Tag Archives: East Central Community College

29 Oct

star power

Former Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe shook out of a slump on Tuesday with a couple of hits, including a home run, in the Arizona Fall League. Renfroe, who had gotten off to a hot start in the AFL, is now batting .232 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games for Surprise. Renfroe, a fast-rising San Diego Padres outfield prospect, is slated to play in the AFL’s Fall Stars Game on Saturday. “It’s going to be cool,” Renfroe told mlb.com. Also booked for the all-star contest is Daniel Castro, who finished the 2014 season as the Mississippi Braves’ starting shortstop. Castro, from Mexico, is batting .231 for Peoria; he batted .277 in 51 games for the M-Braves. … Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star now in the Chicago White Sox system, also had a good day in the AFL on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 for Glendale. Anderson, a shortstop, is hitting .309 with a homer and six RBIs. … Itawamba CC product Tim Dillard, in the Milwaukee system in 2014, still has not allowed a run over 9 1/3 innings for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. P.S. Ole Miss has set its rosters for the Pizza Bowl fall ball championship. The series, which is essentially a 16-inning game spread over two days, will be held on Friday and Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium. … In Starkville, junior college transfer Logan Elliott and returning star Ross Mitchell combined on a two-hit, five-inning shutout as State continued its fall ball schedule. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play again on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

16 Oct

warming to the task

Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, is heating up in Arizona after a chilly start. The Chicago White Sox’s 2013 first-round pick has five hits, including his first home run on Wednesday, over his last two games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League. In six games, Anderson, 21, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound shortstop, is batting .400 with four runs, two RBIs and three steals. He spent most of the 2014 season, his first full pro year, at Class A Winston-Salem, hitting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals. After he recovered from a late-season broken wrist, Anderson was sent to Double-A Birmingham and hit .364 in 10 games. … Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro, who played for the 2014 Mississippi Braves, are hitting .300 and .263, respectively, for Peoria in the AFL. … Former Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College standout Tim Dillard is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. Dillard, 31, a onetime big leaguer, posted a 3.13 ERA at Double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee system this past season. P.S. Wednesday was a big day for Butch Thompson. The Mississippi State associate head coach was named the national assistant coach of the year for 2014 and also was announced as an inductee into the Itawamba Community College Athletic Hall of Fame. Thompson, an Amory native, was a closer at ICC in 1989 and ’90. He is currently in his seventh year of working with MSU’s pitchers. … State’s second fall scrimmage is slated for Friday at Dudy Noble Field.

10 Oct

scatter shots

Hunter Renfroe hit his first Arizona Fall League home run on Thursday night and is now batting .385 with four RBIs in three games. The former Mississippi State star from Crystal Springs, a San Diego outfield prospect, helped Surprise beat Glendale 7-4 in a game in which former East Central Community College standout Tim Anderson made his AFL debut. Anderson, a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox system, went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts for Glendale. Anderson made his Double-A debut with Birmingham at Trustmark Park this summer, going 10-for-22 in five games vs. the Mississippi Braves. … Ole Miss product Lance Lynn will start Sunday’s Game 2 for St. Louis in the National League Championship Series against San Francisco. Lynn got a no-decision in his division series start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing two runs in six innings. A 15-game winner this year, the big right-hander lost his only start against the Giants on June 1, yielding four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. Giants star Buster Posey went 3-for-3 against Lynn in that game. … Freshman Kyle Watson has made a splash during fall scrimmages at Ole Miss. The former DeSoto Central High standout, an infielder, has three home runs during the first three sets of intrasquad scrimmages. Watson hit .345 in his prep career but belted just one homer, according to his UM bio. The Rebels scrimmage again today and Saturday.

26 Aug

cut to the chase

As the finish line draws near, the front-running Mississippi Braves just can’t seem to put any distance between themselves and Jacksonville. The M-Braves, who conclude their home schedule tonight, have won seven straight games and eight of 10. But the Suns have won four in a row (and eight of 10) and remain only a game back in the Southern League South with six to play. The M-Braves (40-24 in the second half) finish the regular season with five games at Huntsville. Jacksonville (39-25), which plays at Tennessee tonight, ends with a five-game set at home against third-place Mobile (37-27), the first-half champ. The M-Braves are seeking a second straight playoff appearance and fourth in 10 years in Pearl. Steady right-hander Mitch Atkins (5-1, 3.73 ERA) gets the call tonight at 7 against Birmingham. The M-Braves banged out 13 hits in Monday’s 8-3 win. Rich Poythress, recently off the disabled list, had two hits and two RBIs, and Cedric Hunter also drove in two. Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro scored two runs apiece, and hot-hitting Gustavo Nunez picked up two more hits to boost his average to .305. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College standout now with Birmingham, is 8-for-17 in his first four Double-A games with five RBIs and four runs. He was a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2013. P.S. The Oakland A’s will recall ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz for a spot start on Wednesday against Houston. Pomeranz was 4-3, 3.21 for the A’s before suffering a broken hand in mid-June. He has been in the minors ever since, putting up a 3-1 mark with a 3.69 at Triple-A Sacramento.

