Tag Archives: Holmes Community College

19 Oct

it happened one october, take 7

On this date in 2005, Roy Oswalt threw seven innings of one-run ball as Houston beat St. Louis 5-1 in the decisive Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium. Oswalt, the former Holmes Community College star from Weir, was named the MVP of the series after going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the Cardinals. The Astros advanced to the World Series for first time in their history but lost in four straight games to the Chicago White Sox. Oswalt got a no-decision in his lone start in that Series, made the postseason twice while with Philadelphia but didn’t get another shot at the Fall Classic. He won 163 games all told in his 13-year career.

25 Jul

reshuffling the deck

The jump to No. 1 overall prospect by Konnor Griffin was the lead story Thursday out of MLB Pipeline’s updated rankings. For the Mississippi baseball aficionado, one of the more interesting sidebars was the return of Blaze Jordan to Boston’s Top 30 list. The former DeSoto Central High star and state Gatorade player of the year is ranked No. 17 on the Red Sox’s chart. Once ranked as high as No. 6 in the system, Jordan, still only 22, had dropped from the Top 30 in the off-season. His return is testament to the big year he has having. Currently at Triple-A Worcester, he is batting .288 with five homers and 22 RBIs. The corner infielder — 6 feet, 220 pounds — has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games. Overall in 2025, including time in Double-A, Jordan is at .304 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs. He may be rediscovering the power tool that made him a third-round draft pick in 2020. From the MLB Pipeline scouting report: “He’s making a higher quality of contact this year by being more judicious about what pitches he offers at, giving hope that he could turn into a .250 hitter with 20 homers annually at the big league level.” P.S. Milwaukee’s potent Top 30 list includes three Mississippi products: No. 4 Cooper Pratt, No. 20 Tyson Hardin and No. 26 K.C. Hunt. All are currently at Double-A Biloxi. … Griffin, the former Jackson Prep standout, put up a four-hit game and stole two bases for High-Class A Greensboro on Thursday; he is batting .331 overall with 13 homers and 44 bags in Pittsburgh’s system. … Southern Miss alum Chuckie Robinson had a four-hit game for Triple-A Oklahoma City (Los Angeles Dodgers); the veteran catcher, who has nine hits in his last three games, raised his average to .266. … Adam Chamblee has been named the new coach at Holmes Community College. The Winona native, who played at West Alabama, previously was head coach at Copiah-Lincoln CC.

27 Mar

appetizers

Fun facts about MLB’s Opening Day:
Garrett Crochet will make his second straight opening day start when he takes the bump for Boston against Texas. The Ocean Springs native started Game 1 for the Chicago White Sox last year and — perhaps foreshadowing the team’s dismal season — took a loss despite allowing just a lone run in six innings against Detroit, which won 1-0 behind Tarik Skubal. Incidentally, ex-Biloxi High star Colt Keith made his big league debut in that game and got his first hit off Crochet.
The record for consecutive opening day starts by a Mississippi native belongs to Roy Oswalt, the Weir High and Holmes Community College alum who made eight starts for Houston between 2003-10. The right-hander, who won 163 games in his stellar career, was in his third big league season when he got the Day 1 call for the Astros in 2003, and he beat Colorado, yielding one earned run in seven innings.
The record for highest on-base percentage all-time on opening day (at least 10 starts) is .500, according to mlb.com research. Ellisville native and Mississippi State alum Buddy Myer shares that mark with two others. Myer, a leadoff batter most of his career, played from 1925-41 and had a career .389 OBP, in the top 100 all-time.
The record for home runs on an opening day is three, and Vicksburg native Dmitri Young is among the four players to accomplish that feat. “Da Meat Hook” did it 20 years ago for Detroit; he went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs in an 11-2 victory against Kansas City. Young belted 171 career homers and hit two in a game six times.
The only opening day cycle in major league history belongs to Gee Walker, a Gulfport native and ex-Ole Miss star who pulled it off on April 20, 1937, for Detroit against Cleveland. He went 4-for-4 and scored twice in that game, a 4-3 win; he batted .294 in a 15-year career.
Two former Mississippi Braves standouts — Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward — homered on opening day in their first career at-bat, both for Atlanta, Schafer in 2009 and Heyward in 2010. Schafer would hit only 11 more homers in a brief career. Heyward, still playing, has 184 bombs.
P.S. The Los Angeles Angels optioned Chuckie Robinson, ex-Southern Miss star, to Triple-A on Wednesday. Now in his third organization, the 30-year-old catcher, a good defensive player, has a career .132 average in 51 MLB games.

