Tag Archives: East Central Community College

15 Apr

draft notice

A high school player from Mississippi went ninth overall in the 2024 MLB draft. Might another go that high this July? Keith Law, draft analyst for The Athletic and The New York Times, ranks Purvis High’s JoJo Parker No. 9 on his recently released 2025 draft prospect chart. (Jackson Prep product Konnor Griffin went at No. 9 overall to Pittsburgh last year and is currently in A-ball.) Law calls Parker “one of the best pure hitters in the draft class this year, with a very compact swing and excellent pitch recognition, unusual for a high school hitter from Mississippi.” Parker is the third-highest rated prep player on Law’s list. (Ethan Holliday of Stillwater, Okla., is No. 1 overall.) Parker is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound lefty-hitting shortstop. Per MaxPreps, he is batting .500 with eight homers, 47 runs and 27 steals. Yes, he also pitches for the Tornadoes, ranked third in the state by MaxPreps. Parker’s twin brother Jacob, also a potential 2025 draftee, is hitting .480 with nine homers and 37 RBIs and is regarded as a better pure power hitter than JoJo. Both are Mississippi State signees. … Also on Law’s Top 50 draft list are Southern Miss right-hander J.B. Middleton (No. 44) and Ole Miss righty Mason Morris (No. 50). P.S. Pearl River Community College’s Caston Thompson, from Jayess, went 7-for-11 with three homers, nine RBIs and six runs to earn MACCC player of the week honors. The second-ranked Wildcats went 3-1 last week and are 36-6, 16-2 MACCC. Jones County’s Josh Lee, from Gulfport, went eight innings, fanning 13, to beat Mississippi Gulf Coast last week and garnered conference pitcher of the week honors. He is 6-0 for the Bobcats, 29-10, 15-5, and ranked eighth in NJCAA Division II. East Central remains No. 3 in the national poll at 33-7, 15-3.

09 Apr

spotlight on …

Focus today on Ellisville and Community Bank Park, where Jones College will host Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in a big — yes, they’re all big — conference doubleheader. The big move in the NJCAA Division II poll this week was made by Jones (27-8, 13-3 MACCC), which jumped from No. 8 to No. 5 after running its win streak to eight games. Pearl River Community College (33-5) remains No. 2 in the national poll and atop the MACCC standings at 13-1. East Central is ranked third (up from fourth) at 31-7 and is 13-3 in the league. Jones is 13-1 at home, its only loss there to Itawamba in mid-March. The individual spotlight at JC belongs to Chase Russell, an All-Stater from Madison Central High who leads the state in hitting at .417 with four homers — including a walk-off grand slam last week — and 24 RBIs. T.J. Dunsford is second in the league in batting at .397, and Braden Smith, out of Brandon, has nine homers and 36 RBIs. Russell, originally a Southern Miss signee, also leads Jones pitchers with a 3.96 ERA and has a 3-1 record. Josh Lee (Gulfport) is 5-0, 4.05. Jones is coached by former Mississippi State catcher Wes Thigpen, who came over from Gulf Coast four years ago. Gulf Coast, under new coach Zach Allen, comes to Ellisville with a 27-13 mark, 9-5 in the league. … Pearl River’s K.K. Clark, from Brandon via MSU, was named MACCC pitcher of the week after tossing a five-inning no-hitter at Meridian. Hitter of the week is East Central’s Briceton Johnson, a freshman from Maben who hit .615 with a grand slam and a three-run homer in four games.

28 Mar

cue the highlights

With one triple to his name over his first four big league seasons, Nick Fortes delivered a second three-bagger Thursday that helped Miami make a little history. The former Ole Miss catcher led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple off the center-field wall, and moments later Kyle Stowers knocked in pinch runner Javier Sanoja to give the Marlins their first opening day walk-off win, 5-4 over Pittsburgh. Fortes, whose defense is his real forte, sorta picked up where he left off in 2024, when he batted .290 after the All-Star break. His big hit was one of several highlights for Mississippians in the majors on opening day: Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High star, hit the first 2025 home run by a Magnolia State product, going yard for Atlanta in its 7-4 loss at San Diego. … Mississippi State alum Jordan Westburg smacked one of the six homers Baltimore hit in a 12-2 rout of Toronto. … After all those fireworks had settled, former Southern Miss star Nick Sandlin pitched a clean ninth inning in his Blue Jays debut. … Garrett Crochet, Ocean Springs High product, threw five innings (two runs, four strikeouts) in his Boston debut and got a no-decision in a game the Red Sox won late, 5-2, at Texas. … Ex-George County High standout Justin Steele allowed three runs in five innings, good enough to get the win for the Chicago Cubs in a 10-6 victory at Arizona. … Biloxi High alum Colt Keith had a chance to be a hero for Detroit but, with two on and two out in the ninth, fouled out against Blake Treinen, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 win in their home opener. Keith went 0-for-5. … A couple of lowlights: Brent Rooker, the former State slugger, went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for the A’s in a 4-2 loss at Seattle, and East Central Community College product Tim Anderson went 0-for-4 with three punchouts in his Angels debut, an 8-1 loss to the White Sox, his original team.

