Tag Archives: NCAA regionals

26 May

tough enough

On April 9, after a 6-0 loss to Vanderbilt, Ole Miss certainly didn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team. The Rebels were 16-18 and 5-8 in the SEC. But the Rebels won the next two games against the then top-ranked Commodores, the start of a 14-7 charge to the end of the regular season. On Monday, Ole Miss received an at-large bid to the NCAAs, the 20th in program history. There are some who might say Ole Miss still doesn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team. The Rebels are 30-26. They finished one game above .500 in the SEC and, as a 6-seed, were bounced in the first round of the league tournament by Alabama. They were 11-15 away from Oxford. UM was 10th in the SEC in hitting (.269) and 13th in pitching (4.44 ERA). So, how’d the Rebels get in when teams like Nevada-Reno (41-15), Michigan State (34-23), North Carolina (34-24) and Southern Miss (36-18-1 and 2-0 vs. UM) were left out? Score one for strength of schedule. Ole Miss played the toughest slate in the country, according to a couple of different rankings. The Rebels were 11-11 against other tournament invitees, 7-6 against top 10 teams and 5-4 against No. 1 teams. Apparently, the selection committee was impressed enough to make Ole Miss a No. 2 seed in its regional. Of course, it’s not all mint juleps. There is a downside. UM must travel to Los Angeles to play in the bracket with the No. 1 overall seed, UCLA (42-14). The Rebels’ first game is against Maryland, a strong 3-seed which went 39-21 and reached the Big Ten Tournament final. P.S. Former Rebels star David Goforth, who has emerged as a bullpen ace in Milwaukee’s system, has been called up for the first time by the Brewers.

18 May

regional appeal

Ole Miss needs to beat Alabama on Tuesday to stay alive in the SEC Tournament. Whether the Rebels need to beat Alabama to stay in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid is less clear. UM has won six of its last seven to get to 30-25 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Still, a one-and-done performance in the SEC tourney at Hoover, Ala., might not look so good. The sixth-seeded Rebels will throw Scott Weathersby (4-1, 2.39 ERA), a recent addition to the rotation who got the last five outs in a 4-0 win over Alabama in Oxford in late April. Ole Miss took two of three from the Crimson Tide in that series, winning the opener 10-2 and losing the finale 13-4. The Tide (30-26) showed its offensive potential in that one, with 17 hits and seven two-out RBIs. … Southern Miss (35-16-1) has won 13 straight games to play its way into the NCAA regional picture and has a legitimate shot at winning the C-USA Tournament and claiming the automatic bid. USM is the 3-seed in the double-elimination event that it is hosting at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles open Wednesday with UAB (30-24), which it beat two of three at “The Pete” in early April. In the rubber game of that series, James McMahon – the likely starter on Wednesday – got the W in the 3-2 victory with relief help from Luke Lowery and Cody Livingston. USM is flush with good arms. P.S. As we eagerly await today’s announcement of the 2015 Ferriss Trophy recipient, a check on last year’s winner, Auston Bousfield, shows the Ole Miss product batting .308 with a homer, 15 RBIs and 14 steals for Class A Lake Elsinore in the San Diego system. Bousfield was a fifth-round pick last June.

06 May

winging it

In baseball, good things come to those who … pitch. And Southern Miss can pitch. The Golden Eagles (28-16-1, 13-10 C-USA) have a staff ERA of 3.03, which ranks among the top 20 in the nation. They’ve got seven shutouts, tied for fifth-most in NCAA Division I. They are coming off a three-game home sweep of Marshall in which they limited the Thundering Herd to two runs. None of the Eagles’ three starters allowed a run. Cody Carroll, the league pitcher of the week, threw a three-hitter. James McMahon, now 9-1 with a 1.88 ERA, worked six scoreless innings, and Kirk McCarty (4-1, 2.58) was unscathed over 7 2/3. Tim Lynch has swung a big stick (.331, nine homers, 30 RBIs) and three other regulars are over .300. But it’s USM’s pitching that impresses the most, especially in this season of the livelier ball. At one point during the Marshall series, the staff’s streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run reached 39. “I’ve been (coaching) 31 years, so I’m not going to say I haven’t (seen such a streak),” coach Scott Berry told the Hattiesburg American. “But that’s a pretty good string, I know that.” Light-hitting Charlotte comes to Hattiesburg this weekend for a conference series at Taylor Park, where USM is 16-7 — and where the C-USA Tournament will be held May 20-24. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first USM team to make the NCAA Tournament field. That Hill Denson-coached club included Damon Pollard, Scotty Jurich, Todd Nace, Kerry Valrie, Greg Cole and Kenny Graves, all of whom were among the group in town for a reunion over the weekend. It would be a fitting tribute if the current club also earned a regional bid. That pitching certainly gives them hope.