23 Aug

action-packed night

Eventful game at Trustmark Park. Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, made his Double-A debut for visiting Birmingham, went 3-for-3 with a sac bunt and handled everything hit to him at shortstop. (Note: The 2013 first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox is really good.) Meanwhile, Gustavo Nunez of the Mississippi Braves hit an inside-the-park home run (poorly played by the Barons left fielder) and later scored the game-winning run (with a nice slide) in the eighth inning on a sac fly by Seth Loman. With the 3-2 win, the M-Braves maintained a one-game lead in the Southern League South with nine to play. P.S. In Cincinnati, Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, broke up former M-Braves lefty Mike Minor’s no-hitter (and shutout) with two outs in the eighth inning — but Atlanta beat Cincinnati 3-1 in 12. Hamilton had the Reds’ only two hits in the game, the lone RBI and stole three bases to run his season total to 49. (Note: Hamilton is going to win National League rookie of the year honors.)

22 Aug

collision course

The Mississippi Braves are running some playoff fever as they return to Trustmark Park for their final homestand of the season. Question is, Are M-Braves fans feeling it, too? Baseball and high school football go head-to-head tonight. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowd turns out to see the first-place M-Braves, who are averaging around 3,000 (announced) per game. The M-Braves are 36-24 after beating Mobile three straight on the road and hold a one-game lead over Jacksonville in the Southern League South. Mobile, the first-half champ, is 2 games behind. The M-Braves face Birmingham tonight in the opener of the five-game set. The M-Braves lead the league in batting (.264), though they are just sixth in runs, and are No. 2 in ERA (3.43). P.S. Down on the farm, former Southern Miss star Bradley Roney, an eighth-round pick by Atlanta this year, has a 4.12 ERA, a 2-2 record and one save in 16 games for short-season Danville. … Up on the farm, ex-M-Braves standout Joey Terdoslavich has homered in five straight games for Triple-A Gwinnett. He is batting .256 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs – and itching for a September call-up. … East Central Community College product Tim Anderson is playing again. The Chicago White Sox shortstop prospect is 4-for-17 with two homers in six games in the rookie Arizona League. Anderson, a first-round pick in 2013, was batting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals at high Class A Winston-Salem before suffering a wrist injury. … Former Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley is killing it in the AZL, batting .374 with eight homers, 47 RBIs and 36 runs in 35 games. The lefty-hitting first baseman was a third-round pick by Cleveland in June.

10 Jul

sounds like a yes

Under the category of “Duh,” we have this: When asked about whether he would welcome a trade from Philadelphia, the unabashed Jonathan Papelbon reportedly replied: “Some guys want to stay on a losing team?” Former Mississippi State star Papelbon racked up his 22nd save on Wednesday night as the Phillies (40-51, last in the National League East) beat Milwaukee 4-1. He reduced his ERA to 1.24 and has just two blown saves. Papelbon, who recently topped the 300 career save mark, is in the third year of a 4-year, $50M contract (with an option in 2016), which might make him hard to deal. Still, a quality closer is a valuable commodity in September and beyond. P.S. On the topic of trades, former MSU standout Tyler Moore might be a chip that NL East leader Washington can throw in. Moore is batting .305 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 34 games at Triple-A Syracuse; there appears to be no room for him (other than as a pinch hitter) with the Nationals. … Ole Miss product Seth Smith, who recently got a new contract from San Diego, hit his 10th home run on Wednesday; the Jackson native has reached double digits in five of his six full MLB seasons. … Ex-UM star Lance Lynn notched his 10th win as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 5-2 in an NL Central showdown. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan saw his nine-game hit streak end in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-1 loss to Cincinnati. But over his last 10 games, Coghlan is batting .400 with two homers, six RBIs and 10 runs. … Taylorsville product Billy Hamilton has seven hits, three walks, seven RBIs, three runs and two steals in the four games (all wins) of the Reds’ current five-game series with the Cubs. However, Hamilton left Wednesday’s game with a tight hamstring and could sit today’s series finale. … Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson (hitting .327) sat out Colorado’s game on Wednesday with a sore left wrist. … If the Cardinals have to put catcher Yadier Molina (thumb) on the disabled list, former MSU star Ed Easley, now at Triple-A Memphis, might get that long-awaited first call-up. Easley, on a recent tear, is batting .259 with five homers and 20 RBIs. … The MLB DL includes Mississippians Cliff Lee, Mitch Moreland (out for the season), Drew Pomeranz and Alex Presley, and down in the minors, ex-East Central CC standout Tim Anderson is out (possibly until mid-August) with a broken right wrist. The Chicago White shortstop prospect is batting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals at high Class A Winston-Salem.

11 Jun

gathering momentum

He still has a couple of big steps to take on the path to the major leagues, but Tim Anderson seems to be itching to make a move in that direction. The former East Central Community College standout, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2013, is currently playing at low Class A Winston-Salem — and mastering the South Atlantic League. Anderson, 20, a shortstop, is batting .309 with 14 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 36 runs and 10 stolen bases in 54 games. He is batting .415 in June. And he’s got more than numbers. His “instincts for the game are off the charts,” his manager, Tommy Thompson, said in a story recently posted on milb.com. Anderson, who batted .495 as a sophomore at ECCC, was picked 17th overall last summer and is already rated the White Sox’s No. 2 prospect on one such chart. It’s going to be fun to watch to his progress the next couple of years.