Jackson State Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

27 Sep

one for the books

A wide range of emotions were on display Thursday at Oakland Coliseum. For J.T. Ginn, there was the thrill of his first major league win, which happened to coincide with the Oakland A’s final game at the place they’ve called home since 1968. Former Mississippi State star Ginn, making his eighth MLB appearance, took a shutout into the sixth inning and wound up being charged with two runs over 5 1/3 in the A’s 3-2 victory against Texas. He is 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA. He got a standing ovation when he left the mound. The game, broadcast on MLB Network, drew a crowd of 46,889, many no doubt angered that the team’s owner is moving the club — first to Sacramento, then to Las Vegas — but also saddened to see the proud franchise pull up roots. “Today there is crying in baseball,” read one sign. In the ninth, someone threw a smoke bomb on the field, causing a delay. Former MSU star Brent Rooker had two hits for the A’s, and fellow former Bulldogs slugger Nathaniel Lowe went 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Rangers. … Mississippians have some interesting history in the green-and-gold. Belzoni’s Herb Washington, the track star-turned-designated runner, won a World Series ring with the 1974 team, the last of the Swingin’ A’s three straight titles. Grenada native Dave Parker, in the twilight of his excellent career, was the DH on the 1989 Oakland club that won the Earthquake Series, the last of the A’s world championships. Chad Bradford, the ex-Southern Miss standout from Byram, pitched and MSU product Adam Piatt played some first base for the Moneyball A’s of 2002, made famous by the book and the movie. That 103-win team, which had a 20-game win streak, didn’t make it to the World Series. In 2021, Amory native and former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland played the final season of his outstanding career with the A’s. In 1981, Kelvin Moore became the first Jackson State product to reach the majors when he debuted for Oakland in the second half of that strike-interrupted split season. Baseball is losing something without a team in Oakland. P.S. In Thursday games that were meaningful for other reasons, Detroit and Kansas City maintained their cushion over Minnesota in the American League wild card standings. Only two of the three will make the playoffs. Colt Keith, the rookie out of Biloxi High, went 2-for-4 with a couple of RBIs as the Tigers beat Tampa Bay 4-3, their fifth straight win and 30th in 41 games. Ex-MSU standout Adam Frazier delivered a pinch two-run knock in the ninth inning to propel the Royals to their third straight victory, 7-4 over Washington. Hunter Renfroe, another State alum, belted his 14th homer for KC.

23 Sep

on center stage

The spotlight is a little brighter in the postseason, and Jacob Gonzalez is showing out in the Southern League playoffs. The ex-Ole Miss standout went 3-for-5 Sunday, including a three-run double that broke the game open in the seventh inning, as Birmingham beat Montgomery 7-2 in the opener of the SL Championship Series. Gonzalez, a lefty-swinging shortstop, is batting .538 with a homer, five RBIs and two steals in four postseason games for the Chicago White Sox’s Double-A club. The 15th overall pick ($3.9 million signing bonus) in the 2023 draft, Gonzalez was promoted from High-Class A Winston-Salem in late May and started hot for Birmingham before cooling down to a .225 average. On the year, he batted .238 with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 17 steals. He’s considered a good glove, but speculation is he’ll eventually move off shortstop. The California native had a stellar career at Ole Miss, helping the Rebels win the 2022 College World Series. Game 2 of the best-of-3 title series is Tuesday in Birmingham. … In the Double-A Eastern League Championship Series, Erie beat Somerset 9-5 in Game 1. Former Mississippi State product Colby White is a bullpen piece for Somerset (New York Yankees affiliate) and ex-William Carey star Patrick Lee a reserve infielder for Erie (Detroit). Neither played in the opener. … The Triple-A postseason begins on Tuesday. Ole Miss alum Doug Nikhazy pitches for Columbus (Cleveland) and MSU product Eric Cerantola for Omaha (Kansas City), who meet in the International League title series. Former State standout Konnor Pilkington pitches for Reno (Arizona), which takes on Sugar Land for the Pacific Coast League crown. P.S. In MLB, All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg returned to Baltimore’s lineup on Sunday, the ex-MSU star going 1-for-4 with an RBI in a loss to surging Detroit. … Emblematic of Kansas City’s struggles, MSU product Hunter Renfroe went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts as the Royals lost for the seventh straight time, 2-0 to San Francisco. The Royals managed three hits and fanned 13 times as they fell into a tie for the second American League wild card with Detroit. Renfroe, who has 13 homers, is in a 1-for-21 slump in his last seven games. … Southern Miss alum Matt Wallner had a hit in each game but couldn’t prevent Minnesota from being swept in a twinbill by Boston (8-1 and 9-3) and tumbling out of a wild card berth in the AL. … On Sept. 23, 2009, former Shannon High and Jackson State standout Dave Clark notched his first win as interim manager for Houston, which beat St. Louis 3-0. A longtime big league slugger and current first-base coach for the Astros, Clark went 4-9 in his lone managerial stint.

