Meridian Community College Archives - Page 23 of 24

05 Jun

caught in a draft

Joe DiFabio is the answer to a good – no, make that a great – trivia question. Who was the first Mississippian (native or college alum) to be picked in the first round of the MLB draft? DiFabio, a right-hander out of Delta State, went 20th overall to St. Louis in the very first draft in 1965. Despite a good pro career (45-34 record, 3.28 ERA), DiFabio never made the big leagues. That’s the fickle nature of baseball — and the baseball draft. Being picked high is no guarantee of an MLB job, nor does going in a later round mean you’ve got no chance. Several Mississippians currently in the majors are evidence of that. Brian Dozier, having an All-Star worthy season (.251, 12 homers, 30 RBIs, 13 steals, 48 runs) for Minnesota, was an eighth-round pick out of Southern Miss in 2009. Corey Dickerson, batting .348 with seven homers in his second MLB season with Colorado, was picked in the eighth round in 2010 out of Meridian Community College. Aaron Barrett, having a marvelous rookie season with Washington (0.87 ERA in 22 games), was a ninth rounder from Ole Miss that year. Mitch Moreland, batting .256 with two homers and 17 RBIs in his fifth year as a regular in Texas, was a 17th rounder out of Mississippi State in 2007. And then there’s Jarrod Dyson. He is batting .275 with 10 stolen bases and playing solid defense in center field as a part-timer for Kansas City. Dyson was a 50th-round pick in 2006 out of Southwest Mississippi Community College and made The Show four years later. There might not be a Mississippian selected in today’s first round, but plenty will be called in the next 39. As Dyson and others have shown, all you need is an opportunity. P.S. Belhaven University is ranked 18th in final NAIA poll. The Blazers went 42-21 and made the regionals. Two BU players, Tyler Akins and Paul Pickerrell, were named All-Americans. … Three Mississippi high schools, all state champions, made the top 27 in Baseball America’s final poll. West Lauderdale was No. 10, New Hope No. 24 and Oak Grove No. 27.

21 May

could be worse

The Philadelphia Phillies put Cliff Lee, the ex-Meridian Community College ace, on the 15-day disabled list today with what was described as a mild elbow strain. Not good for a 35-year-old pitcher, but not the worst case scenario. There were some concerns that he might be headed for Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Lee, who last pitched on Sunday, is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA. P.S. Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz won his third straight start for Oakland on Tuesday as the A’s beat Tampa Bay 3-0. How’s this for consistency? Since moving to the rotation, lefty Pomeranz has worked five scoreless innings in each of his three starts. He is 4-1 with a 0.94 ERA for the season. … Mitch Moreland is heating up in Texas. The former Mississippi State standout is 4-for-11 with a homer in his three starts at first base (his former position) in place of the injured Prince Fielder and is batting .345 over his last 10 games. For the year, the Amory native is batting .294 with two homers and 15 RBIs.

11 May

have a day

Seth Smith went 3-for-4, drove in four runs, scored two and came up a single shy of the first cycle in San Diego Padres history. But the Ole Miss product’s big day wasn’t the best by a Mississippian in the majors on Saturday. No, that honor would have to go to Corey Dickerson, the ex-Meridian Community College star from McComb, who went 4-for-5, hit two homers, drove in four runs and scored three in Colorado’s 11-2 win at Cincinnati. Dickerson, in his second MLB campaign, is batting .385 with four homers and 11 RBIs as a platooning outfielder for the rolling Rockies, second in the National League West. Jackson native Smith, playing more regularly for the Padres, has been on a roll of his own with 15 hits in his last 27 at-bats. He is batting .327 with three homers and 13 RBIs. P.S. Vicksburg native Ellis Burks, who had some monster years with Colorado during his playing days, is working as a part-time instructor with Rockies hitters this season.