19 Mar

musical chairs

The No. 1 vs. No. 4 showdown Tuesday in the state junior college ranks resulted in a split between top-ranked Pearl River Community College and East Central CC. That opened the door for Jones College, ranked sixth in NJCAA Division II, and unranked Meridian to jump to the top in the MACCC, both with 5-1 records. (Yes, the musical chairs in the state standings and the national poll will continue into next week.) PRCC, 23-5 overall, is now 3-1 in the league and ECCC (22-6) is 4-2. In their twinbill at Decatur, ECCC won the opener 10-0 and PRCC roared back to take the nightcap 11-1, boosted by a Nico Williams grand slam. Meanwhile, surging Jones (19-6) swept struggling Hinds 11-9 and 11-3. T.J. Dunsford continues to be an offensive catalyst for the Bobcats, and Chase Russell and Josh Lee have emerged as stalwarts on the mound. The most intriguing team at the moment might be Meridian (18-10), which took two Tuesday from 21st-ranked Gulf Coast, 9-8 and 3-0. The Eagles have won five straight after a six-game losing streak. Connor Gehr, the ace of the Eagles’ pitching staff, got a walk-off hit in the 13th inning to beat Gulf Coast in Game 1 at Scaggs Field. Peyton Fowler (2-1) then went out and threw a two-hitter in the second game. Brennon Wright (.373), Tyrus Williams (.289, five homers) and Brayden Martin (.310, 19 steals) have paced Meridian’s hitters. MCC is at Delta on Saturday, while Jones visits Northeast. Pearl River goes to Holmes and ECCC to Itawamba. … The MACCC weekly honors went to East Miss’ Trace Tingle, a Pascagoula native who beat then-No. 1 East Central with a two-hitter last week, striking out nine batters, and Pearl River’s Topher Jones (Hernando), a Mississippi State transfer who hit .583 with a homer and nine RBIs.

10 Mar

movin’ on up

The NJCAA’s first Division II regular season poll is out, and there is a new No. 1: East Central Community College, up from preseason No. 2. New at No. 2 is Pearl River CC (previously No. 5) and jumping up to No. 4 is Jones College (previously ranked 12th). Northwest (21) and Holmes (24) are also in the Top 25 released today. Conference play starts this week in the MACCC, which figures to be another eight-week dogfight. East Central (18-4) visits East Miss (13-7) for a doubleheader on Wednesday, while Jones (14-5) is at Northwest (17-4) and Holmes (17-4) hosts Hinds (5-14). Pearl River (19-4) opens league play at home on Friday against Northwest. Of note: ECCC and PRCC will hook up March 18 in Decatur. ECCC’s Warriors are led offensively by, among others, Barret Rodgers, batting .419 with five homers and 27 RBIs; the team’s top pitcher has been Chris Bilingsley, 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA. For PRCC, Caston Thompson is batting .346 with four homers and 18 RBIs, while on the bump K.K. Clark is 4-0, 1.33. Jones’ T.J. Dunsford is raking at .441 with four homers and 17 RBIs; Brycen Smith leads Bobcats pitchers with a 3-0 record and 4.15 ERA. P.S. Alcorn State’s Jermel Ford, a senior from Hattiesburg, put up six hits, nine RBIs, six runs and eight steals in back-to-back games at Alabama A&M over the weekend, leading the Braves (2-10) to their first wins of the season. Alcorn plays at Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday, then starts SWAC play at Bethune-Cookman on the weekend. … The Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new independent team in Pearl, recently signed three more players, veteran minor league pitchers Tyree Thompson and Rodney Theopile and outfielder Basiel Roberts. The season begins in May.

