Tag Archives: Meridian Community College

10 Jul

the hot spot

On a night when the Yankees are at Fenway, the White Sox and Cubs are clashing at Wrigley and the Nats and O’s are dueling at Camden Yards, the best place to be might be PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That’s where former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn and his St. Louis teammates will meet the Pirates in a matchup of the two best teams in the National League. The pitching matchup is a dandy. Lynn, 6-4 with a 2.53 ERA, will be opposed by Pirates ace Gerrit Cole, 12-3, 2.28. The Cardinals won the opener of the four-game series 4-1 on Thursday night, snapping the Pirates’ four-game win streak and extending their lead in the National League Central to 5½ games. Lynn faced the Bucs in St. Louis on May 1, striking out 10 in seven innings in a game won by the Cards 2-1 in 10. Lynn has fared well against Andrew McCutchen (.132) and Pedro Alvarez (.182), not so well against Starling Marte (.381) and Neil Walker (.294, two homers, eight RBIs). Envy Jackson’s Chris Maloney, who, as the Cardinals’ first-base coach, will have a great view of what ought to be a great game. P.S. UM product Aaron Barrett, on the disabled list for Washington, has made three rehab appearances in Class A ball, working three innings with no earned runs allowed. Barrett has a 5.06 ERA in 30 games for the Nationals. … Former Picayune High star T.J. House remains on the DL in the minors for Cleveland. The left-hander last pitched on June 5. He was sent down by the Indians after going 0-4, 13.15 in four starts; he is 0-2, 3.86 in four games for Triple-A Columbus. … Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee reportedly will start throwing later this month, though his return to Philadelphia still appears iffy. The veteran lefty hasn’t pitched at all this season and made just 13 starts last year because of elbow problems.

18 Jun

aches and pains

One stint on the disabled list was not enough time for Corey Dickerson’s plantar fasciitis to sufficiently heal. The former Meridian Community College star, in the midst of another strong season with Colorado, went back on the 15-day DL on Wednesday. He came off his first trip on June 11. “It won’t get better until it has time to rest,” Dickerson told mlb.com. Dickerson, 4-for-16 without an RBI during his brief return, is batting .299 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 38 games. When he might rejoin the Rockies is unclear. The MLB all-Mississippi injured list now includes Zack Cozart (knee, out for the season), Cliff Lee (flexor tendon, possibly out for good), Desmond Jennings (knee, return uncertain), Aaron Barrett (biceps, return uncertain) and Lance Lynn (forearm, due back next week). P.S. Daniel Castro, who got a hit in his first big league at-bat for Atlanta on Wednesday, joins a lengthy list of former Mississippi Braves shortstops to make The Show. The others: Luis Hernandez, Yunel Escobar, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Pastornicky, Andrelton Simmons and Ed Lucas. Castro hit .277 for the M-Braves in 2014 and was batting .389 this season when he was bumped up to Triple-A Gwinnett.

11 Jun

down goes cozart

Zack Cozart is out for the season, the Cincinnati Reds have announced, KO’d by the knee injury suffered on Wednesday when he stumbled crossing first base. The former Ole Miss star, in his fifth big league season, was hitting .258 with nine homers and 28 RBIs while playing a smooth shortstop. … On a positive note, Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College alumnus, is in the Colorado lineup today, playing left field and batting sixth against Miami. Dickerson, out with plantar fasciitis in his left foot since May 18, is batting .306 with five homers and 16 RBIs for the Rockies.

25 May

digging the long ball

Brian Dozier, last year’s runner-up in the all-Mississippi home run race, is leading the pack at the Memorial Day mark. With nine home runs this season — including two on Sunday — the former Southern Miss star is tops among the 11 Mississippians who’ve appeared in the majors. He leads Ole Miss alumni Chris Coghlan by two and Zack Cozart by three. Collectively, Mississippi-connected players have hit 43 homers in 2015. Ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland belted the 40th — his fourth of the season — on Friday at Yankee Stadium. Last year’s champion (with 24 bombs) was Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson, currently on the disabled list with five. UM alum Seth Smith has hit four. Dozier erupted with a career-high 23 homers last season, when he was picked for the Home Run Derby at his home field in Minnesota. He is on a current power trip with five homers in his last eight games. P.S. Southern Miss/William Carey alum Dan Jennings, after starting 0-5 as Miami manager, has won two in a row, both at the expense of ex-MSU star Buck Showalter’s Baltimore club. Showalter was an ardent supporter of the Marlins’ much-debated decision to move Jennings from GM to skipper. Former Mississippi Braves star Martin Prado got the game-winning hit (in the 13th inning) for the Marlins on Saturday and delivered a key home run Sunday. … The New York Yankees have brought up lefty reliever Jacob Lindgren, the ex-State standout who had such a terrific pro debut in 2014 and almost made the big club this spring.

