Tag Archives: Itawamba Community College

23 Oct

campus notes

Circle the dates of March 6, April 22-24 and, most notably, May 13-15. Those are the dates when new Auburn coach Butch Thompson will send his Tigers out against Southern Miss, Ole Miss and Mississippi State in 2016. Aberdeen native and ex-Itawamba Community College star Thompson, a popular and well-respected assistant coach at State the previous seven seasons, has taken the reins on the Plains, where he was an assistant from 2006-08. Auburn will play USM in a tournament in Pensacola, Fla., in March, visit Oxford to play Ole Miss in April and host State in May in the next-to-last SEC weekend. … Ole Miss’ Will Golsan went on a tear in the Cal Ripken Baseball League playoffs back in the summer, batting .438 with six runs in five games en route to winning the championship. The sophomore out of New Hope High has had his moments during the Rebels’ fall ball scrimmages, as well, registering a four-hit game last weekend. UM has two more scrimmages slated for this weekend. … Southern Miss will begin its 5-game Fall World Series on Tuesday at Taylor Park. The last game is set for Nov. 3, which will conclude fall ball for the Golden Eagles. Senior pitchers Luke Lowery and Cody Livingston will manage the two squads in the World Series. … Jacob Barfield, a sophomore transfer from Wharton County (Texas) Junior College, put an exclamation point on Mississippi State’s Bulldog World Series with a three-run, last-inning home run for the Grays on Wednesday night. Cole Gordon homered for the Maroon team, which won the 5-game series. … Delta State concluded fall ball last weekend with the final two games of its Green and White Series. Compiling three-hit games were Luke Stanley, Erick Santiago and Josh Peden, while Westin Stringer, Itawamba CC transfer Brady Chambley and Dalton Moats, a former Coastal Carolina standout, delivered stout pitching performances.

02 Oct

campus notes

Delta State will dedicate Tim and Nancy Harvey Baseball Stadium at Ferriss Field and unveil a statue in honor of former coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss on Saturday. The ceremonies will coincide with DSU baseball’s biannual reunion, which will bring over 350 former players, coaches and diamond girls to Cleveland. Tim Harvey was a DSU player under Ferriss, and he and his wife made the lead gift for stadium renovations. If there is anyone who doesn’t know, former major league pitcher Ferriss won 639 games over 26 seasons as DSU coach, took three teams to the NCAA Division II World Series and laid the foundation for what is one of the nation’s best D-II programs. … Tim Dillard is being inducted into the Itawamba Community College Hall of Fame and will be honored in a ceremony during the school’s football homecoming in Fulton on Saturday. Dillard, 32, who pitched in Triple-A for Milwaukee this season, starred for ICC in 2002 and ’03, leading the Indians to the juco World Series as a sophomore. A 34th-round draft pick, he has pitched 13 seasons in pro ball, posting a 4.70 ERA in 73 big league games, all with the Brewers. … Mike Smith, a senior outfielder for Mississippi State, didn’t play a great deal in 2015 as a juco transfer, batting .208 in 24 at-bats. He’s bucking for more playing time next spring. In nine scrimmages this fall, Smith is 10-for-23 with seven RBIs, six runs and five steals. The Bulldogs scrimmage again on Sunday at Dudy Noble Field. … The “Jake Gibbs Letterwinner Walk,” honoring every Ole Miss athlete who earned a letter, will be unveiled next October as part of a Vaught-Hemingway Stadium project, the school announced. Gibbs was a football and baseball star for the Rebels and is the school’s second all-time winningest baseball coach. He also played in the big leagues.

