Tag Archives: Jones County Junior College

14 Apr

poll positions

Finally, there is a new NJCAA Division II poll. Fittingly, Mississippi jucos, three of them, populate the top 20. Jones County Junior College, which has distanced itself from the field in the MACJC standings, is No. 4 in the national poll, the first one released since before the season began. JCJC is 33-3 and 16-2 after sweeping Pearl River Community College 20-1 and 8-3 on Wednesday, the day the poll came out. The Bobcats are one of the highest scoring teams in the country, led by Mason Irby, who leads the state with a .472 average and 45 RBIs. With seven homers, Irby trails only teammate Erick Hoard and PRCC’s Zack Clark, who have 11. Tanner Huddleston, a .425 hitter for JCJC, has driven in 44 runs and Hoard 42. The Bobcats’ Clint Sasser leads the state and ranks No. 2 nationally with 34 steals. Oh, and ace Mason Strickland is 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA. Meridian CC is ranked No. 7 and East Central is No. 20. They are in a pack of four schools sitting in a virtual tie for second place in the MACJC standings. The Eagles (27-7, 12-6) and Warriors (25-13, 13-7) split a twinbill in Decatur on Tuesday; Will Kennedy’s bases-clearing triple sparked the Warriors’ Game 2 win after they had blown a ninth-inning lead in the opener. Northwest, also 12-6 in the league, got some poll votes. The Rangers (20-12) had an eight-game win streak stopped by Dyersburg (Tenn.) State on Tuesday. Hinds, which was ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA preseason poll, started slowly but has picked it up of late. The Eagles (20-14, 12-6) swept Copian-Lincoln on Tuesday — with the aid of 11 errors. If the postseason started today, Northeast, Gulf Coast and Holmes would join Jones and the four second-place teams in the chase. But certainly, much could change between now and the start of the best-of-3 round on May 6.

12 Apr

tilting at curveballs

The biggest disappointment in the big leagues so far would have to be Minnesota, which is 0-7. Ex-Southern Miss star and Twins second baseman Brian Dozier was quoted during spring training as saying, “The last couple years, we thought we would be good, but this year we expect it.” Like his team, 2015 All-Star Dozier isn’t meeting expectations: .192 with a solo homer. … Among the surprises in MLB is Cincinnati, off to a 5-2 start. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart is batting .412, and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton, while hitting just .176, has contributed a homer, a steal, three walks and four runs. … The only thing Jonathan Papelbon has throttled this season for Washington has been opposing batters. The former Mississippi State star has saved all four of the Nationals’ wins, allowing just one run. … Tampa Bay wanted power from ex-Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson, and the ex-Colorado slugger has delivered with three homers through six games. He has only two other hits, however. … McComb native Jarrod Dyson is 1-for-4 with two walks in two rehab games at Triple-A Omaha; no definite return date has been set for the Kansas City Royals speedster. … Former Mississippi Braves star Mallex Smith’s line from his MLB debut for Atlanta on Monday: 1 hit, 1 run, 1 caught stealing, 5 stitches in his forehead. But, he may start again tonight. … Though the M-Braves are 1-4, don’t blame Ozzie Albies or Chris Ellis for the poor record. Albies, the flashy shortstop prospect, is batting .364. Ellis, the highly touted Ole Miss alum, won his only start, throwing six shutout innings. … Petal High product and Toronto prospect Anthony Alford, injured (leg) in Class A Dunedin’s opener last week, is on the club’s 7-day disabled list. Alford’s Dunedin teammate D.J. Davis, a Stone County alum, is off to a 3-for-21 start. … Not only does the Magnolia State have three nationally ranked NCAA Division I teams, but D-II Delta State is 26-11, NAIA William Carey is 29-13 and jucos Jones County and Meridian are 31-3 and 26-6, respectively. … On the schedule today are two interesting intrastate matchups: Mississippi Valley State visits Delta State at Ferriss Field in Cleveland and Mississippi College and Millsaps hook up at Twenty Field in Jackson in a Maloney Trophy Series game.