05 May

a puncher’s chance

Delta State likely needs to win the Gulf South Conference Tournament to get an NCAA Division II regional bid. The Statesmen (25-17) are two wins away. Sixth-seeded DSU has won three straight elimination games in Livingston, Ala., including an 11-7 victory against Alabama-Huntsville and 9-5 win over West Georgia on Monday. DSU, pegged to win the league title in preseason, must beat top-seeded West Alabama twice today to win the GSC crown. After losing to UWA on Saturday, the Statesmen survived with a 7-4 win over Valdosta State on Sunday as Ethan Gill belted his 10th home run and drove in four runs all told and Nick Goza notched his seventh save. DSU avoided going 2-and-out in the league tournament for the first time since 2010. On Monday, an eight-run fourth inning (big hit: two-run double by Dalton Skelton) propelled DSU past UA-Huntsville and a seven-run sixth (big hit: Colton Welch’s two-run double) toppled West Georgia. Three GSC teams appeared in the most recent D-II South Region top eight: West Alabama, UA-Huntsville and West Georgia. P.S. The Millsaps Majors (28-12), who last played a game on April 26, won’t know until Sunday if they’ll get an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III regionals. It would appear unlikely. In the meantime, senior Keith Shumaker has been named the Southern Athletic Association player of the year for the second time; he also won the award after his sophomore season. The Brandon native, a preseason D-III All-America choice, led the conference in runs scored (48) and hit .417. The right-hander went 8-1 with a 2.31 ERA on the mound during the regular season. Shumaker’s 254 hits for his career set a school record. Joining Shumaker on the SAA first team are outfielders Isaac Glenn and William Chenoweth. Glenn, a junior from Madison, led the SAA in hits (66), batting (.446) and slugging (.649) and was second with 44 RBIs.

02 Jun

think about it …

It’s not too early to start thinking about it. Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss in a Super Regional at Oxford-University Stadium (a.k.a. Swayze Field) next weekend. State is undefeated in the Lafayette Regional heading into a game tonight against host Louisiana-Lafayette. (ULL exacted its revenge on Jackson State today, ending the Tigers’ season.) Ole Miss is undefeated in the Oxford Regional heading into Monday’s play. Don’t bet against both the Bulldogs and Rebels getting through. Pitting those two rivals in a best-of-3 series with a trip to the College World Series hanging in the balance would be some kind of show. State went to the CWS just last year, finishing runner-up to UCLA, and would dearly love to paint Omaha maroon again this summer. Ole Miss hasn’t been to the CWS since 1972. ’Nuff said. Recall that the Rebels beat the Bulldogs two of three in Starkville in early April in their SEC series. UM won the rubber game 12-2, pounding out 20 hits in front of a stunned Dudy Noble Field crowd. The teams played again on April 22 in the Governor’s Cup at Trustmark Park in Pearl. State won 8-3. The atmosphere that night was electric, but it won’t hold a candle to what Oxford will be like if the Super Regional matchup happens. It’ll be Mississippi Madness. Just think about it. P.S. Columbia High shortstop Ti’Quan Forbes is projected to be chosen by the Atlanta Braves with the 32nd pick, according to Baseball America’s latest MLB mock draft. The Braves got that pick as compensation for losing Brian McCann to free agency.

27 May

senators vs. m-braves

On this date in baseball history, Carl Hubbell notched his 24th straight win, the oversized catcher’s mitt for knuckleballs debuted, a Boston-Cleveland game was fogged out – and, in central Mississippi, the Jackson Senators and Mississippi Braves played at home on the same day for the first time. The independent Senators, playing at Smith-Wills Stadium, and the Southern League’s M-Braves, playing at Trustmark Park in Pearl, coexisted for only one season — 2005. On May 27, a Friday, they went head-to-head for fans for the first time. The M-Braves drew an announced crowd of 5,747 — their biggest since opening day at the brand new TeePee — for a 9-4 loss to Montgomery. The Senators, who were in their fourth season, drew an announced crowd of roughly 2,500, which was much better than what they averaged that season (about 1,500). The Sens did win, however, beating Shreveport 2-1 in a 15-inning affair that ended after midnight. The Senators ceased operations after the 2005 season. P.S. Props to Jackson State for being the only four-year school in the state to win a conference tournament title. Condolences to the SWAC champs for drawing Louisiana-Lafayette — the No. 6 national seed and the No. 1 team in the country in Baseball America’s new poll — in the first round of the NCAA regionals. Nationally ranked Mississippi State and a surging San Diego State are also in the Lafayette Regional. JSU’s postseason figures to be short-lived. … Hinds Community College is 2-0 in the NJCAA Division II World Series and plays Pasco-Hernando (Fla.) State tonight in Enid, Okla.