Tag Archives: Ferriss Trophy

16 Jun

here and there

Ex-Southern Miss right-hander Christian Talley has signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies, the school announced today. USM had three pitchers drafted last week: Cody Carroll, Ryan Milton and Ferriss Trophy winner James McMahon, who was picked by the Rockies. … Stan Cliburn, the former Forest Hill High star from Jackson, recently notched his 1,500th win as a professional baseball manager. Cliburn’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are currently tied for first in the independent Atlantic League’s Freedom Division. One of his regulars is ex-big leaguer Fred Lewis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product who is batting .238 with 13 RBIs and 18 runs in 44 games. Cliburn, who also played in the big leagues, managed his first team in 1988 and has been working in pro ball ever since. His twin brother Stu, also an MLB vet, is the pitching coach for Chattanooga in the Southern League. … Former Hattiesburg High standout and onetime big leaguer Robert Carson has signed with Bridgeport of the Atlantic League. The big left-hander, 26, was recently released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on the heels of a 50-game drug suspension that cost him an invite to major league spring training. … Itawamba CC alum Tim Dillard is soldiering on in his 13th pro season. The onetime big leaguer, now 31, has a 4.24 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the Milwaukee system. Dillard recently moved into the Sky Sox starting rotation. … Here’s a young player to watch: Mason Irby. The lefty-hitting catcher, a Southeast Lauderdale High product, was a second-team NJCAA Division II All-America pick as a freshman at Jones County Junior College this past season after batting .395 with three homers and 51 RBIs. He is playing for Niagara in the New York Collegiate Baseball League and at last look was hitting .359 with five doubles and six RBIs in 11 games.

18 May

regional appeal

Ole Miss needs to beat Alabama on Tuesday to stay alive in the SEC Tournament. Whether the Rebels need to beat Alabama to stay in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid is less clear. UM has won six of its last seven to get to 30-25 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Still, a one-and-done performance in the SEC tourney at Hoover, Ala., might not look so good. The sixth-seeded Rebels will throw Scott Weathersby (4-1, 2.39 ERA), a recent addition to the rotation who got the last five outs in a 4-0 win over Alabama in Oxford in late April. Ole Miss took two of three from the Crimson Tide in that series, winning the opener 10-2 and losing the finale 13-4. The Tide (30-26) showed its offensive potential in that one, with 17 hits and seven two-out RBIs. … Southern Miss (35-16-1) has won 13 straight games to play its way into the NCAA regional picture and has a legitimate shot at winning the C-USA Tournament and claiming the automatic bid. USM is the 3-seed in the double-elimination event that it is hosting at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles open Wednesday with UAB (30-24), which it beat two of three at “The Pete” in early April. In the rubber game of that series, James McMahon – the likely starter on Wednesday – got the W in the 3-2 victory with relief help from Luke Lowery and Cody Livingston. USM is flush with good arms. P.S. As we eagerly await today’s announcement of the 2015 Ferriss Trophy recipient, a check on last year’s winner, Auston Bousfield, shows the Ole Miss product batting .308 with a homer, 15 RBIs and 14 steals for Class A Lake Elsinore in the San Diego system. Bousfield was a fifth-round pick last June.

06 Aug

tracking trophy winners

The Ferriss Trophy, awarded annually to the state’s best college player, has been around since 2004, and of the 11 winners to date, only one — Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz (the 2010 winner) — has reached the major leagues and six of them are out of the game. Odd, isn’t it? Among those no longer playing is Southern Miss alumnus Tyler Koelling, the 2011 winner who played only 34 pro games. But note, too, that former Mississippi State standouts Chris Stratton (2012) and Hunter Renfroe (2013) have reached Double-A and appear on track to make The Show in the next couple of years. And this year’s Ferriss winner, ex-UM star Auston Bousfield, is off to a promising start in pro ball. A fifth-round pick by San Diego, Bousfield is batting .267 with two homers, five RBIs and eight stolen bases in 25 games for Eugene in the short season Northwest League. He played in Tuesday night’s NWL All-Star Game (along with ex-Hinds Community College standout Travious Relaford, now a third-year pro). Bousfield batted .336 with six homers, 50 RBIs, 61 runs and 19 steals in 69 games for the Rebels this year, helping them make a deep run in the College World Series.

