Tag Archives: Mississippi College

08 Aug

they also serve …

Dave Clark and Travis Chapman won’t throw a pitch or swing the bat this weekend, but they’ll be on the field at Yankee Stadium and involved in the action. Clark, the former Jackson State star from Shannon, and Chapman, a Mississippi State alum, are first-base coaches for Houston and the New York Yankees, respectively. Those teams, rivals with a history and 2025 playoff contenders, will face off in a three-game series. With the likes of Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa and Jazz Chisholm taking hacks in this series, Clark and Chapman figure to be plenty busy playing traffic cop at first base. They are among a sizable group of former players with Mississippi connections who now work in managerial or coaching roles in the big leagues. At one time in 2018, there were seven major league managers with a Mississippi tie, either a school alum or a player or manager for Jackson’s old Texas League club. Today, Brian Snitker, 2005 Mississippi Braves skipper, and Ray Montgomery, who played for the Jackson Generals in the 1990s, are the only two. Snitker is retiring after this season on the heels of a great run in the ATL, the 2025 season notwithstanding. Montgomery is the interim manager for the Los Angeles Angels, presumably just keeping the seat warm for the return of Ron Washington next year. For the Milwaukee Brewers — MLB’s hottest team — Chris Hook, a former Biloxi Shuckers coach and a Jackson Generals pitcher, serves as pitching coach for an outstanding staff, and Starkville native Julio Borbon is the Brewers’ first-base coach. The Crew is hosting the New York Mets this weekend. John Gibbons, former Jackson Mets catcher, is the Mets’ bench coach, and Antoan Richardson, who starred for the Mississippi Braves, is their first-base coach. Laurel native Bobby Dickerson is the infield coach for Philadelphia. Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and East Central Community College star, is the hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox. Jim Hickey, a former Jackson Generals pitching coach, is the longtime pitching coach of the Washington Nationals. The Colorado staff includes Clint Hurdle, skipper of the last JaxMets team in 1990, as bench coach and ex-JaxMets first baseman Ron Gideon as first-base coach. Chris Truby, who manned third base for the Jackson Generals in the mid-’90s, is now a coach for Pittsburgh. P.S. Former Southern Miss standout Landon Harper came within one out of a seven-inning perfect game Thursday for Double-A Columbus in Atlanta’s system. Harper finished with a one-hitter and improved to 3-6 with a 3.67 ERA after the 2-0 win over Rocket City. … Former Jackson Prep star Konnor Griffin homered — his 15th overall this season — for High-Class A Greensboro (Pittsburgh). The minor leagues’ No. 1 prospect is batting .332 with 64 RBIs, 87 runs and 50 steals in 92 games over two levels of A-ball. … Blaine Crim, Mississippi College alum, hit his 19th homer of the year, his first for Triple-A Albuquerque since Colorado claimed him off waivers from Texas. The bomb came against his former team, Round Rock, and erstwhile big leaguer Craig Kimbrel. … The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly will call up Justin Dean, who played center field for the 2021 Double-A South champion M-Braves. … The North Delta Dealers, behind the two-hit pitching of Eli Akins, won the Cotton States League championship last Sunday, beating regular season champ Tallahatchie 2-1. Hayden Short and Patrick Mangels drove in runs for North Delta. Akins, a 6-foot-6 righty at Delta State, went 6-1 in the New Albany-based college summer league. Tallahatchie finished 14-5-1 this season and led the loop in hitting and pitching.

