Tag Archives: Delta State

25 Feb

humming right along

With a new-look lineup but familiar expectations, Delta State is humming along this season. DSU takes an 8-2 record – with only one appearance to date at Ferriss Field in Cleveland – into a big Gulf South Conference series at Lee University this weekend. The Statesmen took two of three at West Alabama last weekend in their GSC opening series. Lee is 10-2 and 2-1. Both schools are ranked in various polls. DSU won the conference tournament last season, earning yet another bid to the NCAA Division II postseason, and was pegged to finish second in the league in the preseason poll. Newcomers are all over the DSU lineup, and many have settled in quite nicely. Zack Shannon, a junior college transfer from Illinois, is batting .410 with 10 RBIs and Emil Ellis, an East Mississippi Community College transfer, is at .359 with nine runs. Division I transfer Clay Casey, a former DeSoto Central and Northwest Mississippi CC standout, has just six hits but two have left the park, and he’s got five RBIs. The pitching staff also lost some key players from 2016 but returned a solid core. Oddly enough, Tre Hobbs, the senior All-America candidate, owns both of the team’s losses. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. That number is sure to drop. Corey Beard, who has been the No. 1 starter, is 2-0, 4.76. Zach Osbon has been an ace out of the bullpen: 2-0, two saves, no runs allowed and 12 punchouts in 9 2/3 innings. DSU coach Mike Kinnison has averaged 42.6 wins over his 20 seasons. That’s a high standard – but one the 2017 Statesmen appear capable of reaching. P.S. Mississippi College, the state’s other D-II program, heads into a GSC road series this weekend still tuning its engine. The Choctaws thumped Arkansas-Monticello 10-5 earlier this week for just their second win. They are 2-10 and 0-3 GSC as they take on West Alabama in Livingston. MC went 17-30, 8-25 in 2016. Bettering those numbers in Jeremy Haworth’s second season might be tough.

06 Feb

by the numbers

0 – Runs yielded in seven innings by Tre Hobbs, whose two-hitter on Saturday capped Delta State’s season-opening three-game sweep at Harding over the weekend.
4 – Home runs by the Statesmen, each by a different player.
4 – Hits by true freshman Grant Barber, who also scored three runs and drove in two as Mississippi College went 1-3 against Florida Tech.
5 – Wins in five games to date for Blue Mountain College, which got a combined 18 hits from Peyton Callahan and Josh Whitaker in those wins.
7 – RBIs by BMC’s Callahan over those five games.
8 – Strikeouts by MC’s Jake Fraze, who allowed two runs in seven innings to get the one W for the Choctaws.
8 – RBIs by Larson Barkurn as William Carey opened with two wins in four games played at three different locations.
9.28 – ERA posted by Carey’s pitching staff in those four games.
24 – Runs scored by Millsaps College in winning two of three at Huntingdon.

03 Feb

campus notes

Impressive start for William Carey University on Thursday night. Displaced from their storm-damaged home field, the Crusaders took on Cumberland at Southern Miss’ Taylor Park and rolled to a 16-6 win. The Crusaders, ranked 23rd in the NAIA preseason poll, scored in each of the six innings they batted. Larson Barkurn went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, and James Land homered. Carey plays again today at Jones County Junior College’s field in Ellisville. … Mississippi College, starting year two under coach Jeremy Haworth, faces a challenging opening day today in Clinton. The Choctaws, 17-30 in 2016, play a doubleheader against Florida Tech, 32-14 last year. MC returns leading hitter Hunter Bolin (.380) and top pitcher Jake Fraze. … Millsaps, coming off a rare losing season (20-21) under Jim Page, goes on the road to start 2017, playing Huntingdon today in Montgomery, Ala. Having lost all-conference slugger Isaac Glenn to graduation, the Majors now look to Lee Ogletree (.310, three homers, 34 RBIs) to carry their offense. … Blue Mountain, which got the 2017 season started with an 8-3 win at Christian Brothers on Wednesday, is back in action today with a doubleheader against William Woods in New Albany. Peyton Callahan swung the big bat in the Toppers’ opener with three hits and two RBIs. … Name of note on Delta State’s roster: Clay Casey. The former DeSoto Central High and Northwest Mississippi Community College star transferred to DSU from Houston and could be a key figure on a rebuilding team. Casey hit five homers for the Cougars in 2016 and 12 for Northwest the year before. DSU opens Saturday at Harding in Searcy, Ark. … Mississippi State (10th), Ole Miss (18th) and Southern Miss (24th) finished in Baseball America’s final Top 25 in 2016, with all three making the NCAA Tournament. None of the Big 3 made BA’s 2017 preseason Top 25 (though Ole Miss does appear in a couple of other polls). There’s some motivation in there somewhere. D-I opening day is Feb. 17.