13 Jul

pre-draft doodles

Mississippi may never have been considered a motherlode of baseball talent, but pro scouts have been mining for nuggets here since the first MLB draft. Joe DeFabio of Delta State was the 20th overall pick in 1965, and players from the state have been drafted in the first round virtually every year since. Four with state ties are projected in various mock drafts to go in Sunday’s Round 1, which, counting supplemental picks, goes 39 deep. Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin and former Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery, who played at Texas A&M this season, are generally regarded as top 10 prospects. Mississippi State’s Dakota Jordan and Jurrangelo Cijnjte are also expected to go in Round 1. … The highest any player from the state has been chosen is No. 2, Will Clark taken out of MSU by San Francisco in 1985. The state also has produced two No. 3’s (Ted Nicholson of Oak Park in Laurel by the Chicago White Sox in 1969 and B.J. Wallace of State by Montreal in 1992), a No. 5 (Drew Pomeranz of Ole Miss by Cleveland in 2010) and three No. 8’s (Donny Castle of Coldwater High by Washington in 1968, Kirk Presley of Tupelo High by the New York Mets in 1993 and Paul Maholm of State by Pittsburgh in 2003). Dave Clark of Jackson State was No. 11 by Cleveland in 1983. … Last year, 14 players were drafted out of Mississippi, including No. 15 Jacob Gonzalez from Ole Miss by the White Sox. In 2022, 23 players from Mississippi schools were selected over the 20 rounds of the draft, Landon Sims of MSU going 34th overall. … Back in 2018, Baseball America conducted a survey of which state produced the most pro talent per capita and Mississippi ranked fourth, with 149 high school alums appearing on affiliated rosters from 2011-17. … In Baseball America’s 2024 Draft Preview skill rankings, Griffin — the No. 1 high school athlete — is No. 2 in power, No. 2 in defense (outfield) and No. 4 in speed among all draft-eligible prep players. Montgomery — a touted prep draft prospect when he was at Madison Central — ranks No. 3 in power and as the No. 5 athlete among the college class. Jordan is No. 5 in power. … In Lindy’s 2024 Baseball preview magazine, Lewisburg High’s Samuel Richardson, a third baseman, was rated the No. 35 draft prospect, but he appears to have slipped off the radar over the course of the season. … Quite a few of the state’s best all-around athletes have chosen football over baseball: See Senquez Golson, A.J. Brown, Jerrion Ealy, Anthony Alford (who later returned to baseball and spent some time in the big leagues). Also on that list is Steve McNair, a relative unknown baseball talent when a Seattle scout first saw him in 1991. Dan Jennings, a former William Carey player, happened upon a game at Mount Olive and was mesmerized by the home team’s shortstop. “This is my day. The baseball gods are smiling on me,” he told espn.com in a story a few years ago. The Mariners drafted McNair in the 35th round and offered $15,000 plus college tuition. He chose to play football at Alcorn State — and, yes, the rest is history. … Charlie Condon, the Golden Spikes Award winner from Georgia, is a possible No. 1 overall pick (Cleveland has the choice) — and, yes, there is a Mississippi connection. Georgia’s hitting coach, who has helped Condon blossom from an unrecruited prep player to a college star, is Will Coggin, a former Mississippi State player and assistant coach. Coggin coached Brent Rooker and Jake Mangum, among other draftees, in Starkville. … A name to watch for in the later rounds of the draft, according to an MLB Pipeline article, is Landon Hairston, an Arizona high school outfielder. He is the son of ex-big leaguer Scott Hairston, who is the son of ex-big leaguer Jerry Hairston Sr., who is the son of ex-big leaguer Sam Hairston, a Crawford native who starred in the Negro Leagues in the 1940s.