09 May

true to form

Jones County Junior College looked the part of the No. 1 team in the nation today, whipping Northeast Mississippi 14-4 in the opening round of the MACJC Tournament at Booneville. Chris Morgan and Trent Giambrone combined for nine hits, three home runs and six RBIs to back the pitching of Westin Stringer. The Bobcats (41-9) play Hinds, a 13-4 winner over East Central, in today’s winners bracket game. Northeast and East Central play an elimination game at 10 a.m. today, and the winner of that game will play the JCJC-Hinds loser in another elimination game on Friday. JCJC and Hinds have clinched berths in the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament next week. P.S. Meridian Community College, the state’s only NJCAA Division I program, plays Delgado on Friday in the Region 23 Tournament at New Orleans. The Eagles (25-24) lost four of five games this season against Miss-Lou Conference rival Delgado, the No. 3 team in the nation. MCC is led by Dalton Thomas (.349, seven home runs), Ben Gann (.291, seven homers, 43 RBIs) and Goose Yates (5-2, 2.75).

08 May

ups and downs

The new job seems to be working out fine for Seth Smith. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star, in his first year with San Diego, is batting .344 over his last 10 games and is at .295 for the year with two homers and seven RBIs. He batted .253 last season in Oakland. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore, batting .200 in limited work for Washington, has been sent down to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for pitcher Doug Fister, coming off the disabled list. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in Colorado’s 9-2 thumping of Texas on Wednesday. He is batting .348 with two homers and seven RBIs as a part-time outfielder. … Ex-MCC star Cliff Lee allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings as Philadelphia lost to Toronto 10-0. Lee’s record dipped to 3-3 and his ERA jumped to 3.64. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson contributed a hit, two walks and a run and Schlater native Louis Coleman threw a scoreless inning in Kansas City’s 8-0 win over San Diego. Dyson is batting .286; Coleman, who has been scuffling, dropped his ERA to 6.30. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, did not play in Cincinnati’s 3-2 loss to Boston. He has made just two appearances — no starts — since hurting his left hand on May 1. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart took an 0-fer for the Reds and is batting just .200 despite a recent hot streak (.314 over his last 10). … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier picked up a couple of RBIs — he has 14 for the season — in Minnesota’s 4-3 loss to Cleveland.

22 Apr

mississippi mismatch

The Mississippi matchup of veteran left-handers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night proved to be a letdown. Well, Cliff Lee, the ex-Meridian Community College star, was brilliant for Philadelphia, but Mississippi State product Paul Maholm fizzled for Los Angeles. Lee (3-2, 3.09) went eight innings, allowed four hits and no walks and struck out 10 in the 7-0 victory. The Dodgers were blanked at home for the first time in 2014. Maholm, trying to secure a rotation spot in his first year in Dodger blue, lasted just five innings and allowed eight hits and four earned runs, including a home run to Ryan Howard. Maholm is now 0-2 with a 5.60. He also committed an error that led to a run. … Elsewhere in The Show on Monday: Corey Dickerson, another Meridian CC product now back up with Colorado, belted his first homer of the year while going 3-for-4 in the Rockies’ 8-2 win against San Francisco. Dickerson is batting .375. Former Ole Miss star Alex Presley went 3-for-4, including a triple against Felix Hernandez, as Houston beat Seattle 7-2. Presley is batting just .200 for the Astros, who picked him up on waivers from Minnesota late in the spring. Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson returned from the bereavement list and started in center field for Kansas City, going 0-for-1 with a sac and a run in a 4-3 loss to Cleveland. Dyson is hitting .111 in just nine at-bats. The Royals say they plan to platoon the lefty-hitting Dyson with Justin Maxwell while starting center fielder Lorenzo Cain is out with an injury. Props to ex-Mississippi Braves standout Evan Gattis on his first career walk-off homer for Atlanta, which beat Miami 4-2 in 10 innings. Still can’t figure why Gattis is batting seventh in the lineup.

