Tag Archives: Delta State

12 Aug

whatever happened to …

Stewart Cliburn, the former Delta State standout and ex-big league reliever, is now in his 13th season — sixth straight — as the pitching coach at New Britain, Minnesota’s Double-A affiliate. He also did a stint in Triple-A. Cliburn, drafted in the fourth round in 1977 by Pittsburgh, toiled in the minors for seven years before getting to the majors with the California Angels in 1984. In ’85, he had a truly great year: 9-3, six saves and a 2.09 ERA in 44 games (99 innings), all out of the bullpen. Arm problems derailed his career thereafter, and he was done as a player by 1990. For his MLB career, Jackson native and Forest Hill High alum Cliburn posted a 3.11 ERA in 85 games. Twin brother Stan, a catcher, also played in the big leagues and was in the Angels’ system for a time. But the two never realized their childhood dream of being battery mates in The Show. P.S. Among his other talents, McComb native Jarrod Dyson (see previous post) also does a pretty nice backflip. Check the highlights of Kansas City’s win on Monday. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, on the disabled list (oblique) since July 8, is slated to start a rehab assignment today and could be back with Houston soon. Presley, in his first season with the Astros, is batting .252 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

01 Aug

summer stock

Keith Shumaker, a rising senior at Millsaps, is having a good summer in the Prospect League. The Brandon native is batting .294 with a homer, 29 RBIs and 20 runs in 50 games for Danville (Ill.) and made the collegiate summer league’s all-star game as a third baseman. He has also made four pitching appearances, posting an uncharacteristic 6.96 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. Shumaker batted .354 with three homers and 33 RBIs and went 6-1 with a 2.82 ERA on the mound for the 2014 Majors, who finished 23-19. He’ll again be the team’s centerpiece next spring. … Congratulations to the Tallahatchie Rascals, who won the New Albany-based Cotton States Baseball League title with a 14-6 record. The Rascals were coached by former Delta State All-American Andy Dillard, son of former big leaguer Steve Dillard. … Cooper Farris’ Wareham Gatemen will miss the Cape Cod League postseason for the second straight year after winning the title in 2012. Farris, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College coach, is in his 14th season in the Cape and has won three pennants. … DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley, a third baseman/pitcher, is slated to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic on Aug. 10 in San Diego and in the Under Armour All-American Game in Chicago on Aug. 16. Riley, a Mississippi State commit, batted .465 with nine homers and went 8-3, 1.51 as a pitcher for DoSoto Central this past season.

27 Jun

season in review

Whappp. Hear that? It was the book closing — a bit belatedly — on the college season in the Magnolia State. It was a page-turner, from beginning (Belhaven lost to LSU-Alexandria on Jan. 31) to end (Ole Miss fell to Virginia in the College World Series on June 21). Lots of good stuff for the highlight pen. Each of the state’s Big Four NCAA Division I schools posted winning seasons, and three of them made the NCAA postseason. Ole Miss might have had the best season — and best team — its ever had. The Rebels, who featured good power, speed and pitching, went 48-21 and had nine players drafted by MLB clubs. Mississippi State finished 39-24 and fell in the NCAA regional at Lafayette, La. Jackson State (32-25), which won the SWAC Tournament, made the same regional, beating No. 1-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette in its first game. Southern Miss (35-25) saw its season end in the Conference USA Tournament, one win shy of playing for the title. Alcorn State (9-40) and Mississippi Valley (4-38) endured tough years, though the Braves beat JSU four of six times and the Delta Devils also took a series from the Tigers. Delta State went 38-13, finished first in the Gulf South Conference race and played in a D-II regional. Belhaven finished 42-21 and hosted an NAIA regional. William Carey (31-26), Millsaps (23-19) and Mississippi College (21-19) posted winning seasons; the Choctaws had a winning record in the American Southwest Conference in their last season in D-III. Blue Mountain (12-36), still a fledgling program, scuffled in its first year in the Southern States Athletic Conference, and Tougaloo, also in a building mode, went 12-31-1. The junior colleges also provided some compelling storylines. Jones County JC held the NJCAA No. 1 ranking for a big chunk of the year, and East Mississippi enjoyed one of its best seasons on record. And then there was Hinds, which could hardly have scripted a more exciting season. The Eagles won the Region 23 Tournament, beating the top two teams in the nation, and then marched all the way to the juco World Series championship game. All in all, the 2014 campaign had the feel of a best seller.