12 Jul

star trekkin’

Buckle up. Lots of All-Star stuff coming in the next few days. The HBCU Swingman Classic is set for tonight (7 p.m., MLB Network) at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Jackson State had a bunch of offensive standouts this past season, and several are in the game: Joseph Eichelberger (.375 hitter), Robert Tate Jr. (.352, .458 OBP), Lenny Montesano (11 homers, 16 doubles) and Rodney Hibler Jr. (34 steals). Tigers pitchers Christian Womble and Isaiah Williams are also on the rosters, along with Mississippi Valley State’s Dreylin Holmes and Alcorn State’s Garrett Palladino. … On Saturday, there is a high school home run derby competition at Globe Life in which Jacob Parker of Purvis will compete. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound lefty hitter has slugged 24 homers the past three years at Purvis. Later Saturday (3:10 p.m., MLB Network), former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt is slated to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Shortstop Pratt, a second-year pro and the state’s Gatorade player of the year in 2023, is Milwaukee’s No. 4-ranked prospect and is batting .295 with 19 bags at Low-Class A Carolina. … Sunday brings the first day of the MLB draft (4 p.m., ESPN) from Fort Worth, Texas. If Baseball America’s mock draft is accurate, four Mississippi-connected players could be chosen among the first 26 picks. Among them are three of the last four Gatorade state players of the year — Konnor Griffin, Dakota Jordan and Jordan Montgomery — plus Mississippi State switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Montgomery and Cijntje reportedly will attend Sunday’s event; Griffin is having a watch party at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Expect several more players from the state to be called on Monday and Tuesday as the 20-round draft continues. … MLB’s Home Run Derby is set for Monday, though, regrettably, there is no Austin Riley, Brent Rooker or Hunter Renfroe in the field. … On Tuesday, it’s the main event, the 94th All-Star Game, with Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet (Chicago White Sox) and ex-MSU standout Jordan Westburg (Baltimore) suiting up for the American League squad.

07 Jul

star gazing

Garrett Crochet, the Ocean Springs High product who leads the American League in strikeouts, was justly rewarded with a spot on the American League All-Star team. Crochet is 6-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 146K’s for the Chicago White Sox. The rosters were announced Sunday on ESPN; there will be changes before the game is played on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Also making the AL team was former Biloxi Shuckers pitcher Corbin Burnes, now with Baltimore. He is 9-3, 2.32. Former Mississippi Braves star Freddie Freeman, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, made the National League roster as a reserve. Ex-M-Braves catcher William Contreras, now with Milwaukee, previously was voted in as a starter by fans. … The full list of Home Run Derby (July 15) participants has yet to be revealed. It would be a treat to see Nathaniel Lowe of the hometown Texas Rangers, Brent Rooker, Hunter Renfroe or Austin Riley in the derby. Each of those Mississippi products has light-tower power. … Magnolia Heights High product Cooper Pratt is slated to participate in the July 13 All-Star Futures Game for minor league prospects at Globe Life. He is No. 4 on Milwaukee’s chart. … The All-Star festivities get started on July 12 with the HBCU Swingman Classic. The Magnolia State will be well-represented with six Jackson State players and one each from Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State on the rosters. This is the second annual all-star game for players from NCAA Division I historically black schools. JSU’s Joseph Eichelberger, Robert Tate Jr., Lenny Montesano, Rodney Hibler Jr., Christian Womble and Isaiah Williams are joined on the rosters by Valley’s Dreylin Holmes and Alcorn’s Garrett Palladino. Former big leaguers Ken Griffey Sr. and Lloyd McClendon will manage the two teams. … Of note: The only other time the Texas Rangers hosted the All-Star Game was 1995, when former Mississippi State standout Buck Showalter managed the AL team in a 3-2 loss at The Ballpark in Arlington. He was manager of the New York Yankees, who had the best record in the AL when the 1994 season was halted by a players strike.

