Tag Archives: Hinds Community College

01 Mar

roster growth

The Mississippi Mud Monsters added five players to the roster in the last week of February, including a Hinds Community College alum and a former Olive Branch High standout. New members of the independent team, set to begin play in the Frontier League in May, are utility man Dane Simon, who played five years at Nicholls State; shortstop Kasten Furr, a former UNO and Louisiana Tech star; left-hander Gage Bihm, who pitched at Hinds and NAIA LSU-Shreveport; right-hander Brian Williams, a Texas Southern product; and catcher C.J. Dunn, an Olive Branch alum. Dunn, Williams and Bihm have indy ball experience, and Bihm also pitched briefly in the New York Mets’ system last summer. … The Mud Monsters’ opener is May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

07 Aug

surfing the wire

Several Mississippi products were on the move in the minors the past couple days, including 2024 MLB draftees Cam Schuelke, Cole Tolbert and Colby Holcombe being assigned to Class A clubs in their respective organizations. Schuelke, the submarine-style right-hander from Mississippi State, was assigned to Low-A Lynchburg by Cleveland after going in the 19th round of last month’s draft. Schuelke was 5-3 with two saves and a 4.21 ERA in 32 games at State this season. Tolbert, who had a 7.71 ERA in six appearances at Ole Miss, was sent to Low-A Salem by Boston, which drafted him in the 18th round. Tolbert, from Laurel, was on Pearl River Community College’s national title team in 2022. Holcombe, an MSU and Northeast Mississippi CC alum, was placed at Low-A Dunedin by Toronto, which took him in the ninth round. MSU product Eric Cerantola, a fourth-year pro, was promoted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City; he had a 2.78 ERA in 24 games in Double-A. Former Bulldogs standout K.C. Hunt moved from High-A Wisconsin to Double-A Biloxi in the Milwaukee chain; he was 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA at two levels of A-ball this season. Ex-MSU star Cade Smith, 6-6 with a 3.47 ERA in Low-A ball, was promoted to High-A Hudson Valley by the New York Yankees. And Landon Tompkins, a Northwest Rankin and Hinds CC product, moved up to High-A Greensboro in the Pittsburgh system; he had a 3.86 ERA and seven saves at Low-A Bradenton.

14 May

kudos, here and there

Mike Grzanich, a former Jackson Generals pitcher, was named the MACCC’s softball coach of the year today after leading Hinds Community College to a 32-16 finish in 2024. By some cosmic coincidence, it was on May 14, 1998, that Grzanich, a hard-throwing right-hander, made his one and only MLB appearance, allowing two runs in an inning of work for Houston against Pittsburgh. Grzanich posted 17 wins and 30 saves over three seasons with the Double-A Generals, winning a Texas League title in 1996. He was the pitching coach for Hinds CC for three years before taking the softball reins in 2009. … Hurston Waldrep, former Southern Miss and current Mississippi Braves pitcher, has been ranked No. 75 among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 minor league prospects, the only state college alum to make the chart. A first-round pick by Atlanta out of Florida last summer, Waldrep is slated to start tonight for the M-Braves against Biloxi at Trustmark Park in Pearl. He is 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in six starts this year. … Ex-Mississippi State star Dakota Hudson notched his first win of the season on Monday with Colorado, which beat San Diego at Petco Park for its fifth straight victory. He allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings. Hudson, a free agent pickup this past off-season, is 1-6 with a 6.13 ERA in six starts. He was 38-20 with a sub-4.00 during his time with St. Louis. … Current MSU pitcher Nate Dohm is slated to return to the mound for just the second time since early March when the Bulldogs meet North Alabama tonight in Starkville. He was expected to be a key piece for State this season, but arm issues have limited the right-hander to five appearances (1.48 ERA). A healthy comeback could be a big boost during the postseason.