07 Mar

spring flings

Jake Mangum, vying for a spot on Tampa Bay’s opening day roster, had a double and two RBIs in Grapefruit League action today. The Mississippi State alum, who was subbed in in left field, is batting .417 with three RBIs in 12 at-bats. … Ex-State slugger Hunter Renfroe checked in with his first homer of the spring, a 422-foot blast for Kansas City in the Cactus League. Renfroe is sitting on 192 career homers, tied for fifth (with Brian Dozier) on the all-time list of Mississippi natives in MLB. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star, went 2-for-3 while playing shortstop today for the Los Angeles Angels. The former All-Star, in camp as a non-roster invitee, is batting .217 in 23 ABs with one homer and two steals. He has worked at short, second base and center field this spring. … Former DeSoto Central High star Blaze Jordan, in Boston’s A-game today as a minor leaguer, went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs and an RBI as the Red Sox put up 20 runs against Miami. … The Milwaukee Brewers rank No. 7 in MLB Pipeline’s new list of the top farm systems in the majors. Biloxi, which started play in 2015 after moving from Huntsville, Ala., hosts Milwaukee’s Double-A team and should have a stacked roster this summer, including former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt. P.S. Fun Fact: Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of former Forrest County AHS and MLB star Charlie Hayes, mentioned on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today that his mom, Gelinda, was pregnant with him when dad made the catch that ended the 1996 World Series. “They call me the World Series baby,” Ke’Bryan said. That Series, won by the New York Yankees, ended in October. Ke’Bryan was born Jan. 28, 1997, in Tomball, Texas. Speaking about his dad, who played 14 years in The Show, the younger Hayes said, “He’s my biggest fan. … He eats and breathes baseball 24/7. … Our whole family (he has two brothers), we eat and breathe baseball. It’s what we love to do.” Hayes is entering his sixth MLB campaign; he hit .233 with four homers in an injury-curtailed 2024 season.

19 Feb

juco snapshot

And then there were none. East Central Community College, the last unbeaten team in the state juco ranks, lost to Northeast CC 10-8 in a round-robin event Tuesday at Decatur. ECCC, No. 2 in the NJCAA Division II poll, is now 8-1, including a 13-5 win over No. 12 Jones College earlier Tuesday. Jayden Adcox hit a big home run for ECCC against Jones, and Langston Cotten went yard against Northeast. But the visiting Tigers prevailed as Drake Douglas and Carter Wells combined for five RBIs and Wells notched the save. Fifth-ranked Pearl River (10-2) beat Holmes and East Miss in a three-way at Poplarville. Jackson Hood homered in both games for PRCC, and Carson Fair closed out the win against Holmes for his fifth save, which leads the nation. Meridian, ranked 20th, moved to 10-3 with a sweep of Gulf Coast and Southwest on Monday at Summit. Chris Fox got a walk-off hit in a 1-0 win against Gulf Coast and Hampton Ross drove in four runs vs. Southwest. At Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium on Tuesday, Northwest (9-3) beat Hinds and Coahoma. … Gulf Coast’s Samuel Marsh was named the MACCC pitcher of the week after throwing a 13-strikeout complete game last week vs. Northwest Florida State. East Miss’ Hugh LeMasters (Bay Springs) took hitter of the week honors; he batted .429 (6-for-14) with eight RBIs and four runs in a 4-0 week for the Lions. P.S. Have a day, Judd Utermark. The Ole Miss junior stole home and hit a walk-off bomb in the 10th inning Tuesday as the Rebels (3-1) beat Arkansas State at Swayze Field. … Mississippi State (3-1) had as many errors as hits (four) in a 3-0 loss at Southern Miss (5-0). Joey Urban homered for the Golden Eagles, and five pitchers combined on the shutout. … Left-hander Brandon Mitchell, who won 22 games over five seasons at New Orleans, is the latest addition to the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ inaugural roster. He was 5-2 with a 7.28 ERA in the indy Pioneer League in 2024. The Mud-sters, of the indy Frontier League, have announced 17 player signings to date. The season starts in May.

16 Feb

what’s that sound?