05 Jul

fenway flashback

Oil Can Boyd rocked and fired and threw a strike to Rich Gedman. Kinda like old times at Fenway Park. But on Thursday, the pair of former Boston teammates were on the field at Polar Park in Worcester, Mass., taking part in a first-pitch ceremony honoring Boyd, the Meridian native and ex-Jackson State star. For their Throwback Thursday promotion, the Worcester Red Sox — Boston’s Triple-A affiliate — invited Boyd, 64, as the special guest. A July 4 crowd of 9,400-plus, including a large contingent of Boyd’s family and friends, cheered on The Can, who gave a brief speech in which he toasted Gedman, the WooSox’s hitting coach and Boyd’s batterymate in Boston in the 1980s. “A southern kid from Mississippi and a northern kid from Worcester, Massachusetts, made a connection that lasts for life,” Boyd said, per an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. Drafted in 1980, Boyd came up in the Red Sox’s system but never pitched in Worcester; the team moved there from Pawtucket in 2021. He debuted in MLB in 1982 and enjoyed a colorful and complicated career, winning 78 games and losing 77. He and Gedman were on the Red Sox’s ill-fated World Series team in 1986. Boyd pitched in independent ball into his 40s and is credited with 152 wins all told in pro ball.

27 May

travel plans

Mississippi State, snubbed as a regional host, will pack its bags and head to California this week, if Baseball America’s NCAA Tournament projections are accurate. BA has State ranked 15th in its latest poll but seeded second in the Santa Barbara Regional, where 18th-ranked UCSB of the Big West is the No. 14 national seed. The actual regional assignments for the 64-team field will be announced later today. Southern Miss, champion of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and ranked 22nd by BA, is projected to travel to Tallahassee, Fla., where Florida State is the No. 8 national seed. Five SEC teams got regionals, including Georgia, which was knocked out of the SEC Tournament in the first round. No Sun Belt team is hosting; Louisiana-Lafayette is projected to make the field, as a 2-seed like USM. P.S. Defense, or lack thereof, often makes a difference when the heat is on in postseason play, as both USM and Jackson State witnessed on Sunday. USM benefited from a pair of errors by Georgia Southern in the ninth inning of the Golden Eagles’ 14-11 win in Sunday’s SBC tourney title game. USM scored five times in the ninth, three of the runs unearned. (USM, error-free on Sunday, also got plenty of offense from the likes of Dalton McIntyre, Davis Gillespie and Slade Wilks, plus another lockdown relief effort from Colby Allen.) Jackson State took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth but committed a pair of costly errors, helping Grambling State win 6-5 and claim the SWAC Tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAAs. JSU made four errors all told, leading to three unearned runs. Grambling did not make an error.

26 May

it’s crunch time

With a win today, Jackson State will be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Tigers (36-19) play old rival Grambling State in Atlanta for the SWAC Tournament championship. The winner — and only the winner — will get an NCAA berth. JSU has been a consistent winner under coach Omar Johnson, but getting into an NCAA regional out of a one-bid league is a tough task. The Tigers have only done it three times, twice under Johnson. The 4-seed out of the East Division this year, they got to the brink with a 4-2 victory against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. Lenny Montesano went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, and Je-andrick Lourens and three relievers combined on a six-hitter. Do the Tigers have any pitching left for the title game? … Southern Miss goes for its second straight Sun Belt Tournament title today against Georgia Southern at Montgomery, Ala. The Golden Eagles advanced with a weather-interrupted, come-from-behind 7-5 win Saturday over Appalachian State. Nick Monistere homered and Slade Wilks had two more hits and two RBIs as USM won the marathon contest. Colby Allen got the last four outs for his seventh save. The Eagles, under first-year coach Christian Ostrander, are 40-18, having reached 40 wins for the eighth straight year. … William Carey University cruised into the NAIA World Series with an 11-game win streak but went 2-and-out in Lewiston, Idaho, falling to Cumberlands (Ky.) 6-4 in an elimination game on Saturday. Carey ends the season with a 37-16 record. … East Central Community College got off to a sensational start this season, winning its first 31 games, and will have a shot at a fantastic finish starting today in the NJCAA Division II World Series at Enid, Okla. The Warriors (51-7) lost in the Region 23 Tournament but received an at-large bid to the World Series and are seeded third. Led by All-MACCC outfielder Mo Little (.354, 11 homers, 73 RBIs) and MACCC pitcher of the year Luke Cooley (8-1, 2.20 ERA, 110 strikeouts), the Warriors will play Monday against the winner of the delayed Montgomery (Md.)-Madison (Wisc.) first-round game. … Four MHSAA champions were crowned on Saturday at Trustmark Park in Pearl: Vancleave in Class 5A, Sumrall in 4A, St. Andrew’s in 2A and Taylorsville in 1A. P.S. Landon Harper, former Southern Miss pitcher from Meridian, was promoted to the Double-A Mississippi Braves on Saturday. He joins Saucier native and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC alum Brandon Parker, a current M-Braves outfielder, on the list of Mississippians to suit up for the Pearl-based club. Others: Zack Bird, Brent Leach, Van Pope, Jay Powell, Austin Riley, Michael Rosamond and John Thomson.