05 May

blast from past

Joining a list that includes Mark McGwire can be pretty impressive, at least when it comes to hitting dingers. Mississippi State alum Brent Rooker blasted two home runs in one inning on Saturday, becoming the first Oakland player to do so since McGwire in 1996. Rooker, born in 1994, told mlb.com he grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan in Germantown, Tenn., and followed McGwire during the slugger’s time with the Redbirds. “Being able to do anything the same as him is a huge accomplishment, and something that’s really cool for me,” Rooker said. Rooker’s bombs came in a 10-run third inning that propelled the surprising A’s to a 20-4 win over visiting Miami. Oakland is 17-17 with six straight victories. Rooker, a 2023 All-Star who also homered on Friday, is batting .240 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 22 games, having spent 10 days on the injured list last month. As a BTW: Ex-Ole Miss standout Nick Fortes hit his first homer of the year for the lowly Marlins, 9-26. Also overshadowed by Rooker’s exploits was a four-hit game by another former Bulldogs masher, Nathaniel Lowe, who led Texas to a 15-4 rout of Kansas City. Lowe started the season on the IL and is batting .333 with a homer and four RBIs in 13 games since his return. He picked up two of those RBIs on Saturday. “I’m three weeks late to the party,” he told mlb.com, “so I have to get going.” The Rangers, 18-16 and second in the American League West to Seattle, visit division rival Oakland for a four-game series beginning Monday. P.S. William Carey University beat Blue Mountain Christian for the SSAC Tournament championship, the third tourney title in the last four years for coach Bobby Halford, who has a shelf full of trophies over his 39-year career. The Crusaders (34-14 with eight straight wins) will host an NAIA Opening Round tourney next week. BMC also gets an NAIA bid. … Delta State won an elimination game in the GSC Tournament and will play again today against Lee in Oxford, Ala. … Hinds Community College swept host Northwest Mississippi CC in their MACCC playoff series and advances to next week’s NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament in Poplarville. No. 1-ranked East Central, No. 13 Jones and Meridian all won their best-of-3 series openers on Saturday and will play again today.

04 May

big time

Any win is big this time of year in college baseball. Each of the state’s Big 3 NCAA Division I schools got one Friday, and big flies played a big role. Ole Miss, which is practically in desperation mode, won at Auburn 11-7 for its 24th win, sparked by home runs from Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters Jackson Ross, Andrew Fischer and Will Furniss. Surging Mississippi State picked up win No. 31, a 13-3 run-rule rout of Alabama in Starkville. The Bulldogs hit four bombs, including a pair by red-hot Hunter Hines, and Khal Stephen notched win No. 7. Southern Miss got win No. 29, getting a homer from Nick Monistere and three run-scoring doubles in a 7-2 victory against Coastal Carolina at Hattiesburg; Billy Oldham earned win No. 6. … In the MACCC playoffs, Hinds Community College pulled off an upset win vs. Northwest Mississippi CC in Game 1 at Senatobia. Braden Richardson, Cameron Hill and Tyler Jonas went deep for the Eagles, the latter hitting a late grand slam in the 9-5 victory. That best-of-3 series continues today, while the other three will begin. The series winners move on to next week’s NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament in Poplarville. … Delta State needs a win today to stay alive in the GSC Tournament at Oxford, Ala. The NCAA D-II Statesmen, seeded third, were upset by No. 6 West Florida, which got to closer Josh Hill for a run in the ninth in a 4-3 win. All-GSC pick Dylan Coleman was 3-for-5 with an RBI for DSU, which plays 7-seed Shorter today.