13 May

that’s more like it

Though it has notched another 30-win season and currently holds third place in the Conference USA standings, Southern Miss has not had a good year with the bats. The team is hitting .244 and no individual is batting above .280. But the Golden Eagles and their fans have to be encouraged by the recent performance of Connor Barron, the one-time prized recruit who has scuffled for most of his three seasons in Hattiesburg. Barron is riding a career-best eight-game hit streak. The center fielder/leadoff batter has lifted his average to .259, second on the club to Matt Durst’s .279. Barron has four homers, nine doubles, 19 RBIs and 28 runs. During his injury-hampered freshman and sophomore seasons, Barron batted .250 and .198; he had no homers and 19 RBIs total. This was not what was expected of a player drafted in the third round (by the Florida Marlins) in 2011. This was not what was expected of a player who batted .490 with eight homers as a senior at powerhouse Sumrall High. But maybe things have turned for Barron, and it would be good timing. USM finishes regular season play with a three-game C-USA series at Charlotte starting Thursday, then hosts the C-USA Tournament next week. Its postseason fate likely will be determined there. P.S. In what could be the event’s pivotal game, Belhaven (41-19) meets top-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan (53-6) today at 2:30 in the winners bracket of the NAIA regional at Smith-Wills Stadium. … Of the five finalists for the Ferriss Trophy, you could build a good case for BU’s Tyler Akins, who is batting .340 and has 17 saves. Akins is joined by Ole Miss’ Auston Bousfield and Chris Ellis and Mississippi State’s Ross Mitchell and Jacob Lindgren as finalists for the award that goes to the state’s best college player.

23 Apr

blazing a trail

Belhaven University’s 2-1 win Tuesday over Mississippi College, which wrapped up the Maloney Trophy for the Blazers, was punctuated by yet another Tyler Akins save. Here are the key numbers on the impressive season being registered by the senior from Madison: 17-for-17 on save opportunities; 0.92 ERA; 36 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings; .351 batting average; and a team-leading three home runs and 43 RBIs. Sounds like Ferriss Trophy kind of stuff. Akins, a Hinds Community College and Madison Central High product, is just two saves shy of the NAIA single-season saves record, according to the school. The Blazers play a three-game series at Auburn-Montgomery this weekend and then will enter postseason play.

24 Mar

star search

The college season is still relatively young, but the individual stats are starting to mean something. Stars are forming. Ferriss Trophy candidates are coming into focus. Here’s a few worth noting: Auston Bousfield is hitting .379 for Ole Miss, and not far behind is Will Allen at .357 with four home runs and 32 RBIs. The Rebels’ top pitcher to date: Chris Ellis, 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA. Brett Pirtle leads Mississippi State with a .310 average, and Preston Brown tops a long list of strong pitchers at 3-0, 1.12. For Southern Miss, Matt Durst is batting .312 with three homers and 16 RBIs, and Bradley Roney has a 0.87 ERA and six saves. Tilur Smith leads Jackson State hitters with a .377 mark, and Jamal Wilson is 3-0 with a 3.06. Charles Moses tops Alcorn State at .370, and Arrington Smith leads Mississippi Valley State — which finally won a game over the weekend — with a .297. Dex Herrington is hitting .368 with four homers and 17 RBIs for Delta State, now 14-3 in the Gulf South Conference after sweeping Alabama-Huntsville in a matchup of nationally ranked NCAA Division II clubs. Co-aces Michael Manley (0.77) and Ricky Winters (1.45) are both 5-0 for the Statesmen. Paul Pickerrell leads Belhaven hitters with a .348 average, and on the bump Ben Allison is 6-0 with a 1.07 ERA. Not to be overlooked is Tyler Akins, a .345 hitter with 32 RBIs who has 10 saves and a 1.29 ERA. At William Carey, Sean Hodges is hitting .319, and Scott Fabre has five homers. Gavin Culpepper (3-2, 2.60) has been the Crusaders’ steadiest arm. For Millsaps, Logan Patterson is hitting .375, Andrew Rafferty .359 and Isaac Glenn .356, and as a pitcher, two-way standout Keith Shumaker is 3-0 with a 1.05. Marty Stringfellow leads Mississippi College hitters with a .447 average (in just 11 games), while Spencer Wilson is at .333. Brooks Fortenberry is 2-1 with a 2.80 ERA for the Choctaws, who swept LeTourneau, nationally ranked in D-III, over the weekend.

08 Feb

a major player

There is a spotlight on Millsaps College’s Keith Shumaker this season. The junior third baseman/pitcher from Brandon was the Southern Athletic Association player of the year in 2013 and was named a first-team preseason All-America this year by d3baseball.com. Shumaker, who also figures to be a prime contender for the 2014 Ferriss Trophy award, hit .376 with four homers, 52 RBIs and 63 runs AND went 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA on the mound. Obviously, he was a major cog in the Majors’ 38-14 campaign that ended in the NCAA Division III College World Series, the school’s first trip there. Well, if Shumaker is feeling any heat, it didn’t show in Millsaps’ opener on Friday. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run in a 4-1 win over Randolph-Macon at Huntingdon (Ala.) in Montgomery. The Majors have two more games slated in the Alabama event before their home opener on Tuesday against Belhaven.

19 Nov

another door opens

After spending seven years in the Arizona system and never receiving a big-league call, Ed Easley will get his next opportunity with the St. Louis Cardinals. The former Mississippi State star — a Ferriss Trophy winner and first-round pick in 2007 — has signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals and will go to spring training to compete for the backup catcher job behind Yadier Molina. Easley, who turns 28 next month, hit .334 with six home runs and 49 RBIs in Triple-A in 2013. The right-handed batter is a career .262 hitter.