31 Jan

it’s that time

As a welcome respite, the first pitch of the Mississippi college season will be thrown on Wednesday when Blue Mountain College takes on Christian Brothers at the one and only Nadicksbernd Field in Memphis. (The Toppers’ schedule originally listed this as a home game.) In anticipation of that first pitch – and in recognition of the can’t-be-overstated importance of pitching – here are some bosses of the bump to watch on Magnolia State rosters this season. For BMC, there’s Christian Dale, a senior right-hander from Columbus who went 5-7 (6.19 ERA) for a 23-32 team in 2016. … At William Carey University, keep an eye out for sophomore right-hander Devin Smith, who went 6-1, 3.35 for a club that made the NAIA postseason. With storm-damaged Wheeler Field unavailable, Carey will open on Thursday against Cumberland at Southern Miss’ Taylor Park. Round 2 of the WCU Invitational will be played Friday at Jones County Junior College and Round 3 on Saturday at Pearl River CC. … For Millsaps, which starts on Friday against Huntingdon at Montgomery, Ala., an arm of note is Daniel Adams, a junior lefty who was 3-2, 2.93 in 12 games last season. … At Mississippi College, which also starts Friday against Florida Tech at Frierson Field, there is much buzz about Tommy Taborda, a sophomore right-hander who went 2-4, 3.44 in 16 games in 2016. … For Delta State, Tre Hobbs, the senior left-hander from Greenville, will be a spotlighted player this season – he went 13-2, 3.18 in 2016 – but not to be overlooked is 6-foot-6, 265-pound right-hander Zach Osbon (3-0, 1.61 in nine games). DSU, 42-17 in 2016, starts Saturday with a doubleheader at Harding in Searcy, Ark. … For Belhaven University, which opens at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson on Feb. 10 against Berry College, the staff ace figures to be Tanner Cable, who went 5-0, 2.70 last year after transferring from Delta State. … For Jackson State, which opens Feb. 18 with home games against Morehead State and Jacksonville, the name to know is Michael Yrigoyen, a senior from Venezuela who posted a 9-3 record, 4.61 ERA and 98 strikeouts last year. … At Southern Miss, which hosts Northeastern on Feb. 17, they’ll welcome back All-C-USA left-hander Kirk McCarty, who went 8-1 with a 3.15 for the conference champs. … For Ole Miss, 6-7 righty James McArthur (6-1, 4.26), a freshman All-American last year, is among the arms being counted on to fill the void left by Brady Bramlett’s departure. The Rebels open at home on Feb. 17 with East Carolina. … For Mississippi State, which must replace ace Dakota Hudson, sophomore left-hander Konnor Pilkington carries weighty expectations after going 3-1, 2.08 last season and then shining in the Cape Cod League, as well. The Bulldogs host Texas Tech on Feb. 17.

25 Nov

coach ferriss

If there were a Mount Rushmore of Mississippi baseball, the likeness of David Meadow “Boo” Ferriss would be on it. You could argue all day about the other three – and there are many worthy candidates – but Ferriss would be on there. Absolutely. He was a great player, but he was more than that. He was a great coach, but he was more than that. He was as nice and humble and accommodating a man as you could hope to meet. The list of lives he touched, on and off the field of play, would stretch from Southaven to Moss Point. Ferriss, or Coach Ferriss as many called him, left us on Thursday at the age of 94. He’ll never be forgotten.

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.

12 Oct

shades of ’86

Anything that happens in the MLB playoffs that rekindles memories of the 1986 postseason has got to be pretty special. And it happened on Tuesday night. The Chicago Cubs’ comeback victory at San Francisco was the biggest in postseason-series clinching history, according to mlb.com. Down 5-2 in the ninth, the Cubs scored four times against the Giants’ tattered bullpen, surpassing what the New York Mets – a team loaded with former Jackson Mets – accomplished against Houston in the National League Championship Series 30 years ago. Davey Johnson’s Mets scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the Astros, then won the game and the series 7-6 in 16 innings. Ten former JaxMets played in that epic Game 6. Lenny Dykstra ignited the ninth inning rally with a leadoff triple, and Mookie Wilson knocked him in and later scored himself. Rick Aguilera and Roger McDowell combined for eight innings of scoreless relief, and Jesse Orosco, despite blowing a save in the 14th and yielding two runs in the 16th, nailed down the win by fanning Kevin Bass with two runners on. Ole Miss alum Jeff Calhoun came on in relief for the Astros in the 16th and yielded a hit, a walk and a run and threw two wild pitches during the three-run inning. That NLCS was a thrill ride from start to finish, and the World Series that followed was pretty interesting, too. P.S. Spotted in the Giants’ dugout on Tuesday: former Delta State standout Eli Whiteside, now a bullpen catcher for the club. Whiteside played for the Giants during their 2010 and 2012 championship runs and last played in the majors with the Cubs in 2014.