19 Mar

on the mound

Midweek starters in college baseball generally don’t rate the spotlight. But the two matching up tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl should be the centers of attention before what figures to be a huge crowd. It feels highly appropriate for this rivalry game that both Ole Miss’ Riley Maddox and Southern Miss’ Cole Boswell are Mississippi boys, products of tradition-rich high schools. Maddox, from Pearl, was an All-State performer at Jackson Prep before heading to Oxford. Boswell, from Collinsville, pitched at West Lauderdale and then at Meridian Community College before moving on to Hattiesburg. Maddox is 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in five games (four starts) for the 15-6 Rebels, who, like the 14-6 Golden Eagles, have surged into the national polls this week. Boswell is 0-0, 5.87, in four games and three starts, including one earlier this month at Trustmark against Mississippi State. Maddox was hurt most of last season at UM after posting a 5.24 as a freshman in 2022. Boswell went 11-1, 2.49, at Meridian CC last season and was the juco league’s pitcher of the year. Pitchers’ duels are not uncommon at the TeePee, the home of the Double-A Mississippi Braves that typically plays as a pitcher’s park. Maybe we get one tonight. It would be highly appropriate. … For the record, a pair of Mississippi products will hook up in Starkville tonight, as well, when MSU sends lefty Bradley Loftin (ex-DeSoto Central star) to the mound against Memphis’ 6-foot-6 right-hander Cade Davis (from Ripley via East Mississippi CC). … A few miles down the road from Pearl, at Joe G. Moss Field in Raymond, Hinds CC is hosting a twinbill against East Central, undefeated (28-0) and ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division II poll. Hinds is 15-14, including a loss to Warriors back on March 2. The spotlight in Raymond likely will be on ECCC sluggers Mo Little, Brady McGee and Trey Bridges, who have seven home runs each.

15 Feb

a few small details

The “preseason” is over for William Carey University and Blue Mountain Christian, NAIA schools who are already heading into Southern States Athletic Conference play. Carey, ranked No. 4 in NAIA, takes a 5-2 record into a three-game series starting today at Point University in Georgia. The Crusaders are hitting just .227 as a team, though R.J. Stinson has come out hot, batting .409 with a homer, seven RBIs and five runs. BMC is 7-1 but will face tougher opposition in a three-game set beginning Friday at Brewton-Parker in Georgia. Brewton-Parker is 7-6 overall but 5-0 at home in Mt. Vernon. For the Toppers, Arderrius Townsend is raking at .577 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Townsend, from Pontotoc, is a Northwest Mississippi Community College alum who was on Jackson State’s roster in 2023. … East Central CC, defending state and region champ, is off to an 8-0 start. Led by slugger Mo Little — who hit a dramatic ninth-inning grand slam in an extra-inning win on Tuesday — the 10th-ranked Warriors have scored 92 runs. They play Southeastern (Iowa) and Kirkland (Mo.) on Saturday in Decatur. … Hinds CC is 7-2 with six straight victories heading into a pair of games today at Meridian; the Eagles will play Northwest Florida State and 13th-ranked MCC (4-4). Lincoln Sheffield, a sophomore out of Hartfield Academy, is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 innings for Hinds. … Belhaven University goes into a weekend series at Hardin-Simmons in Texas looking for new coach Andrew Gipson’s first win. The NCAA Division III Blazers went 0-3 in a round-robin event in Conway, Ark., last week.

03 Jun

old-school artist

Power is all the rage in baseball. Check the box scores. Who hit one out? Blaze Jordan, Joe Gray Jr. and Colt Keith, all products of Mississippi high schools, blasted home runs in the minors on Friday, as did former Mississippi State star Hunter Stovall. Cheers all around. The art of hitting a single, of just putting a ball in play that results in a base knock, doesn’t have the wow factor. It’s kind of a shame. Here’s a tip of the cap to a guy who seems to have mastered that old-school art. Davis Bradshaw, former McLaurin High and Meridian Community College standout, hit a single on Friday for High-A Beloit in the Miami organization. It was his 33rd single among his 37 hits; he has no homers. The lefty-hitting Bradshaw is batting .398; he was at .415 in mid-May. He was out for a couple of weeks last month, so he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the Midwest League leaderboard, but he would be second in hitting in all of the minors if he did. Bradshaw has struck out just 16 times and walked eight in 93 at-bats over 29 games. Drafted out of MCC back in 2018, Bradshaw, now 25, carries a .307 career average — but has only two home runs. The lack of power is no doubt holding him back. He is not a rated prospect. He got a look in Double-A last year and hit .286 but was back in A-ball to start 2023. And he went right back to banging out singles, keeping that old-school art alive. P.S. Southern Miss and Auburn might have anticipated meeting on Day 2 of regional play, but they surely didn’t expect the clash to come in the losers bracket. The top two seeds in the Auburn Regional were upset by Samford and Penn. That’s baseball. BTW, Josh Rodriguez, who hit that massive 10th-inning homer for Samford on Friday, was a first-team All-MACCC pick at Hinds Community College last year. … Props to East Union (Class 2A) and Purvis (4A) for winning MHSAA state titles Friday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Amory plays St. Stanislaus for the 3A crown and Saltillo battles East Central for the 5A title today.