14 Mar

hot spots

Big weekend in the Magnolia State. Where to start? Conference play begins for the NCAA Division I schools, and there are Top 25 SEC matchups in Oxford (Arkansas at Ole Miss) and Starkville (Texas at Mississippi State). In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss, also nationally ranked in various polls, welcomes Old Dominion to launch Sun Belt play. Not to be overlooked by any means is Valdosta State-Delta State in Cleveland. DSU, 17-5 and ranked 12th nationally in Division II, leads the Gulf South Conference with a 10-2 mark, and the visiting Blazers are a tick behind at 9-2. Senior right-hander Drake Fontenot, the Statesmen’s No. 1 starter, has not allowed a run in his last four starts. The reigning D-II South Region and GSC pitcher of the week, the 6-foot-5 Louisiana native is 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA, 46 strikeouts and seven walks in 39 2/3 innings. He’ll face a Valdosta lineup that includes the GSC’s leading hitter, Marcus Sevillano (.466), and top RBI man, Orlando Pena (32 with seven homers). Brett Burrell paces the Statesmen’s attack at .465 with five homers and 30 RBIs. DSU is unbeaten (10-0) at Ferriss Field. Of note: Mississippi College, which has won eight straight and climbed into the D-II South Region rankings at No. 8, travels to Cleveland, Tenn., to meet Lee University in a GSC series. MC is 15-8, 8-4 in the league. P.S. In the jucos, Holmes Community College, Jones College and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC all opened MACCC play this week with doubleheader sweeps. Holmes, ranked No. 24 in NJCAA D-II, is 19-4 overall and 16-1 in Goodman. The Bulldogs travel to Copiah-Lincoln (17-10, 1-1) today. Former Brandon High star Xavier Myles has sparked Holmes at the plate, batting .389 with five homers, 29 RBIs and seven steals — top 10 in the MACCC in each category. … No. 2-ranked Pearl River (20-4 with eight straight wins) opens league play Sunday vs. Northwest in Poplarville.

03 Mar

weekend wrap

Riding a nine-game win streak, Ole Miss (10-1) has jumped in at No. 19 in the new Baseball America poll released today. Oxford’s Swayze Field was the wrong place for Wright State over the weekend. The Rebels swept three from their visitors, including a 7-3 win Sunday that featured some sparkling relief work from Mason Morris. The junior from Tupelo threw three hitless innings to get his second career win. Ole Miss, 8-0 at home, plays its next five games in Oxford. … For Southern Miss, which cracked the BA poll at No. 24, Matthew Russo hit two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Golden Eagles to an 11-3 win in Sunday’s rubber game at TCU. The Golden Eagles, crushed by Ole Miss last week, will take a 9-3 record into Tuesday’s intrastate clash at Mississippi State. … The Bulldogs (7-4) lost two of three in the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston over the weekend and tumbled from No. 15 to No. 22 in BA’s rankings. … Jackson State (9-2 with five straight W’s) overwhelmed rival Alcorn State 43-10 in a non-conference series sweep at Smith-Wills Stadium. JSU’s Jordan McCladdie went 8-for-10 with nine runs in the series, and Joseph Eichelberger had a five-hit, five-RBI game on Saturday. … Alcorn, under new coach Carlton Hardy, fell to 0-9. … Mississippi College (9-8, 5-4 Gulf South) moved over .500 with a doubleheader sweep at Union (Tenn.) on Saturday. In the 10-1 win in Game 2, cousins Blake Gollott (2-0) and Coby Gollott (first save), both from the Coast, combined on a three-hitter. … Amari Conley, Holmes Community College’s leadoff batter from Grenada, is hitting .417 with 27 runs, 16 RBIs and 14 steals for the 16-3 Bulldogs, who’ve won nine in a row. P.S. In MLB, Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High and Mississippi Braves star, blasted his first home run of the spring in Atlanta’s win over the New York Yankees in the Grapefruit League. Off to a slow start this spring after missing the last month and a half of the 2024 season (broken hand), Riley had two hits Sunday and is batting .214 in 14 at-bats. … Former Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin, rated the top power prospect in Pittsburgh’s system by MLB Pipeline, hit his first spring bomb on Saturday. (Note: He is also very fast.) The 2024 first-round pick is 2-for-7 in five Grapefruit games and has played exclusively in center field. … Ole Miss product Doug Nikhazy, now on Cleveland’s big league roster, has been impressive this spring, throwing four scoreless innings with four punchouts in Cactus League play. … Ex-Biloxi High star Colt Keith, a breakout rookie with Detroit in 2024, was a guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today and talked about his move to first base, dealing with the highs and lows of an MLB season and his Star Wars-themed Bobblehead Night coming on May 9. (He said he’s never watched any Star Wars movies.)