24 May

comin’ on strong

In the Baltimore Orioles’ loaded minor league system, it ain’t easy to stand out, especially for a player not ranked among their top prospects. But there at High-Class A Aberdeen goes Matthew Etzel, putting up eye-catching numbers. The Southern Miss product, a 10th-round pick by the Orioles in 2023, is hitting .293 with four homers, 23 RBIs, 20 steals, six doubles, two triples, 26 runs and a .392 on-base percentage. The lefty-hitting outfielder — 6 feet 2, 211 pounds — ranks in the top 11 in five offensive categories in the South Atlantic League. You won’t find Etzel’s name on MLB Pipeline’s chart of the Top 30 Baltimore prospects, four of whom rank in the top 22 on the overall minor league prospect chart. But his star is rising. He typically bats cleanup and plays center field for the IronBirds. “He is super exciting, definitely under the radar,” Aberdeen hitting coach Zach Cole recently told Orioles Beat. “He’s a guy that could climb the system pretty quick.” Etzel batted .317 with seven homers, 51 RBIs and 23 steals for USM’s Sun Belt Conference championship team in 2023, his only year in Hattiesburg after transferring from a Texas juco. P.S. Etzel’s alma mater rallied to win, 6-5 over Troy, in the SBC Tournament on Thursday and gets today off in Montgomery, Ala. … Jackson State won big again — 11-6 over Bethune-Cookman — in the SWAC Tournament in Atlanta and plays again today against the BCU-Texas Southern winner. … Mississippi State, afer losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC tourney, tackles top-seeded Tennessee in an elimination game today at Hoover, Ala. … Congrats to MHSAA state champions Brandon (Class 7A) and East Webster (3A), both of which completed sweeps on Thursday at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

23 May

bubbles up

Jackson State, which won 33 games in the regular season, did not have a single player named first-team All-SWAC. As if to make a statement, the Tigers — the No. 4 seed from the East Division — demolished the 1-seed from the West, Texas Southern, by a 17-4 count on Wednesday in the SWAC Tournament. JSU put up 11 runs in the seventh inning of the run-rule victory in Atlanta. Myles White, a second-team all-league pick, drove in four runs for the Tigers, and Arjun Huerta homered and picked up five RBIs. Three Tigers had three hits, including Joseph Eichelberger (.366, .931 OPS). JSU gets Bethune-Cookman today in a winners bracket game. … Another day, another big knock for Connor Hujsak. The Mississippi State senior drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s 5-3 win against 4-seed Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. Hujsak, batting .347 this season, hit a walk-off homer against Ole Miss on Tuesday. Fifth-seeded MSU meets 8-seed Vanderbilt tonight in a winners bracket game at Hoover, Ala. The top four seeds in the tourney all lost on Wednesday. … Southern Miss’ late-season surge continued in its Sun Belt Tournament opener on Wednesday. Billy Oldham and Colby Allen combined on a five-hit shutout and hot-hitting Slade Wilks drove in two runs and Nick Monistere hit a three-run homer in a five-run eighth as the Golden Eagles beat Coastal Carolina 5-0 at Montgomery, Ala. USM has won 11 of its last 12. Next up is Troy in a winners bracket game today.