18 May

worth noting

Dan Jennings, who played at Southern Miss and William Carey, will move from general manager to field manager of the Miami Marlins today, according to numerous reports. Jennings has worked in the Marlins’ front office since 2002. He’ll replace the fired Mike Redmond. Jennings played three years at USM (1979-81) and one year at Carey, graduating from the latter in 1984. He was inducted into WCU’s athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year. Jennings had a brief fling in pro ball as a player and coached high school ball in Alabama before becoming a big league scout. … Former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland hit his second homer for Texas on Sunday. He is 5-for-20 since returning from the disabled list and is at .288 with 12 RBIs for the season. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who had another hit on Sunday, is batting .300 with two homers and seven RBIs in 13 games for Tampa Bay. He was called up when Itawamba Community College alumnus Desmond Jennings (knee) went on the DL. Jennings reportedly is close to returning to duty. … Billy Hamilton got a day off Saturday and hit in the 8-hole on Sunday for Cincinnati. “You’ve got to roll with it,” the ex-Taylorsville High standout told mlb.com about being dropped from the leadoff spot. He went 1-for-3 and is now at .214 for the year. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart, hitting .300, has moved to the top of the order for Cincy. … Ex-UM star Lance Lynn threw 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, as St. Louis beat heavy-hitting Detroit 2-1. Lynn (3-3, 2.96 ERA) has won two straight starts. “Lance was great, no question about it,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told mlb.com. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson is playing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and might be headed for the DL. The Colorado outfielder is batting .309 with five homers and 16 RBIs.

07 May

game of thrones

The state championship is a nice catch, to be sure, but the four junior colleges participating in the MACJC tournament in Raymond might have one eye on a bigger prize: the region crown. The double-elimination state tourney starts today at Moss Field with East Mississippi Community College playing Northwest Mississippi and host Hinds meeting Meridian. Three of the four – the team that goes 2-and-out is done — will advance to the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament at Eunice, La., from May 14-17. The region winner goes to the juco World Series. Hinds did not win the state title last year but did win the region and then went all the way to the championship game of the World Series. The Eagles, 38-5 and back up to No. 1 in the country, are loaded again. Jordan Washam (.385, six homers, 33 RBIs) leads a lineup full of mashers, and the Eagles have arms (Randy Bell, Houston Case, Austin Sanders, et. al) in abundance. EMCC, Northwest and Meridian finished 2-3-4 in the regular season standings, and all are now ranked in the Top 20. But they were a collective 0-6 against HCC. P.S. Waiting in the wings for the three surviving Mississippi schools is No. 2 LSU-Eunice. The Bengals are 41-9, 24-3 at Bengal Stadium. Freshman Steven Sensley is batting .373 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. Mitch Sewald is 11-1 with a 2.04 ERA, and lefty Ben Braymer is 6-1, 2.51 with 113 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings. Beating that bunch at their place for the region championship could be a tall order.