21 Aug

back on the beam

Quietly, Desmond Jennings is making a nice comeback with Tampa Bay. While Chris Archer’s one-hit, 11-strikeout shutout was one of the buzz-generating stories in baseball on Thursday, much less attention was devoted to the hit that drove in the only run the Rays would score in the victory over Houston. Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College star, delivered the big run in the fourth inning with a two-out single off Collin McHugh. Jennings is 8-for-22 (.364) with two RBIs in six games since he returned from the disabled list, where he had been stuck since late April with a nagging knee problem. Jennings, batting .253 for the year, is now playing left field with defensive stalwart Kevin Kiermaier seemingly entrenched in center. Jennings has posted double-digit homer and steal totals each of the previous four seasons, and his contributions down the stretch could be important for a Rays team that is 60-61 and lurking on the fringe of wild card contention. He is also arbitration-eligible after this season. P.S. Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, sent down by Tampa Bay when Jennings was activated, is 6-for-14 with a homer in five games at Triple-A Durham. Butler, who got an opportunity with the Rays when Jennings went out in April, batted .278 with six homers and 22 RBIs in his 74 big league games.

15 Aug

hot spots

Matchups of playoff contenders are abundant in the big leagues this weekend, and a bunch of Mississippians are in the middle of things. One of the hottest spots on Friday was U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, where the Cubs beat the White Sox 6-5 thanks in large part to two home runs by former Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan. Coghlan hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the third inning and a game-tying solo shot in the fifth, both off Jeff Samardzija. Coghlan now has 13 homers on the year for the hard-charging Cubs. At Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, ex-Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings went 3-for-4 with an RBI in his first game since April, but his Tampa Bay team fell to surging Texas 5-3. Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland was 1-for-4 for the Rangers. At San Francisco’s AT&T Park, fading Washington lost to the Giants 8-5 with ex-State stars Tyler Moore (an HBP in his one at-bat) and Jonathan Papelbon (two hits and a run allowed in the eighth inning) tasting more frustration. The day’s best game was at Rogers Centre in Toronto, where the New York Yankees stopped the Blue Jays’ 11-game win streak with a dramatic 4-3 win. No Mississippians played in the game, but veteran umpire Andy Fletcher, an Ole Miss grad who lives in the Magnolia State, was behind home plate. P.S. Milwaukee has recalled right-hander David Goforth, a Meridian native and former Ole Miss standout. He has a 4.15 ERA in six MLB appearances this year.

13 Aug

stirring the drink

The Minnesota Twins’ recent swoon – 8-16 since the All-Star break — probably cost Brian Dozier any chance he might have had at the American League MVP award. But the Southern Miss product is still the team’s key player, the straw that stirs their drink, as they say. He has suffered through a second-half slump, as well, but when the second baseman does things like he did on Wednesday, the Twins tend to win, which they did. Dozier got two doubles (31 for the year), scored twice (80 for the year, second in MLB) and drove in a run (59). Minnesota whipped Texas 11-1, its second straight win, and climbed over .500 at 57-56. The Twins have fallen far back in the AL Central (11 games out) but remain in the thick of the wild card chase. To make the postseason for the first time since 2010, they’ll need a strong finish from Dozier, batting .248 with a .318 on-base percentage and 24 homers. P.S. Joey Butler, the former Pascagoula High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star, was sent back to the minors on Wednesday, a decision Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash called “incredibly difficult.” Butler, a 29-year-old rookie outfielder, batted .278 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 74 games for the Rays. At one point in mid-June he was hitting .347. He got the opportunity to play regularly for the first time in his career when Desmond Jennings went on the disabled list in April. Itawamba CC alum Jennings is supposed to be activated on Friday. Butler likely will get back to the big leagues when rosters expand in September. … Yarmouth-Dennis won the Cape Cod League championship series with an 8-1 win against Hyannis on Wednesday night. In the opener of the three-game series on Sunday, Dakota Hudson of Mississippi State allowed one run on two hits in eight innings, finishing with eight strikeouts, as Hyannis beat Y-D 8-1. Vance Tatum, another Bulldogs pitcher toiling for Hyannis, got knocked around in Game 2 on Monday and took the loss in Y-D’s 9-3 victory. Ole Miss’ Colby Bortles had a two-run hit for Hyannis in that game.