27 Feb

heat check

Something’s burning in Cleveland. And in Hattiesburg. And Goodman, too. Red-hot Delta State has racked up 11 straight wins, boosting its record to 12-3 and its ranking to No. 19 in the NCBWA’s NCAA Division II poll. William Carey University (13-6) has reeled off six straight victories, and Holmes Community College (12-3) is on a five-game tear. DSU’s Statesmen take a 6-0 Gulf South Conference record into this weekend’s league series at West Florida. Drake Fontenot is the BMOC in Cleveland at the moment, having won back-to-back GSC pitcher of the week honors. The senior right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA in four starts. Josh Hill has chipped in with six saves in seven appearances. At the plate, Brett Burrell is batting .500 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Jacob Hill is batting .367 with 18 runs, and Dylan Coleman is at .309 with three homers and 18 RBIs. In the Hub City, Carey is 5-1 in SSAC heading into a league series at Tennessee Southern. On Tuesday, Cory Cook (1-0) fired a seven-inning no-hitter against John Melvin U. in Game 2 of a twinbill after the Crusaders torched the visitors for 17 runs in the opener. Bridley Thomas has been hot stuff in Carey’s attack with a .404 average and 21 steals. Preston Ratliff has provided power with four homers and 20 RBIs, and Josh Alexander has four homers among his 10 hits. On the bump, Matthew Davis is 3-0 with a 1.85. In Goodman, Holmes CC’s hot start has been fueled by Hunter Azemar (four homers, 17 RBIs), Amari Conley (.394) and John Paul Buckner (2-0, 2.08, 22 K’s in 13 innings).

24 Sep

philly flashback

The last time the Philadelphia Phillies celebrated a division championship was 13 years ago, when the club’s “Sports Illustrated Five” featured a pair of Mississippi junior college alumni. The Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Monday night to claim their first National League East crown since 2011. That was the year that ex-Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee and former Holmes CC standout Roy Oswalt were members of a stellar rotation that appeared on the cover of SI’s preseason issue. Lee went 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA and Oswalt 9-10, 3.69, as the Phillies rolled to a 102-60 finish. Roy Halladay (a 19-game winner), Cole Hamels and Vance Worley rounded out the starting five, and Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins powered the offense. Alas, Philly lost in the NL Division Series to St. Louis (and a rookie right-hander named Lance Lynn). The lone Mississippi connection with the 2024 Phillies is veteran infield coach Bobby Dickerson, the Laurel native who has been on the staff for the last three seasons. P.S. Drake Baldwin, who played for the Mississippi Braves in 2024, and Jacob Misiorowksi, who pitched for Biloxi this season, were named minor league players of the year in their respective organizations by Baseball America. Atlanta prospect Baldwin, a catcher, hit .244 with four homers in 52 games for the Double-A M-Braves before finishing the season at Triple-A, where he belted 12 more bombs. Milwaukee prospect Misiorowski was 3-4 with a 3.50 ERA for the Double-A Shuckers; he struck out 127 batters in 97 1/3 innings, including time in Triple-A.