Before the big storms rolled through Mississippi on Saturday night, there was thunder emanating from Trustmark Park in Pearl. Belhaven University blasted Mount Saint Mary 27-3 and 12-0 in a doubleheader, completing a sweep of the series between NCAA Division III schools. The Blazers (3-0) banged out 36 hits, nine for extra bases, including two home runs at the spacious park. In the opener, Blake McCarthy homered and drove in six runs; Owen Abney went deep and knocked in three runs while scoring three times; and Hunter Harrell picked up four RBIs. In Game 2, Abney — a former Jackson Prep star — went 3-for-6 with four RBIs and Cole Fletcher drove in a pair of runs. The pitching victories went to Gunner Staten and Kade May. Mount Saint Mary, down from New York to start its season, is now 0-3 and coming off a couple of rough years (11-29 and 13-27). … At Twenty Field in Jackson, D-III Millsaps flashed some power, as well, getting homers from Gray Berry and Evan Scott in an 11-8 win against Edgewood (Wisc.). Berry and Scott drove in three runs apiece for the Majors (3-0). … Down in Hattiesburg, Southern Miss (3-0) put up 25 runs in a sweep of Lafayette (Pa.). Davis Gillespie homered and smacked a walk-off sac fly in a 7-6, 10-inning win in the opener, then homered again and drove in four more runs in an 18-4 romp in Game 2. Ozzie Pratt, Matthew Russo and Tucker Stockman had three hits each in an 18-hit attack in the nightcap. Pratt and Drey Barrett contributed homers Saturday for the Golden Eagles, who’ll wrap up the four-game series with the Leopards today at Taylor Park. P.S. Here’s a name to know: Pablo Roque, a Dominican Republic native and transfer from Miami (Ohio), is batting .524 with a homer, five doubles, a triple, nine RBIs, 11 runs and three steals for East Central Community College. The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, are 6-0. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe lost his arbitration case with the Washington Nationals and will have to “settle” for a $10.3 million contract for 2025. Lowe, who hit .265 with 16 homers for Texas last season, had asked for $11.1M.

14 Feb

spring flings

Kendall Graveman’s next comeback will begin with Arizona, which reportedly has agreed to a one-year deal ($1.35 million plus incentives) with the ex-Mississippi State standout. The veteran right-hander, 34, missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery last off-season. He has a career ERA of 3.95 in 280 games and was an effective middle reliever during Houston’s playoff run in 2023. He was on the Astros’ roster in 2024 before becoming a free agent. He missed the 2019 season following Tommy John surgery and moved from starter to reliever in 2020 after a experiencing a neck problem related to a benign tumor. An eighth-round pick by Toronto in 2013, Graveman has pitched for the Blue Jays, Oakland, Seattle, the Astros and the Chicago White Sox. P.S. Still unsigned are pitchers Lance Lynn, former Ole Miss star, and Spencer Turnbull, a Madison Central High product. Lynn, 37, a starter most of his career, is being courted by some clubs as a closer, per reports. “I definitely have the fire for it,” he said in a recent interview. Turnbull put up a 2.65 ERA in an injury-shortened 2024 season with Philadelphia. … Former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton is looking for a return to affiliated ball after playing in Mexico last summer and this winter (see previous posts). Hamilton, 34, can still run: He stole a total of 73 bases in the two Mexican loops and has 838 bags all told in pro ball. … Coming off two rather awful seasons, East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson is “grateful” to be in the Los Angeles Angels’ spring training camp as a minor leaguer. “I’m still only 31,” he said in an mlb.com story. “There’s still room to grow, still room to get better, still a window.”

23 Jan

a door opens

After many months on the shelf, Tim Anderson has landed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The former East Central Community College standout, released by Miami in July, reportedly will get an invite to the Angels’ big league spring camp as a non-roster player. The 31-year-old Anderson, a former American League batting champ and two-time All-Star shortstop, fell on tough times the last couple years. After the Chicago White Sox cut him loose following the 2023 season, he batted just .214 with no homers in 65 games for the Marlins last year. Anderson has a .278 career average. Former Mississippi State star Dakota Hudson is also going to Angels camp on a minor league deal. … Other Mississippi products to receive non-roster invites in recent days include State alums Gavin Collins and R.J. Yeager with St. Louis and former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt with Milwaukee. Pratt, ticketed for Double-A Biloxi this season, is the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect. P.S. Kyle Crigger, a Corinth native and Itawamba Community College product, signed with Fargo-Moorhead of the independent American Association. Right-hander Crigger posted a 4.35 ERA over three seasons in the Miami organization, reaching the Double-A level in 2024. … Ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton has helped Jalisco reach the championship round of the Mexican Pacific League playoffs. Hamilton led the league with 38 stolen bases while batting .246 during the regular season. He is 2-for 11 with two RBIs through two games of the best-of-7 title series, tied 1-1 vs. Tomateros de Culiacan. A free agent, Hamilton last played in the majors in 2023. … Former Magee High standout Brennon McNair, a Kansas City minor leaguer, finished his tour of the Australian Baseball League with a .248 average, 11 homers (tied for the league lead), 26 RBIs and 11 steals.