27 Mar

scatter shots

A change of scenery might be what Tyler Moore needs, but a return to Triple-A Syracuse probably isn’t going to help. Moore, the former Mississippi State standout, was outrighted to Syracuse by the Washington Nationals on Friday after clearing waivers. Declaring free agency was not an option for the 29-year-old Moore, who doesn’t have enough service time. As a regular in the minors, Moore hit .271 with 107 homers, including back-to-back 31-bomb seasons, over 612 games. Playing irregularly in the big leagues, he has a .228 average and 24 homers in 277 games over four years. He is hitting .121 as a pinch hitter, and he struggled this spring. Moore, well-liked in Washington, needs an opportunity somewhere else. Maybe the Nationals will try to deal him. … Cleveland optioned Pascagoula’s Joey Butler to Triple-A Buffalo, but manager Terry Francona said he was “thrilled” that the Indians were able to keep the slugging outfielder in the organization. Butler, who flashed his potential with Tampa Bay in 2015, didn’t have a good spring with the Indians, but he’ll get another shot with them. … Delta State is suddenly cooking, with eight straight wins and back-to-back Gulf South Conference series sweeps. The Statesmen, after rolling over North Alabama on the road this weekend, are 20-9, 13-5. They’ll be climbing in the NCAA Division II polls. … This just in: Southern Miss can hit a little bit. The Golden Eagles mashed four home runs on Saturday to finish off a C-USA sweep of Texas-San Antonio and now have 33 homers in 25 games. Taylor Braley leads with eight and Dylan Burdeaux has seven for 19-6 USM. …. Big series. Big crowds. Big letdown in Oxford? After getting swept by South Carolina in a matchup of top 10 teams, Ole Miss finds itself with a 2-4 SEC record. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rebels respond. … Was anybody left at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday when Mississippi State’s game against Georgia ended? Was anybody awake? The home Dogs lost to the road Dogs 11-8 in a nine-inning game that lasted almost five hours and “featured” 22 walks and 10 pitching changes. State did win the first two games and is now 4-2 in the league. … Props to Itawamba Community College’s Rick Collier on becoming the school’s all-time winningest coach with 452 W’s in 14 years. The Indians, with two homers from Timothy Rowe, beat Meridian 10-3 in the second game of a twinbill on Friday to push Collier past Roy Cresap. … Nominee for Game of the Year: In Ellisville on Friday, Jones County Junior College got a game-tying three-run homer from pinch-hitter Marcus Hardy in the bottom of the ninth and a walk-off two-run shot from Erick Hoard in the 10th to beat Northwest 8-6. After completing the doubleheader sweep, Jones is 24-2 and 7-1, leading the MACJC standings.

11 Mar

weather permitting …

If it ever stops raining, Meridian Community College’s Scaggs Field looks like the place to be on Saturday. Weather permitting, the Eagles will host Jones County Junior College in the marquee matchup of the first round of MACJC play. Jones is 17-1, having lost for the first time (to Arkansas Baptist) last Sunday. MCC is 15-1, having lost only to Jefferson (Mo.) in mid-February. Both teams are led at the plate by Southern Miss signees: Jones’ Mason Irby is batting an amazing .571 with seven homers and 27 RBIs, while MCC’s Jaylon Keys is batting .411 with four homers and 11 steals. The Bobcats, in their first year under coach Chris Kirtland, also feature Clint Sasser (.469, 21 steals) and a bevy of good arms, topped by freshman Ben Stiglets (4-0, 0.53 ERA). Eason Weeks and Baylor Obert are .400 hitters for Dillon Sudduth’s Eagles, and the most consistent pitcher has been Hunter Mullis (3-0, 3.71). The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. … Pearl River (15-3) is slated to open against Coahoma in Clarksdale on Saturday. For the Wildcats, Zachary Clark has been a standout on a strong offensive club. The Alabama signee is batting .388 with eight bombs, 24 RBIs and 21 runs. Coahoma (6-11 with four straight wins) has some good arms on a staff with a collective 4.07 ERA. … In other Saturday MACJC openers, all twinbills, it’s Itawamba-Hinds, Northwest-East Central, Southwest-East and Copiah-Lincoln—Delta. Weather is likely to impact this schedule. The Gulf Coast-Northeast matchup already has been postponed until May because of weather concerns.