04 Aug

feel-good moment

In his fifth game since being promoted to Triple-A by Baltimore, Reed Trimble had himself a day. The Southern Miss alum from Tupelo went 3-for-5, drove in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth and scored the game-winner in Norfolk’s 10-9 victory Sunday over Memphis. A switch-hitting outfielder, the 25-year-old Trimble is batting .228 over four levels this season; he is 5-for-21 at Norfolk. Drafted 65th overall by the Orioles in 2021 — after hitting .345 with 17 homers that season at USM — Trimble has had trouble staying on the field. He has made at least six trips to the injured list and played in just 192 games over his five minor league campaigns. A .240 career hitter with 17 homers and 51 steals, he has slipped off the MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospect list in the Baltimore system. But he is getting a shot at the Triple-A level, and Sunday’s effort was certainly a feel-good moment. … Trimble upstaged former DeSoto Central High standout Blaze Jordan, who got his first hit (in his second game) for Memphis since being traded to St. Louis by Boston. P.S. And the winning pitcher of the first major league game ever played at a NASCAR track in Tennessee is: Hurston Waldrep. The USM alum and ex-Mississippi Braves standout threw 5 2/3 impressive innings for Atlanta in the 4-2 win Sunday against Cincinnati. The Speedway Classic was suspended in the first inning on Saturday night. Waldrep caught a ride in Sunday morning from Lawrenceville, Ga., where he was slated to pitch for Triple-A Gwinnett. In Bristol, he allowed just one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts for his first career win in his third MLB appearance. Eli White got the MVP award after hitting two homers, but what Waldrep did was just as valuable. “I’m happy to be here. It’s just been an unbelievable day,” he told mlb.com postgame. Alas, he was optioned back to Gwinnett today. The right-hander, a 2024 first-round pick (out of Florida), endured two rough MLB outings in 2024 and was 7-8 with a 4.42 ERA this year at Gwinnett, where had pitched well in his last several outings. … The Braves’ Austin Riley (DeSoto Central grad) felt abdominal pain after making a diving tag on Sunday, left the game and is likely to miss at least a couple more. … Former Mississippi College star Blaine Crim was claimed by Colorado off waivers from Texas and optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. … Dakota Jordan, the former Ferriss Trophy winner at Mississippi State, put up a 5-for-6 with a homer for Low-Class A San Jose in a 15-7 win Sunday vs. Stockton. San Francisco’s No. 6 prospect, bucking for a promotion, is hitting .315 with 12 bombs.

03 Aug

three stars

Colt Keith: The Biloxi High product went 3-for-5 with a home run — for Detroit’s first run against Zack Wheeler — as the Tigers beat the Phillies 7-5 in a showdown of aces (Tarik Skubal vs. Wheeler) and first-place teams. Keith is batting .258 with nine homers and 33 RBIs and is hitting .316 over his last seven games.
Brandon Woodruff: The ex-Mississippi State standout allowed one hit (a homer), one walk and two runs over six innings and punched out eight to lead first-place Milwaukee to an 8-2 win against Washington. In five starts since coming off the injured list, Woodruff is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA and 37 K’s in 28 1/3 innings.
Christopher Sargent Jr.: The former Southern Miss slugger drove in two runs with a double for Ogden in the independent Pioneer League and boosted his season RBI total to 101, best in the league. He is batting .381 with 25 homers.
P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Ryan Rolison was recalled to the big leagues by Colorado; he had a 7.34 ERA in 22 games in his first stint for the woeful Rockies. … J.P. France, an MSU product, allowed four runs on two hits and four walks in a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land in the Houston system. … Blaine Crim, Mississippi College alum, was designated for assignment by Texas on July 31 and is in roster limbo. He is batting .284 with 18 homers at Triple-A Round Rock; he went 0-for-11 in The Show. … Mississippi native Lance Barksdale is on the umpiring crew for the historic MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tenn. The Atlanta-Cincinnati game was suspended by rain and will be resumed today in the first inning.

26 Jun

carolina clash

They aren’t going head-to-head exactly, but they are on the same field in Greensboro, N.C., playing for opposing teams in a South Atlantic League series. Konnor Griffin and Braden Montgomery — former Mississippi prep stars, first-round draft picks last summer and among the top prospects in the minor leagues – are clashing this week as Winston-Salem visits Greensboro at First National Bank Field. Griffin, former Jackson Prep star and Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect, went 1-for-3 on Wednesday in the host Grasshoppers’ victory in Game 2 of the series. He was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run in a win in Game 1 on Tuesday. Montgomery, out of Madison Central and the No. 4 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s chain, is 4-for-8 in the two games with a homer and three RBIs. Both started this season, their pro debut, in Low-Class A but quickly moved up. Griffin, 19, is batting .337 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 34 steals over the two levels of A-ball. Montgomery, 22, who played three years of college ball at Stanford and Texas A&M, is at .280 with 10, 49 and nine overall. One or both might be invited to the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta next month. Both have certainly lived up to expectations as first-round picks. P.S. Blaine Crim’s brief MLB tour with Texas did not go very well – 0-for-11 in early May – but the ex-Mississippi College star hasn’t gone into a funk since returning to Triple-A Round Rock. He went 3-for-4 with his 13th homer and four RBIs on Wednesday and is batting .299 with 60 RBIs on the season. He is hitting .315 in June. … Madison Central product Spencer Turnbull was designated for assignment by Toronto on Wednesday when Max Scherzer came off the injured list. Veteran righty Turnbull had a 7.11 ERA in three games with the Blue Jays and might be headed back to free agency.