24 Aug

something different

On this date in 2010, Roy Oswalt the MLB pitcher became Roy Oswalt the MLB left fielder, appearing at a position other than on the bump for the only time in his 13-year career. The former Weir High and Holmes Community College star, with Philadelphia at the time, came in as a replacement for an ejected player in the 15th inning of a 16-inning game against Houston. And, of course, the ball will find you, as they say. The first batter of the inning, Jason Castro, hit a fly ball to left field, which Oswalt caught without incident. Oswalt came to bat in the bottom of the 16th and grounded out for the final out of the Astros’ 4-2 win in the 5-hour, 20-minute affair. Oswalt, who retired in 2013, was 163-102 with a 3.36 ERA for his career, making three All-Star Games. He wasn’t a terrible hitter, either, banging out 101 hits (.154 average) with a homer and 36 RBIs. P.S. Tim Anderson returned Wednesday from his five-game suspension and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored the game-winning run in a 5-4 victory for the Chicago White Sox against Seattle. East Central CC product Anderson was the ghost runner in the bottom of the 10th, took off for third base on a failed pickoff attempt by the Mariners catcher and scored when the shortstop’s throw got past the third baseman.

29 Jul

remember the time

On this date in 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies — defending World Series champs — swung a big trade with Cleveland for left-hander Cliff Lee, the former Meridian Community College star and 2008 Cy Young Award winner. Lee went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA down the stretch for the Phillies and 4-0 in the postseason, but the team lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Lee was traded to Seattle in the off-season. On July 29, 2010, the Phillies, again eyeing a postseason run, traded with Houston for Roy Oswalt, the former Holmes CC standout who had won an ERA title in 2006. Oswalt went 7-1 with a 1.74 for the Phils and 1-1 in the postseason as the team lost to San Francisco in the National League Championship Series. After the 2010 season, Philadelphia brought Lee back as a free agent. The Phils entered the 2011 season with a fantastic rotation — famously hailed as the “legion of arms” on the cover of Sports Illustrated — of Lee, Oswalt, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton. The team won 102 games — Lee won 17, Oswalt nine — and the NL East title but fell in the division series to St. Louis. Lee and Oswalt both lost their starts. Oswalt left after the 2011 season and was soon out of the game. Lee pitched three more years in Philly with only modest success. Neither would appear in another postseason game, and the Phillies didn’t make the postseason again until last year. P.S. Props to Millsaps College coach Jim Page and former Mississippi State and big league pitcher Paul Maholm for their formal induction today into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, a very deserving honor for each.

21 Oct

a dose of history

The Houston Astros, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary this season, gave a nod to their first World Series team by having a star pitcher from that club, Mississippi native Roy Oswalt, throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Thursday’s Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Oswalt, the ex-Holmes Community College standout from Weir, was a 20-game winner for the 2005 Astros, who won the National League pennant — Oswalt won the clincher vs. St. Louis — before falling to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. That it took 43 years for Houston to make that first Fall Classic seems hard to fathom now. Up 2-0 on the New York Yankees in the current ALCS, the Astros are on the cusp of a fourth World Series appearance since 2017, when they won their first and only championship (under controversial circumstances). They’ve been in the ALCS six straight years. Yet this franchise had an inglorious start. Houston’s first team, the expansion Colt .45s, were managed by Ellisville native and former big leaguer Harry Craft. They went 64-96 in ’62. Craft was dismissed late in the 1964 season with a 191-280 record. The team became the Astros in 1965, moving into the Astrodome, and finally posted a winning season in 1972. Pascagoula native Harry Walker was the manager of that team — until he was fired in August despite having a winning record. In 1980, the Astros finally made the playoffs for the first time. Houston’s Double-A team, the Jackson Generals, took up residence at Smith-Wills Stadium in 1991 and helped fuel the Astros teams that won four NL Central titles in a five-year stretch (1997-2001) before finally reaching the World Series in 2005. They didn’t make the postseason again for 10 years, going through a rough rebuilding process that is now bearing fruit year after year. P.S. On this date in 1986, former Jackson Mets star Lenny Dykstra led off Game 3 of the World Series at Fenway Park with a home run off Meridian native Oil Can Boyd. The New York Mets, down 0-2 in the Series, won the game 7-1 over Boston and ultimately won the title in seven games. Boyd allowed six runs in seven innings in his only Series appearance.