29 Feb

the undefeated

As the curtain closes on February, only one Mississippi junior college remains unbeaten. Jones County JC, under first-year coach Chris Kirtland, moved to 12-0 on Sunday by sweeping a twinbill from Kaskaskia (Ill.) in Ellisville. Mason Irby and Erick Hoard had big hits for the Bobcats on Sunday, which is what they’ve been doing all along for a team averaging over 10 runs a game. Irby, an All-America candidate, is batting .590 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. Hoard is at .436 with three homers and 15 RBIs. Seven regulars are hitting over .400, including Clint Sasser at .581 with 15 steals. The pitching staff is topped by Ben Stiglets (3-0, 0.75 ERA), Mason Strickland (1-0, one save, 0.79) and Will Brand (2-0, 3.75). Kirtland, a longtime JCJC assistant and former Southern Miss player, took the reins this year from Christian Ostrander, who had quite a nice run with the Bobcats, including an NJCAA Division II World Series appearance four years ago. “This is the kind of place that sets you up for success,” Kirtland said when he was introduced as the new coach back in December. To his credit, he has pushed all the right buttons so far. … There are four one-loss teams remaining in the MACJC (Meridian, Itawamba, Southwest and Northwest) and one with two losses (Delta). Hinds, the only state team ranked in preseason, is off to a 4-6 start. Conference play, which starts in mid-March, promises to be a lot of fun, as usual.

25 Nov

now hiring

There figures to be plenty of interest in the Jones County Junior College coaching job, which came open Monday when Christian Ostrander was named pitching coach at Louisiana Tech. JCJC sits in the heart of an area with many strong prep programs. It has a first-rate facility in Community Bank Park. And Ostrander built a winning tradition, going 255-109 in seven seasons with two state championships and a national runner-up finish in 2011. Among the players returning from last year’s 30-16 club is NJCAA Division II second-team All-America catcher Mason Irby, a Southern Miss signee. JCJC officials hope to have Ostrander’s replacement named at the December Board of Trustees meeting, according to a school release. Ostrander is a Monroe, La., native who played at Delta State when current LaTech coach Greg Goff was the pitching coach there. P.S. Kudos to former Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan, who is expected to be named hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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.

23 Apr

the odd couple

The schedule brings Belhaven and William Carey together at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. In the Southern States Athletic Conference standings, the old rivals are far apart. With the SSAC Tournament looming next week, Carey is 16-9 and in third place. Belhaven is 10-16 and clinging to seventh. The teams are slated for a doubleheader today and a single game Friday. It’s been sort of an odd season for both. Carey (26-20 overall) lost its first five games, then went on a 10-game win streak that included coach Bobby Halford’s 1,000th career victory. The Crusaders were 13-8 in early March when they endured another five-game skid. But … they’ve swept three SSAC series and took two of three from Faulkner when it was No. 2 in the nation in NAIA. Carey’s offense has been sparked all season by Tyler Richardson, who is batting .382 with 45 runs. The Crusaders (.285 as a team) have two other regulars hitting above .300: Cody Christian and Petal’s Larson Barkurn. Pitching hasn’t been a strength of this club, which has a 4.56 ERA, but the Crusaders do have a potentially dominant ace to throw in Gavin Culpepper. The 6-foot-8 right-hander is 7-2 with a 3.21 and has 88 strikeouts and 22 walks in 73 innings. Belhaven (32-20), which saw coach Hill Denson notch his 1,000th college coaching victory this season, has been on a rollercoaster, as well. After a 9-4 start, the Blazers were swept in a three-game series at home by SSAC foe Mobile in late February. They were on an 8-1 roll when they were swept at home by Auburn-Montgomery in late March. They also were swept at home by Faulkner earlier this month. BU hits .302 as a team and, led by Adam Kowalczyk’s 12 bombs, is second in the SSAC with 28 home runs. What the Blazers do best, however, is steal bases. They lead the league with 170 and have three of the top six individual base burglars. Reagan Rutledge leads the pack with 49, Emilio DeSilva has 33 and Paul Pickerrell 27. BU’s most reliable starting pitcher has been Ben Allison (7-3, 3.52). The team’s ERA is a shaky 4.52, but its defense has been a bigger issue: 106 errors, most in the SSAC, and 71 unearned runs allowed. P.S. In what has been a down year for Pearl River Community College, sophomore shortstop Derrick Mount has been tearing it up. Mount, a former Harrison Central High star, hit three homers and drove in 10 runs in a doubleheader against Co-Lin last week, earning MACJC player of the week honors. Mount is batting .359 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs for the Wildcats (13-27, 7-17 MACJC). Jones County JC’s Will Hazen, a sophomore left-hander out of St. Stanislaus, was named pitcher of the week on the basis of his two-hit, nine-strikeout effort in a 1-0 win over Mississippi Delta last week.

