the World Series in their divisions. P.S. In case anyone was wondering: There were 18 former Jackson Mets who played for the New York Mets during the 1986 championship season, which was celebrated at Citi Field this weekend. The Mets’ Double-A club had been in Jackson for 12 years by 1986 and would play at Smith-Wills Stadium for four more. … In case anyone hadn’t noticed: Jeff Francoeur, the former Mississippi Braves star, was batting .292 for Atlanta heading into today’s game. It’s good to see – and hear – Francoeur getting cheers again at Turner Field. … Debut alert: Former MSU standout Chris Stratton from Tupelo, now in the big leagues with San Francisco, will be the 18th Mississippian (native or college alum) to play in MLB this year when he makes his first appearance.

24 May

dream team

Props to Jake Mangum for winning the Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s top college player for 2016. The former Jackson Prep star is the first freshman and fifth Mississippi State player to win the award named for the great Boo Ferriss. An outfielder, Mangum leads the SEC in hitting at .427 and has 25 RBIs and 36 runs for the SEC regular season champs. Mangum certainly is a fitting winner, but the Ferriss voters couldn’t have gone wrong with any of a number of other candidates. It’s been that kind of year for college ball in the state. Just imagine the all-star team you could put together from the NCAA Division I programs. A weekend rotation of Dakota Hudson, Brady Bramlett and Kirk McCarty, the aces from State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss? Wyatt Short of UM and Nick Sandlin from USM in the pen? Yes, Team Mississippi would be well-armed. Behind the plate: Henri Lartigue, batting .348 for Ole Miss. Put Southern Miss’ Tim Lynch (.367, nine homers, 53 RBIs) at first base, UM’s Tate Blackman (.332, 42 runs) at second and State’s Gavin Collins (.301, nine homers) at third. At shortstop, Jackson State’s Cornelius Copeland, who doesn’t get the recognition of players from the Big 3, hit .422 and scored 62 runs. Mangum has been a regular headliner in the outfield, but Ole Miss’ J.B. Woodman (.319, 13 homers, 49 RBIs) and USM’s Jake Sandlin (.354, 44 runs) also are wearing it out. For a DH, pick from USM’s Dylan Burdeaux (.345, 11 homers), State’s Jack Kruger (.358, seven homers) or JSU’s Jesus Santana (17 homers, 67 RBIs). Hard to find a flaw in that dream team. P.S. Delta State threw its vaunted 1-2 punch at Nova Southeastern on Monday. The Sharks survived and won the NCAA Division II South Region title, earning a berth in the D-II World Series. DSU won Game 1 of the championship round 3-1 behind Dalton Moats (12-3) but lost 3-1 in Game 2 with Tre Hobbs (13-2), the region and Gulf South Conference pitcher of the year, on the bump. The Statesmen finish 42-17.