04 May

the journey’s end

Former Southern Miss standout Scott Copeland recently became the fourth (and presumably last) member of the Mississippi draft class of 2010 to make the major leagues. When you consider that just getting out of A-ball is an accomplishment, that’s a pretty good number. Twenty-four from the state were drafted, 14 signed. Drew Pomeranz, picked fifth overall out of Ole Miss by Cleveland, made the big leagues in 2011 with Colorado. Now with Oakland, he has a 4.28 ERA over 59 games. Ryan Bolden, picked 40th overall out of Madison Central High by the Los Angeles Angels, did not get past rookie ball in four seasons. He died tragically in December (see previous post). Corey Dickerson, picked in the eighth round out of Meridian Community College by Colorado, reached the majors in 2012 and has batted .296 in 224 games. Aaron Barrett was plucked in the ninth round out of Ole Miss by Washington and made his MLB debut in 2014. He has a 2.42 ERA over 64 games. Three others were drafted in the first 10 rounds, but none of them has played above A-ball. Jones County JC alum Chris Lofton (ninth round, San Francisco), played in high Class A in 2014 and is now a free agent. UM’s Tim Ferguson (10th round, Kansas City) made it to high-A in 2013 but wasn’t in the game last year. And former Terry High star Deshun Dixon (10th round, Tampa Bay) topped out in short-season A-ball in 2012. Copeland, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, finally reached The Show in his sixth pro season. He was drafted in the 21st round by Baltimore and is now in the Toronto system. He pitched three scoreless innings in two appearances for the Blue Jays over the weekend, then was shipped back to Triple-A Buffalo today.

23 Apr

showing up late

Billy Hamilton’s not hitting (.204), but he is still finding ways to have an impact for Cincinnati. The ex-Taylorsville High star scored both of the Reds’ runs in a 2-1 victory over reeling Milwaukee on Wednesday night. He led off the game with a single, stole second (No. 9 on the year) and scored on a Joey Votto hit. In the ninth, Hamilton, on via a walk, went first to third on a Votto hit and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a wild pitch. “(W)e’re going to be the best base-running team in baseball,” Hamilton told mlb.com. … Corey Dickerson, who has been hitting (.302), belted a pair of home runs, including a game-tying shot in the bottom of the eighth, to help Colorado beat San Diego 5-4. Meridian Community College product Dickerson has four homers and 12 RBIs on the year. … Desmond Jennings has been scuffling (.212), but he made key contributions late in Tampa Bay’s 7-5 win over Boston. The former Itawamba CC standout, who went 2-for-4, scored a run in a four-run sixth that tied it at 5-5 and then got the go-ahead run across in the seventh when he grounded into a double play. Not an RBI, but a productive out.

16 Apr

worth noting

Former Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn notched career win No. 50 (against just 29 losses) in St. Louis’ 4-2 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday. Lynn, who told the media he “wasn’t sharp,” allowed six hits and a walk but just one run over five innings as the Brewers went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Lynn is 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings for the Cardinals this season. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore got his first hit of 2015 (in his 13th at-bat) and later belted a two-run home run to help Washington topple Boston 10-5. Moore made the club with a good spring, but his hold on a roster spot with the Nationals still seems rather tenuous. … Ex-UM star Zack Cozart, under a little pressure to hit more (.221 in 2014) in Cincinnati, has a five-game hitting streak that has lifted his average to .267. … Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College alum, went hitless for just the second time in nine games but still is raking at .361 with two homers and 10 RBIs for Colorado. … UM product Alex Presley, who accepted a minor league assignment with Houston, is 3-for-9 in two games for Triple-A Fresno.

14 Apr

heat check

Roughly one week into the season, the hottest-hitting Mississippian in the majors is Seth Smith, the Ole Miss product who is at .385 in 13 at-bats for his newest team, Seattle. Another UM alum, Chris Coghlan, is batting .375 with a pair of home runs for the Chicago Cubs, who are off to a 4-2 start. Former Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson is sailing along at .357 with two homers and nine RBIs for 5-2 Colorado. Ex-Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton, batting just .250, has seven steals and seven runs for Cincinnati, off to a 4-3 start. … As for pitchers, Aaron Barrett (Ole Miss, Washington), Jonathan Papelbon (Mississippi State, Philadelphia) and Drew Pomeranz (UM, Oakland) are unscored upon to this point, with Pomeranz yielding just two hits over seven innings in a win against Seattle. … Former Bulldogs star Kendall Graveman gets a start tonight for Oakland at Houston looking to shave his 18.90 ERA. Also eagerly awaiting his next turn is Picayune High product T.J. House, who has a 40.50 ERA for Cleveland. … Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi CC alum, finally got in a game for Kansas City on Monday and delivered a single. … Ex-MSU star Ed Easley spent a couple of days in a St. Louis uniform but did not make his MLB debut before being returned to Triple-A Memphis.