05 Mar

juco snapshot

Mississippi’s junior colleges are still tuning up for conference play, which starts for most next weekend, and no team’s motor is running more smoothly than No. 1-ranked Pearl River Community College. The Wildcats, defending national champs in NJCAA Division II, are 15-3, a notch above unranked Jones (14-4) with ninth-ranked Meridian (12-4) lurking. PRCC is led by Alex Perry, a .403 hitter whose 25 knocks are the most of any MACCC player, and Will Passeau, 3-1 with a 2.74 ERA and a state-best 32 strikeouts. The Wildcats have home games today against Lansing and Baton Rouge. Jones, heading into a three-way event Wednesday with Itawamba (10-3) and Delta in Cleveland, has been sparked by Gatlin Sanders, batting .418 with two homers and 18 RBIs. Meridian’s leaders are Dalton McIntyre, a .451 batter with 13 steals, and Chris Boswell, who is 4-0 with a 0.86 ERA. Gulf Coast has the state’s top home run hitters in Charlie Keller and Sean Smith — both with eight, which ranks second nationally — but the Bulldogs are just 7-9. Smith, batting .488, also leads MACCC in RBIs with 25, three more than Hinds’ Dylan Coleman. Hinds, ranked No. 15 in the preseason poll, is 11-6. The best closer in the state to date has been Brayden Sanders, who has three saves and a 0.00 ERA in six appearances for Northwest (11-6). … The next NJCAA D-II poll will be released March 13. Nine of the state’s 15 teams currently have winning records.

20 Dec

it’s coming up …

Something to warm you up on a cold, wet day: The start of the college season in the Magnolia State is just six weeks away. William Carey University, an NAIA program, will get it started on Feb. 2 at home against Cumberland University. So there. … There was news of note on Monday, when Collegiate Baseball Magazine released its preseason All-America team. Southern Miss pitcher Tanner Hall and Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez have been named to the first team. Hall, the Ferriss Trophy winner in 2022, went 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA for the Golden Eagles. Gonzalez, the top MLB draft prospect in the state for 2023, batted .273 with 18 homers for national champion Ole Miss, which beat USM in a thrilling Super Regional in Hattiesburg to advance to Omaha. Rebels lefty Hunter Elliott was a second-team choice by CB, and USM first baseman Christopher Sargent made the third team. … The NCAA Division I start date is Feb. 17. The defending champion Rebels, minus some stars but fortified by a highly touted recruiting class, open at home against Delaware. USM, which moves from C-USA into the Sun Belt this season, hosts Liberty, and Mississippi State welcomes VMI on opening day. Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State will play in the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic at Houston’s Minute Maid Park on opening weekend. The Tigers play Southern University, Valley and Prairie View A&M in that order. Alcorn State opens at home against Alabama A&M on Feb. 17. … The annual college series at Trustmark Park in Pearl will feature USM-State on Feb. 28, Ole Miss-USM on March 28 and State-Ole Miss (the Governor’s Cup) on April 25. … Other opening days for state schools: On Feb. 3, Division II Mississippi College hosts Arkansas-Monticello and NAIA Rust visits Tuskegee; on Feb. 4, D-II Delta State visits Harding for a twinbill; on Feb. 5, NAIA Tougaloo is at Xavier of New Orleans; and on Feb. 10, D-III Millsaps is at home against LeTourneau. D-III Belhaven, now in the new USA South Conference, has not released its 2023 schedule. … USM pitching coach Christian Ostrander will be the speaker for Hinds Community College’s first First Pitch Banquet on Jan. 28. The juco season also starts in early February. Defending NJCAA Division II champ Pearl River CC opens on the road on Feb. 4.