27 May

short hops

Worth noting from pro ball: Desperate for healthy arms, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed ex-Mississippi State standout — and Kansas City Royals cast-off — Chris Stratton and had him in their bullpen for Monday’s game against Cleveland; he didn’t pitch in a 7-2 L.A. win. MLB vet Stratton had a 7.94 ERA for the Royals before his release. (One wonders if ex-Bulldogs star Hunter Renfroe, also cut loose by K.C., might also land a new team. The veteran outfielder was hitting .182 with no homers.) … Drew Pomeranz, former Ole Miss star, made his 13th straight scoreless appearance Monday for the Chicago Cubs in their win against Colorado. Back in The Show for the first time since 2021, the big lefty is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 12 2/3 innings for the first-place club. … MSU product Adam Frazier has started to click at the plate for Pittsburgh, batting .348 over his last 15 games. He is at .260 with 14 RBIs and 13 runs for a disappointing team. … Blaine Crim, the former Mississippi College slugger, is getting another shot with Texas. He was 0-for-11 during his first call-up. … The normally slick-fielding Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High alum, has been charged with five errors in his last 15 games for Atlanta. Braves manager Brian Snitker said third baseman Riley had gotten bad hops on some of those “errors.” … Down in Mexico, ex-Ole Miss ace and erstwhile big leaguer Chris Ellis, 32, has nine saves and a 3.07 ERA in 15 games for Monterrey. … Former Rebels star Houston Roth, a 2019 draftee by Baltimore, has reached Triple-A and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his Norfolk debut. The right-hander from Oxford has a 1.32 ERA in nine games overall this season. … MSU product Colton Ledbetter, now in the Tampa Bay chain, ranks fifth in the Double-A Southern League in hitting (.284) and third in stolen bases (17). He also has three homers and 19 RBIs for Montgomery. … Ex-DeSoto Central standout Blaze Jordan is having a red-hot May at Double-A Portland in the Boston system. Jordan, only 22 in his fifth pro season, is batting .379 (.481 OBP) with five homers and 17 RBIs this month. He’s up to .306 for the year with 30 RBIs. … Ole Miss product Brandon Johnson leads the Texas League with seven saves and as a 0.79 ERA at Northwest Arkansas, the Royals’ Double-A affiliate. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, first-rounder out of MSU last summer, has won four straight starts with a 2.05 ERA at High-A Everett in the Seattle system. The switch-pitcher, who is throwing mostly righty, has a 4.12 ERA in 11 appearances overall. … Khal Stephen, drafted in Round 2 out of MSU last year by Toronto, went 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA at Low-A Dunedin and yielded one run in three innings in his High-A debut for Vancouver in Toronto’s organization. … And still out there raking in A-ball are former state prep stars and 2024 first-round picks Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep). Montgomery, now in High-A in the White Sox’s system, is batting .299 with seven homers and 37 RBIs. Griffin, in Low-A with Pittsburgh, is at .307 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and 18 steals.

19 May

just stuff

Might be time to see if Konnor Griffin is ready for another challenge. The former Jackson Prep standout, in his first pro season, is batting .324 with seven home runs, 24 RBIs and 17 stolen bases for Bradenton, Pittsburgh’s Low-Class A affiliate. His 45 hits lead the Florida State League. The 19-year-old shortstop is riding a nine-game hit streak during which he is batting .525 with two homers, nine RBIs and six bags. Griffin was the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft after winning the national Gatorade Player of the Year Award. … Kudos to Southern Miss pitcher J.B. Middleton, who won the Ferriss Trophy, the fifth USM player to claim the honor as the state’s top college player. Middleton, a Benton Academy product and a prime MLB draft prospect, is 9-1 with a 2.07 ERA for a nationally ranked Golden Eagles team. Nick Sandlin and Tanner Hall, former Ferriss winners from USM, are currently playing pro ball. … Belhaven will play Denison in an NCAA Division III super regional starting on Friday at Granville, Ohio. Denison is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Belhaven is 34-13 following its 7-4 win Sunday over Milwaukee School of Engineering in the Webster (Mo.) Regional. … Mississippi College bowed out Sunday in the NCAA D-II Tournament, losing for the second time to No. 1-ranked Tampa 9-8. The Choctaws (35-23), who beat Tampa in an earlier regional meeting, let an 8-1 lead get away. … Former Mississippi State star J.T. Ginn (1-1, 4.61) has been activated from the injured list and will start tonight for the A’s against the Los Angeles Angels. MSU product Chris Stratton, a 10-year MLB vet having a rough season (7.94 ERA), has been designated for assignment by Kansas City. The former SEC pitcher of the year was a first-round draft pick in 2012.