19 Sep

junk and stuff

Joe Gray, the highly touted junior at Hattiesburg High, is featured in a story currently posted on Baseball America’s website. Gray is playing on an elite travel team, the EvoShield Canes, with a group of seniors. Gray, a 6-foot-2, 194-pound outfielder, hit .474 with seven homers, 45 RBIs, 11 steals and 12 assists as a sophomore last year for Hattiesburg, helping the Tigers reach the Class 5A finals. He hit .380 as a freshman. Gray, who has not committed to a college, figures to be a high MLB draft pick in 2018. … Fall ball is in the air in Oxford, where the Rebels scrimmaged last Friday. Ole Miss, 43-19 and an NCAA Regional participant in 2016, returns infielders Tate Blackman, Colby Bortles and Will Golsan and reliever Will Stokes. Among the newcomers are freshmen Grae Kessinger, Jason Barber, Thomas Dillard and Houston Roth from powerhouse Oxford High. … Wyatt Short and Trent Giambrone – 2016 draftees out of Mississippi colleges by the Chicago Cubs – helped short-season Class A Eugene win the Northwest League pennant. Left-hander Short, a 13th-round pick from Ole Miss, where he was a standout closer, had a 0.00 ERA and seven saves in 15 games; he got the save in the final game of the title series. Second baseman Giambrone, a 25th-rounder out of Delta State, batted .292 with four homers and 22 RBIs for the Emeralds. … Blake Anderson, a supplemental first-round pick in 2014 out of West Lauderdale High, is on Miami’s Instructional League roster as a rehabbing player. The catcher played only one game this season, going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury on July 7. He has played only 58 games over three seasons. … Bryant Nelson, at age 42, is having a nice season in the independent Atlantic League. The switch-hitting second baseman/outfielder is batting .279 with 49 RBIs and 13 stolen bases for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. For fans of the old Jackson Generals — the ones who played at Smith-Wills Stadium from 1991-99 — the name might ring a bell. Nelson is the last link to a bygone era — the only former General still playing. (Freddy Garcia pitched briefly for Monterrey in the Mexican League this season but is not currently on the roster.) Nelson’s pro baseball odyssey began when Houston drafted him in the 44th round in 1993. He made the Generals’ roster in the 1996 postseason as an injury replacement and helped the Gens win the Texas League championship. Nelson has played in 2,463 pro games, according to baseball-reference.com, and gotten 2,632 hits. He has played in Mexico, Japan and Italy and even made it to the big leagues for 25 games with Boston in 2002.

30 Jun

starting line

Dakota Hudson, whose name just keeps popping up on All-America teams, has yet to pop up in a pro box score. The first Mississippian picked in the 2016 draft (34th overall), the right-hander out of Mississippi State has signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and is on their Gulf Coast League roster. So is Walker Robbins, the Cardinals’ fifth-round pick out of George County High. Robbins is off to a 2-for-12 start. Ole Miss alum J.B. Woodman, picked in the second round by Toronto, is hitting .138 in eight games at the short-season Class A level. Playing in that same league (Northwest), ex-Delta State star Trent Giambrone (Chicago Cubs, 25th round) homered on Wednesday; he is 3-for-8 as a pro. Also in the great Northwest is Southern Miss alum Jake Winston (Arizona, 17th round), who got a win on Wednesday and has a 3.00 ERA in five appearances. UM product Errol Robinson (Los Angeles Dodgers, sixth round) is off to a .212 start (with four RBIs and four runs) in rookie ball. Ex-USM standout Chuckie Robinson (Houston, 21st round) is 3-for-15 on a short-season A club, while fellow former Golden Eagle Tim Lynch (New York Yankees, ninth round) — the noted former baseball autograph hound – is 4-for-15 in rookie ball.

18 Jun

whatever happened to …

Diory Hernandez, who helped the Mississippi Braves make the postseason for the first time in 2007, is currently wearing out the Mexican League. The 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic is batting .336 with 16 homers and 70 RBIs for Aguascalientes. The home run and RBI totals lead the Triple-A caliber league. Hernandez, primarily a shortstop in his career, batted .307 with seven homers and 59 RBIs for the ’07 M-Braves and was among six from the team to start the Southern League All-Star Game played in Pearl that summer. He started the next year in Mississippi before getting a promotion after 22 games. Hernandez played in 75 major league games for Atlanta, batting .157. … William Beckwith, the Crawford native and former Atlanta prospect, is playing in the independent Frontier League. The lefty-hitting first baseman, who didn’t play in 2015, is batting .244 with a homer and eight RBIs for the Lake Erie Crushers. Beckwith hit 15 homers at Class A Rome in 2012 and played in the 2013 exhibition game at Trustmark Park that matched the Atlanta Braves against a team of Braves minor league stars. P.S. Congratulations to former Delta State player and assistant coach Greg Goff for getting the Alabama job; Goff took Louisiana Tech to the NCAA’s Starkville Regional this season. … Mark it down: On June 17, Tim Anderson got his first major league steal for the Chicago White Sox. The East Central Community College product stole 94 bags in 332 games in the minors.