15 Apr

more lynn-sanity

Lance Lynn might not be considered the ace of the St. Louis staff — he might even be the No. 5 starter — but the Ole Miss product produced an ace-worthy performance on Monday night. Lynn threw seven shutout innings against red-hot Milwaukee as the Cardinals beat the Brewers 4-0 and halted their nine-game win streak. Lynn allowed just three hits and three walks while fanning 11. “Today was as good as I’ve seen him,” a Cards teammate told mlb.com. Lynn is now 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA this season and is an impressive 37-18 over four MLB campaigns. … Atlanta did not face Philadelphia closer and ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon on Monday and may have benefited from it. Dan Uggla belted a ninth-inning grand slam off fill-in closer Jake Diekman in the Braves’ wild 9-6 win. Former Meridian Community College standout Cliff Lee (2-1, 5.50 ERA) is slated to start against the Braves tonight in Philly. Left-hander Lee has been prone to allowing long balls in recent years, and Atlanta hit five (two by ex-Mississippi Braves star Evan Gattis) on a windy Monday.

08 Apr

bird watching

Seemingly wherever you look, Eagles are taking off. Southern Miss’ Golden Eagles have won eight of 10 games and take a 19-14 record into tonight’s rivalry game with Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Matt Durst has been carrying the Eagles’ attack with a .318 average, four home runs and 22 RBIs. Hinds Community College’s Eagles also have won eight of 10 and have surged to the top of MACJC South Division standings with an 11-3 mark, just ahead of Jones County JC at 9-3. Hinds (21-12) has gotten outstanding production from freshman Chase Lunceford, a former Clinton High star who is batting .318 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. Yet another flock of Eagles, the ones at Meridian Community College, has moved to the top of the Miss-Lou Conference standings with a 3-2 record. MCC (20-16) split a doubleheader on Saturday at Scaggs Field with Delgado (La.), the No. 2-ranked team in NJCAA Division I. Scott Votaw homered, Grant Hill drove in a pair of runs and Jake Smith pitched four strong innings in the Eagles’ 7-6 win in Game 2 of that twinbill.

01 Apr

eye openers

Desmond Jennings went 2-for-4 with a couple of runs and made a sensational catch in center field for Tampa Bay on Monday. But the ex-Itawamba Community College standout was the exception to the rule for Mississippians in the majors on opening day for most of the clubs. Meridian CC product Cliff Lee got a win for Philadelphia – but he allowed 11 hits and eight runs in five innings. Mississippi State alum Jonathan Papelbon did pitch a clean ninth in the 14-10 win over Texas. Former Bulldogs star Mitch Moreland went 0-for-3 for the Rangers. Southern Miss product Brian Dozier was 0-for-4 leading off for Minnesota in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. And in Cincinnati, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton 0-for-4 with four K’s in his debut as the Reds’ new leadoff batter. The Reds lost to St. Louis 1-0.

23 Mar

dodger dog

Paul Maholm, the former Mississippi State Bulldogs star, made his official Los Angeles Dodgers debut on Sunday in Australia. One of three pitchers the Dodgers used in a rocky bottom of the ninth inning against Arizona, Maholm struck out the only batter he faced. L.A. held on to win 7-5 despite yielding four runs in the ninth. Veteran left-hander Maholm, cut loose by Atlanta after a 10-11, 4.41 ERA season in 2013, struggled in competition for the Dodgers’ No. 5 starter job during the first few weeks of spring training. He figures to rejoin that battle when the team returns to the States. P.S. Getting to the majors is hard, they say, but staying is even harder. Despite hitting .354 so far this spring, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson has not nailed down a job with the Colorado Rockies. The left-handed hitting Dickerson, 24, who had a solid rookie year in 2013, is competing for one of two available outfield jobs. Commenting on questions about his defense, Dickerson told mlb.com: “I think I’ve got a pretty good track record and I can play any position in the outfield — I have the speed and the tools to do it.” Already sent to the minors this spring were Picayune’s T.J. House by Cleveland; Ole Miss product Phillip Irwin by Pittsburgh; and Hattiesburg’s Robert Carson by the L.A. Angels (who took him off their 40-man roster). … Released on Saturday: former Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur, who hit .286 with 10 RBIs for the Indians this spring.