12 Aug

when the going gets tough

There is an interesting story on the Oakland A’s page on mlb.com in which Kendall Graveman talks about persevering through some tough times at Mississippi State and again earlier this season when the A’s sent him to the minors. Well, the times look tough again for the rookie right-hander. He went up against the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday and got burned in a 4-2 loss. Hurt by a couple of big errors, Graveman lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, a walk and four runs (two earned). His record dipped to 6-8. The last-place A’s are 0-6 in Graveman’s last six starts; he hasn’t won since July 4. Graveman’s ERA is a very respectable 3.89, and that’s even more impressive when you consider that it was 8.27 when the A’s demoted him to Triple-A after four starts in April. He went 5-2 in a nine-start stretch after his return in late May. Drafted in 2013 by Toronto, Graveman bolted through the minors and reached the big leagues last September. Oakland got him in the off-season trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Jays, and Graveman won a job in the rotation in spring training. This current victory drought isn’t likely to get him down. … Times are also tough for ex-State star Tyler Moore, who is hitless in his last nine at-bats (all as a pinch hitter) and is batting just .203 for Washington, which is scuffling as a team. Moore’s last hit was on July 24, his last home run on June 12. He belted 10 homers in 156 at-bats in his debut season in 2012 but has just 12 over three seasons since. He seems due for a breakout. P.S. Tampa Bay sent former Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings on another rehab assignment (see previous post), this one at Class A Port Charlotte.

11 Aug

medical report

Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings, who last played in a big league game on April 26, might be activated by Tampa Bay for tonight’s game with Atlanta, reports say. Jennings, recovering from a knee injury, hit just .143 in 21 at-bats on a rehab assignment for Triple-A Durham. The Rays’ opening day center fielder, he batted .222 in 18 games before the injury. For his MLB career, over parts of six years, Jennings is batting .248 with 47 homers, 166 RBIs and 93 steals. … Injuries have been a big story for Mississippians in the majors in 2015. Meridian CC alum Cliff Lee (flexor tendon) hasn’t thrown a pitch for Philadelphia and may yet retire. Corey Dickerson, another MCC product, had made three trips to the disabled list, playing in just 43 games for Colorado after his breakout 2014 campaign. Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart (knee) went out for the season in mid-June; he was hitting .258 with nine homers for Cincinnati. Aaron Barrett, another former Rebel, is currently on the DL (elbow), his second stint, for Washington. Picayune High alum T.J. House, who began this year in the Cleveland rotation, went on the DL in May, went to the minors and then went out in early June with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t pitched since. And former Mississippi State standout Jacob Lindgren (elbow) has been shelved since mid-June; he made his big league debut with the New York Yankees in May, was sent down and then shut down following surgery.

03 Aug

here and there

The list of Mississippians to play for the Mississippi Braves will grow tonight when Jackson native Zack Bird makes his Double-A debut at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Former Murrah High star Bird joins a group that includes Jay Powell, Michael Rosamond, John Thomson, Van Pope and Brent Leach. Powell (West Lauderdale High), Rosamond (Madison Central), Pope (Terry) and Leach (Brandon) were prep and college stars in the state. Thomson, a Vicksburg native who appeared with the M-Braves on two different major league rehab assignments, went to high school in Sulphur, La. A number of Mississippi natives also played for Jackson’s old Texas League franchise, including Murrah product Fletcher Thompson, the second baseman for the 1993 pennant-winning Generals. Bird, acquired last week from the Los Angeles Dodgers, was 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) at the high Class A level this season. … The Tippah Tribe beat the Tupelo Thunder 5-1 on Sunday in New Albany to claim the Cotton States League championship. Northwest Mississippi Community College alum Stephen Sexton and Bryan Ray Jr. homered for the Tribe. … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier matched his career-high for homers with No. 23 for Minnesota on Sunday; the Tupelo native, now in his fourth MLB season, has 70 career homers. … Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton is 51-for-58 on steal attempts this season for Cincinnati, an 88 percent success rate. His 2014 rate was 71 percent; he was thrown out an MLB-high 23 times while stealing 56 bases. … McComb native and Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson is back on Colorado’s disabled list, his third trip of the year, this time due to broken ribs. He has played just 43 games, hitting .315 with five homers. … Former Itawamba CC standout Desmond Jennings is 1-for-5 in two rehab games at Triple-A Durham. Out since April with a knee problem, he figures to rejoin the Tampa Bay club sometime soon. … Last but hardly least, ex-Richton High star JaCoby Jones hit three homers for Erie on Sunday, his third game with Detroit’s Double-A club since he was traded last week (for Joakim Soria) by Pittsburgh. Jones, a shortstop, had 10 homers in A-ball this season and 23 in 2014.