21 Feb

on the juco watch

Not to make too much about statistics from this early in the season, but there are a few worth mentioning from the state junior colleges. Itawamba Community College’s Tanner Poole has eight stolen bases, tied for the national lead in NJCAA Division II. Poole, a sophomore from Amory, is batting .455 with two home runs and 11 RBIs for the Indians, who are 5-1. T.J. Watson is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. … East Mississippi’s David Pimentel, a freshman from Tennessee, tops the nation in homers with three. … Jones County’s Daniel Goff, a former George County star who is 2-0 with a 1.50, was named the NJCAA D-II pitcher of the week on Thursday. He fanned 11 in a six-inning stint against Jefferson (Mo.) College on Wednesday. Tyler Schankin has hit two homers for the 11th-ranked Bobcats (7-1). … No. 2 Hinds, off to an 8-0 start, got a seven-inning no-hitter from Derek Martin of Flora on Wednesday against Bossier Parish (La.). Austin Sanders, from Madison, has a win and three saves for the Eagles, and Jonathan Washam is batting .500 with seven RBIs.

06 Feb

something new

With a roster chock-full of newcomers, Mississippi College enters a brave new world this season. Ready or not, MC starts play in NCAA Division II and in the Gulf South Conference. Actually, MC has been here before, but that was 20 years ago. There is some catching up to do. The Choctaws open Friday against an NAIA foe, Tougaloo, at Frierson Field in Clinton. Though still in transition from non-scholarship D-III to D-II, MC will play a full slate of GSC games, starting with a series at Christian Brothers next weekend. “We’ve been putting (the players) through the ringer the last few weeks, trying to get ready,” said Choctaws coach Brian Owens, the former Mississippi State pitcher now in his ninth season as the head man in Clinton. MC returns 11 lettermen from last year’s club, which went 21-19 (18-15 in the American Southwest Conference). Pitchers Brooks Fortenberry (4-4, 2.21 ERA) and Jayme Monroe (5-5, 3.28) and position players Marty Stringfellow (.362) and Hunter Bolin (.298, 13 steals) head the cast of returnees. There are 26 newcomers on the roster, and how they mesh together while also adapting to the D-II level will tell the tale on MC’s season. … Old MC rival Delta State, also sporting a remade roster, opens Friday against Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Statesmen, under veteran coach Mike Kinnison, were pegged by league coaches to win the ever-tough GSC, this despite losing six regular position players and five key pitchers from a 38-13 team. Among the missing is Will Robertson, who led the league in hitting (.388) in 2014 but reportedly will miss this season with an injury. Landon Thibodeaux (.327, five homers, 31 RBIs) and Jonathon Moody (9-4, 2.98), both first-team All-GSC in 2014, are back. … Also of note: West Florida, picked to finish third in the GSC, has added some Mississippi flavor to its roster: former East Mississippi Community College star Ladarious Clark and ex-Jones County JC standout Jordan Stark.