17 May

down goes no. 1

That crash you heard coming from central Florida on Friday was the fall of the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II, Tampa, taken down in its own backyard by a surging Mississippi College team. MC, which has won nine of its last 11 games, whipped the Spartans 13-5 in a winners bracket game in the South Region. The Choctaws (34-21) likely will meet Tampa (44-8) again tonight for the championship of this half of the region bracket. Hot-hitting Bryce LaRocca belted two of MC’s four homers and drove in five runs in a 4-for-6 performance. He had three hits and three RBIs in the first-round win against Lynn. J.T. Vance and Jordan Evans also homered Friday in MC’s 18-hit attack. The Choctaws roughed up Tampa’s C.J. Williams, who came in with a 12-2 record, for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. … MC stole the spotlight on what was a big day for Mississippi schools. On the other side of the D-II South Region bracket, Delta State stayed alive with a four-run rally in the ninth inning to beat West Florida 6-5. Tyler Janos got the game-winning hit. Belhaven ran over Rhodes 14-1 in the NCAA D-III Tournament and D-I schools Southern Miss (which has won 14 in a row), Ole Miss (two in a row over No. 2 Auburn), Mississippi State (Hunter Hines breaks career homer record) and Jackson State (a shutout of Southern U.) all won. In the NJCAA D-II Region 23 finals, East Central Community College forced a Game 3 by beating host Pearl River CC 6-4 as Pablo Roque drove in three runs. The winner of today’s game goes to the juco World Series. Millsaps suffered a tough loss in its D-III regional opener: Ace Nick Tarantino gave up seven runs in the first inning as the Majors fell to host East Texas Baptist 11-4.

15 May

the roads taken

Both Mississippi College and Delta State are in Florida for regional play today, but the last leg of the journey was quite different for the two old rivals. Both are in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament as at-large teams. MC (32-21), back in the NCAAs for the first time in seven years, has won seven of it last nine games, going 2-2 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament after sweeping DSU three straight to finish the regular season. DSU (32-18) won the GSC regular season title but actually faded down the stretch, losing seven of 10, including a 2-and-out (with another loss to the Choctaws) in the GSC Tournament. If momentum really is a thing, their opening-round games might be a tell. MC, the 4-seed, will play Lynn (Fla.) at Tampa, Fla., on one side of the eight-team regional. Delta State, seeded sixth, will play West Florida at Lakeland, Fla., in the other four-team bracket. Tampa (43-7), in MC’s bracket, is the No. 1 team in the nation in D-II and the top seed in the regional. The only way MC and DSU could meet is in the best-of-3 regional finals. Here are some players to watch in today’s openers: For MC, Jordan Evans (.351, 12 homers, 47 RBIs, 73 runs and 24 steals). For Lynn, Cole Fowler (.435, .810 slug, 18 homers, 62 RBIs). For DSU, Dylan Coleman (.359, 13 homers, 46 RBIs). For West Florida, Brett Rowell (.345, eight homers, 46 RBIs). P.S. It’s closing time for the state’s Big 4 D-I schools, each of which has a winning record and NCAA Tournament aspirations entering the regular season’s end. Ole Miss, No. 22 in the Baseball America poll, hosts No.2 Auburn (coached by Aberdeen native Butch Thompson); No. 24 Southern Miss is at No. 14 Troy; Mississippi State travels to Missouri; and Jackson State hosts Southern University. Ole Miss and USM are projected as 2-seeds in the NCAAs by d1baseball.com, and State is a 3-seed. JSU’s path to a regional berth is via winning the SWAC Tournament. … Pushed back a day, Pearl River Community College and East Central CC, both ranked in the top five nationally, are slated to play Game 1 of their NJCAA D-II Region 23 Tournament finals today at Poplarville. … Worth noting: Ti’Quan Forbes, the former Mr. Baseball from Columbia High in his 11th pro season, hit the first home run in Mississippi Mud Monsters history on Wednesday night. The independent club, now 1-2, lost to Gateway 9-8 in 10 innings at Pearl’s Trustmark Park.