28 Jul

the launch pad

Will Clark famously homered in his first at-bat as a pro and went on to hit .309 with 10 bombs that season in the Class A California League. Of course, the transition from college to pro ball doesn’t flow as seamlessly for everyone as it did for the ex-Mississippi State star in 1985. Typically, there are adjustments to be made. Sikes Orvis was a fearsome hitter at Ole Miss this past season. He belted 16 homers, drove in 53 runs, scored 41 and slugged .587. The Chicago White Sox picked the big first baseman in the 17th round of the draft, and 20 games into his rookie campaign, he is batting .224 and slugging .366 with two homers at Great Falls in the Pioneer League. James McMahon was the ace of the Southern Miss staff in 2015, going 11-1 with a 1.56 ERA and winning the Ferriss Trophy. The Colorado Rockies picked the right-hander in the 24th round, and eight games into his rookie campaign, he is 1-2, 8.41 with Grand Junction of the Pioneer League. For Orvis and McMahon, and others who recently launched pro careers, adjustments are required if they want to survive and advance. It can be tough – but it can be done. Aaron Barrett came out of Ole Miss in 2010 and went 0-5, 9.43 in his first pro season. Four years later, he made the big leagues and currently has a career 3.26 ERA as a key piece in the Washington Nationals’ bullpen. Ex-Rebels star Zack Cozart hit .239 and made nine errors in 46 games at shortstop in his pro debut in 2007. A regular for Cincinnati since 2012, he is now considered one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball and was on course for his best season at the plate before suffering a knee injury in June. P.S. Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings, who hasn’t played for Tampa Bay since April (knee injury), has been working out for several days with the Rays’ Class A Port Charlotte club but there has been no report on when he might return to the big leagues. The veteran outfielder was batting .222.

13 Jul

cotton pickin’

With about two weeks left in the season, the Tippah Tribe has emerged as the best team in the Cotton States League. The Tribe is 12-3 with five straight wins in the New Albany-based college summer league. Luke Stanley, a Delta State alum, went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run and a steal to spark the Tribe to a 6-5 win over Tallahatchie on Sunday. Tallahatchie, 9-7 and tops in the Delta Division, gets another crack at the Deep South Division-leading Tribe on Tuesday. The Tribe’s Jerry Tatum has a 0.86 ERA and two saves over 21 innings. The Rascals’ Zach Phillips leads the CSBL in homers (four) and RBIs (20), and Payton Cain is 4-1. In other games on Sunday: Tyler Dowdy and Drew Carter combined on a one-hitter to lead Hill Country past Tupelo 1-0. Dowdy, a Mississippi Delta Community College product, earned his third win, Carter – an Itawamba CC alum — the save. Jordan Lambert, batting .524, scored the game’s only run. And Jon Marc Girardeau and Zachary Quillian combined for six hits, six RBIs and four runs to pace Golden Triangle over North Delta 13-1. Matthew Mills notched his fourth win for the Jets, who are 9-8 in the Delta Division.