03 Jun

ups and downs

Former Delta State star Eli Whiteside is back in the big leagues, promoted by the Chicago Cubs today when No. 1 catcher Welington Castillo went on the disabled list. Whiteside, who last appeared in the majors in 2012 (see previous post), was batting .171 at Triple-A Iowa. He is not in tonight’s lineup, but when he does get in, he’ll be the 24th Mississippian to appear in the majors in 2014. … Meanwhile, former Mississippi State standout Tyler Moore is going back to Triple-A Syracuse, sent down by Washington when Ryan Zimmerman was activated from the DL. Moore, an outfielder/first baseman, has been on an elevator ride: He started the season in Syracuse, was recalled on April 6, went down on May 7, was recalled on May 11 and now is shipped out again. He was batting .214 with three homers in 70 at-bats for the Nationals.

30 May

staying with it

Watched a few innings of the Pacific Coast League game of the week on TV Thursday night. Eli Whiteside, the ex-Delta State star from New Albany, was catching for Iowa (Chicago Cubs) and Mississippi State product Ed Easley was behind the plate for Memphis (St. Louis Cardinals) at AutoZone Park. These are two guys who must really love the game. They are backup catchers in Triple-A. Both are scuffling in their limited time: Whiteside is batting .168, Easley .204. Whiteside, who’ll be 35 in October, is in his 15th pro season. He has 208 MLB games under his belt and won a World Series ring with San Francisco in 2010. The Cubs are the seventh organization Whiteside has played for. He last appeared in the majors — briefly — in 2012. Easley, 28, is in his eighth season. He has yet to play in a big league game. He hit .334 with six homers and 49 RBIs in Triple-A for Arizona in 2013, never got a call-up, then signed with St. Louis in the off-season as a minor league free agent. The chances that either Whiteside or Easley will get called to the big leagues this season are pretty slim. Yet they keep plugging away at the game’s most demanding position. There is something admirable about that kind of devotion. P.S. Tony Sipp has shown that he still has some gas in the tank. The Pascagoula native has not allowed a run in 9 2/3 innings over eight appearances with Houston. Sipp, given his release from a minor league contract with San Diego so that he could sign with the Astros, has yielded just one hit and one walk with 13 strikeouts for a club that is suddenly playing well. The Moss Point High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum is in his 11th pro season.

17 May

and another one’s gone

The uniforms said “Delta State,” but the performance at the NCAA Division II South Regional didn’t seem to fit. DSU, 38-11 going in, went 2-and-out in Tampa, Fla., losing to Florida Southern on Thursday and No. 1-ranked Tampa today. The Statesmen, who batted an amazing .331 as a team this season and averaged 7.4 runs per game, scored a total of seven in their two losses. What’s more, standout pitchers Michael Manley and Jonathan Moody, a combined 17-5 with an ERA around 2.50 this year, both took losses. Manley, an All-Gulf South Conference pick from Raymond, was KO’d by Florida Southern in its seven-run sixth inning on Thursday, an 8-4 loss for DSU. Manley’s line: five-plus innings, six hits, two walks, four runs. Today, Moody went seven, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk, but he left with the Statesmen trailing. Standout reliever Taylor Stark then yielded three more runs in his one inning-plus as DSU fell 7-3 to Tampa, a 39-2 juggernaut. The unfortunate timing of this uncharacteristic showing means DSU’s dreams of returning to the College World Series for the 10th anniversary of its 2004 championship have ended.

12 May

title searches

Delta State, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its 2004 NCAA Division II national championship, will begin its quest for another title on Thursday against Florida Southern in the South Regional at Tampa, Fla. The Statesmen (38-11) are the No. 3 seed. The top seed is No. 1-ranked Tampa, which is 47-2. Also in the regional are Lynn, Stillman and Alabama-Huntsville, which beat DSU in the title game of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. … MACJC champion Jones County Junior College opens NJCAA Region 23 Tournament play on Thursday against East Central; Hinds and LSU-Eunice meet in the other first-round game at Community Bank Park in Ellisville. JCJC (43-9) is ranked No. 1 in Division II; LSU-E (41-11) is No. 2. Jones overcame a challenge from Hinds in Saturday’s state championship final, winning the clincher by run rule (14-3) with an eight-run seventh inning. Trent Giambrone’s three-run homer ended it. Jones last won the state title in 2011 and also claimed the region crown — and a Juco World Series berth — that season. LSU-E has won four national championships since 2006 and was national runner-up a year ago. But the Bengals were just 10-8 away from home this season. So there is hope for the Mississippi schools. … As of Sunday night, the SWAC still had not released the bracket for its tournament, which starts Wednesday in New Orleans. Alcorn State and Jackson State are in the field as the Nos. 3 and 4 teams from the East Division. JSU (27-23) won the tournament last year but has had a rough season, one made even more stressful when the team bus, with much of their equipment, caught fire during a road trip on May 5. The trip was aborted; JSU last played on May 3. … Belhaven University begins play today against Oklahoma City in the NAIA regional (opening round) it is hosting at Smith-Wills Stadium.