13 May

smooth move

The Chicago Cubs’ trade for Drew Pomeranz late last month is beginning to look like a very shrewd deal. The veteran left-hander out of Ole Miss has yet to allow a run in eight appearances out of the bullpen for the first-place Cubs, and on Monday night, the 6-foot-5 “Big Smooth” recorded his first MLB save in five years. The 36-year-old Pomeranz worked the ninth in a 5-2 win against Miami at Wrigley Field, allowing one hit and fanning two. “(S)ince we got Drew, he’s just been pounding the zone,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “That’s probably what you like best is, it’s just a lot of strikes.” Pomeranz has struck out eight and walked just two in 7 2/3 innings. More closing opportunities may be in his future. The Cubs traded with San Diego to acquire Pomeranz, who was pitching in the minors, and he debuted on April 25, his first MLB game since 2021. A former first-round pick (in 2010) who has been a World Series champ and an All-Star, he had been battling injury issues since that time. “I’m just happy to be here. Literally, it feels like the first time all over again,” Pomeranz said when he joined the Cubs. A starter early in his pro career, he has now appeared in 297 games with a 48-58 record, 10 saves and a 3.88 ERA. P.S. Mississippi State alum Kendall Graveman has been activated from the IL by Arizona; the veteran pitcher missed all of 2024 after arm surgery. … Ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim was returned to Triple-A Round Rock by Texas; he went 0-for-11 during his brief call-up. … Brandon Woodruff, former MSU standout from Wheeler, has been shut down on his rehab assignment because of an ankle injury. The erstwhile Milwaukee ace has been out since mid-2023 following an arm injury and surgery. … Four Mississippi products appear in MLB Pipeline’s refreshed Top 100 minor league prospects list: Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh system) at No. 37, Braden Montgomery (White Sox) No. 38, Cooper Pratt (Milwaukee) No. 50 and Jurrangelo Cijntje (Seattle) No. 92.

12 May

smalls world

Seeking a third straight trip to the NAIA World Series, William Carey University takes on Indiana Southeast today at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. British Columbia plays Oklahoma Wesleyan in the other Opening Round game in this four-team, double-elimination regional. The Crusaders, who won the regular season title in the SSAC, are 38-12 and ranked 10th in the nation. Carey won an NAIA national title in 1969. It’s a busy week for Mississippi’s small schools: Delta State and Mississippi College each received at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament; Millsaps and Belhaven made the NCAA D-III field as at-large teams; and Pearl River Community College and East Central CC will face off in a best-of-3 series for the NJCAA D-II Region 23 championship. … Delta State (32-18), regular season champion in the Gulf South, will play West Florida on Thursday at Lakeland, Fla., in a four-team bracket in the South Region. MC (33-21), which last made the NCAA field in 2018, is in the other South Region bracket at Tampa, Fla., and will play Lynn on Thursday. Tampa is the No. 1 seed in the region, MC No. 4 and DSU No. 6. … Millsaps (29-13), regular season champ in the Southern Athletic Association, heads for the East Texas Baptist Regional at Marshall, Texas, to play the host school in the first round. Belhaven (31-13) plays Rhodes in the Webster (Mo.) Regional. Only 23 at-large bids are awarded in the 64-team D-III Tournament. … On Wednesday at Poplarville, juco juggernauts Pearl River, ranked No. 2, and East Central, ranked seventh, will clash for a trip to the NJCAA World Series in Enid, Okla. PRCC, regular season champ in the MACCC, is 48-7, and ECCC is 41-12. Both have been ranked No. 1 in the country this season. ECCC went to the World Series in 2023 and ’24. PRCC won the national title in 2022. They split their regular season meeting this spring. P.S. It already has been a banner year for the state’s small schools. Along with the three conference titles, three coaches won coach of the year awards: Bobby Halford at Carey, Rodney Batts at DSU and Jim Page at Millsaps. Carey’s Josh Alexander was named the SSAC player of the year; DSU’s Drake Fontenot won GSC pitcher of the year honors; and Millsaps’ Bradley Pelle (player) and Nick Tarantino (pitcher) swept the SAA’s top awards. In addition, MC had four GSC first-team picks, and Belhaven had four named in the Collegiate Conference of the South. Carey had three All-SSAC picks in addition to Alexander, and DSU’s Brett Burrell made All-GSC along with Fontenot.