05 May

dust begins to settle

Jones County Junior College’s path to a state championship might have cleared a bit over the weekend. The top-ranked Bobcats rolled past Holmes to reach the MACJC Tournament, and they won’t have to face North Division champion East Mississippi in that four-team affair. The Lions, ranked eighth in NJCAA Division II, were upset in their best-of-3 series by South 4-seed East Central, which makes the final four with a 22-25 record. Hinds and Northeast also advanced. Northeast, as the highest surviving North seed, will host the tournament in Booneville starting on Thursday. Northeast won a three-game slugfest with Pearl River, taking Game 3 12-11 on Saturday. The Tigers blew a 7-0 lead, went up 12-9 on Easton Hall’s three-run homer in the eighth, then held on for dear life in the ninth. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’re on the dance floor,” Northeast coach Kent Farris said. ECCC’s upset of East Mississippi was fueled by two six-run innings in Saturday’s rubber game, a 12-3 Warriors win. John Morgan Berry had a big homer for the defending state champs. The bigger deal for the jucos is next week’s Region 23 Tournament. P.S. Delta State is 3-0 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament and has clinched a berth in the championship round, according to a school release. … Belhaven University will find out later this week what teams are coming to Smith-Wills Stadium for next week’s NAIA opening round tournament. … Mississippi College’s season is over. The Choctaws finished 21-19, apparently not good enough for an NCCAA regional berth. MC joins Millsaps, William Carey, Blue Mountain, Tougaloo and Rust on the sidelines.

03 May

rise and shine

Jackson State needed a hero on Friday. Desmond Russell came through. The Bahamas native threw a complete game, with 14 strikeouts, and went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Tigers beat Alcorn State 9-3 at Braddy Field. Russell is 7-4 for JSU, now 27-21 overall and 9-13 in the SWAC East, in a virtual tie for third with the Braves (8-12). JSU, the defending league champ, has lost five straight SWAC series, including a rather embarrassing pratfall against hapless Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers need to get it in gear with the SWAC Tournament approaching. Other stars from a fun-filled Friday: Westin Stringer won his 10th game as No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College beat Holmes 12-2 in the MACJC playoffs. … Chance Whitten delivered a decisive two-run double as East Central upset North Division champion East Mississippi 4-3 in the opener of that three-game series. LaDarious Clark homered for the Lions. … Jonathan Andrews drove in four runs to lead Delta State past Christian Brothers 15-2 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. … Chris Ellis improved to 7-0 as Ole Miss beat Arkansas 3-2. … Conor Fisk won his fifth game and Connor Barron homered as Southern Miss topped Tulane 4-2. … C.T. Bradford hit his first homer and Jonathan Holder notched his sixth save as Mississippi State beat Auburn 3-0. … In MLB, former MSU and Meridian CC star Tyler Moore hit his second homer — off former MCC standout Cliff Lee — to help Washington beat Philadelphia 5-3. … Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings belted his third homer and stole two bases as Tampa Bay knocked off the New York Yankees 10-5 in 14 innings.

30 Apr

going independent

Fred Lewis is playing in the States again, currently with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the independent Atlantic League. Lewis, a Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product, spent last year in Japan after a his six-year major league tour ended with the New York Mets in 2012. Lewis, 33, is career .266 hitter in MLB with 27 homers and 53 stolen bases. He had a good year in Japan but apparently found no interested parties among major league clubs. … Also with Lancaster is former Ole Miss star Bobby Kielty, another ex-big leaguer. Other Mississippians in the Atlantic League — the best of the indy loops — include Delta State product Edwin Maysonet and ex-UM pitcher Matt Maloney with Somerset, Gulf Coast CC alum Roy Corcoran with Sugar Land and former Rebels star Cody Overbeck with Bridgeport.