Tag Archives: Ole Miss

24 Apr

speed bump?

Jake Mangum’s impressive run in his long-awaited big league opportunity may have hit a speed bump. The ex-Mississippi State star, now a rookie with Tampa Bay, had to leave Wednesday night’s game at Arizona with what was described as left groin tightness. He pulled up with a limp after crossing first base on a ground out in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old Flowood native was listed as day-to-day this morning. Through 21 games, Mangum is hitting .338 and tied for the American League lead with eight stolen bases. He recently was timed at 4.09 seconds going home to first, tied for the fastest in MLB this season. The switch-hitter has been a valuable contributor since his March 29 call-up, going 23-for-68 with four doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs for the Rays, 10-14 after a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. He has played all three outfield positions and handled 47 chances with just one error. P.S. Red-hot Nick Monistere belted a walk-off homer in the ninth inning Wednesday to give Southern Miss a 5-4 win against Southeastern Louisiana at Hattiesburg. Monistere, the former Northwest Rankin High standout, has 15 home runs on the year, seven bombs and 19 RBIs in his last six games for 28-13 USM. … Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz was added to the Chicago Cubs’ roster on Wednesday but did not pitch. The 36-year-old left-hander, acquired from Seattle, has a 3.91 career ERA in 389 MLB games, the last of those appearances coming in 2021. … Former big leaguer Billy Hamilton, the speedster from Taylorsville, got his first steal of 2025 in the Mexican League on Wednesday. That’s No. 844 in his long pro career. Hamilton, 34, is 5-for-18 in five games for Jalisco. … Mississippi State product Rowdey Jordan has been traded to Houston by the New York Mets. The fifth-year minor leaguer was playing at Triple-A Syracuse. … Longtime local broadcaster Jay White has been named the play-by-play voice of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the independent pro team that will begin play on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. … In the juco showdown at Poplarville on Wednesday, Pearl River Community College swept Jones College 7-1 and 3-2 behind the pitching of Camden Clark and K.K. Clark. PRCC, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, is 42-6, 22-2 in MACCC. No. 7 Jones slipped to 33-12, 19-7.

23 Apr

three things

1 — Nothing like a comeback-capping walk-off win over your archrival to recharge the battery. Ole Miss, having lost five of seven and tumbled in the national polls, beat Mississippi State 8-7 in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. The Rebels (29-12) hope to ride the momentum of that Governor’s Cup victory into a home series against nationally ranked Vanderbilt this weekend. Ole Miss is 10-8 in the SEC, Vandy 11-7 and 30-11 overall. Several Rebels took star turns in Pearl. Austin Fawley’s 12th homer of the year, a two-run shot, tied the score in the ninth at 7-7. Will Furniss’ run-scoring single — his third RBI of the night — won it in the 10th. Hudson Calhoun threw hitless ball over the last three frames, fanning seven, to get the W. While noting it wasn’t pretty, UM coach Mike Bianco said, “Our guys hung in there, and I’m proud of them for that.” For State, it was a deflating defeat. The Bulldogs (24-17) were coming off an SEC series loss to Florida in which their pitchers yielded 32 runs. They are 6-12 in the league with a trip to nationally ranked Auburn (28-13, 9-9) looming this weekend.
2 — Pearl River Community College, on a seemingly inexorable march toward the state juco championship, might get a test today from Jones College. PRCC, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, is 40-6 and 20-2 MACCC and leads the conference in hitting (.331), slugging (.539) and ERA (2.69). The Wildcats also have the reigning conference player (Topher Jones) and pitcher (K.K. Clark) of the week. But Jones College is no slouch. The Bobcats beat the Wildcats back in February and are ranked seventh nationally at 33-10, 19-5 MACCC. The teams, both of which own national titles, meet for a twinbill at Dub Herring Park in Poplarville.
3 — Props to the MHSAA classification players of the year: Talon Haley, Class 7A Lewisburg; Baylor Roberts, 6A Saltillo; Griffin Ennis, 5A Corinth; Jacob and JoJo Parker, 4A Purvis; Brody Thompson, 3A Mooreville; Landon Harmon, 2A East Union; Jon Grey Morrison, 1A West Union.
Plus 1: Grae Kessinger, former Ole Miss standout, has been released by Arizona. The erstwhile big leaguer, 27, who started this season in the minors, was designated for assignment on April 19. He was batting .235 in 11 games at Triple-A Reno and had been sidelined since April 9.

22 Apr

the left stuff

Shopping for help for their bullpen, the Chicago Cubs have swung a trade for a 36-year-old, oft-injured ex-Ole Miss star who hasn’t pitched in a big league game in four years. Such is the allure of an experienced left-hander. Drew Pomeranz has been pitching at Triple-A in Seattle’s system; the Cubs got him for cash considerations and will send him to Triple-A Iowa. If or when he makes an appearance for the big Cubs, it’ll be his first in MLB since Aug. 10, 2021, when he was with San Diego. Pomeranz put up a 1.75 ERA as a reliever that season but has been hurt virtually ever since. If you’re scoring at home, make it 11 organizations in 16 years for Pomeranz, who was the fifth overall pick out of Ole Miss in 2010 by Cleveland. He has pitched in 389 MLB games, most of them as a reliever, which has been his sole role the past seven years. The 6-foot-5 Pomeranz has a 3.91 career ERA in the majors, made an All-Star Game in 2016 and won a ring with Boston in 2018. He had a 4.66 in nine appearances for Tacoma this year. The Cubs are 14-10, but their bullpen has been shaky. P.S. Hustle was a topic in Atlanta — yes, again — on Monday night. Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High standout, busted it down the first-base line in the eighth inning and beat out a routine grounder to shortstop. He later hustled home to score the game-tying run. The Braves scored four more times in the inning and held on to beat St. Louis 7-6. “You see Riley getting down the line and that got us going,” Mississippi Braves alum Michael Harris II said in an mlb.com story. M-Braves alum Riley also homered — his sixth — as the Braves (9-13) won their fourth straight.

20 Apr

whatever happened to …

Grae Kessinger, the ex-Ole Miss star, was designated for assignment by Arizona on Saturday while on the injured list at Triple-A Reno. It’s likely that infielder Kessinger, 27, will clear waivers and be able to return to the Reno roster. He was batting .235 in 34 at-bats there. Traded from Houston — where he hit .131 in 49 MLB games over two seasons — to the Diamondbacks after last season, Kessinger was optioned to the minors in spring training.
Ethan Small, a first-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2019, is on the IL at Triple-A Sacramento in the San Francisco system. The lefty, 28, has not pitched this season after making just 14 appearances (because of injury) in 2024. He got into four MLB games with Milwaukee in 2022-23 before being traded to the Giants in February of ’24. He was non-tendered and became a free agent last fall, then re-signed with the Giants.
Logan Tanner, one of the heroes on MSU’s national title team in 2021, is in his second season at High-Class A Dayton in the Cincinnati organization. The catcher from Lucedale, a second-round pick in ’22, is batting .077 in five games this season and .191 with 10 homers for his pro career.
Reed Trimble, the Southern Miss product from Tupelo, is on the IL (again) with Double-A Chesapeake in the Baltimore system. He has played in just one game this season and only 137 in a four-year pro career because of injury issues. A switch-hitting outfielder, he is a .246 career hitter who swiped 29 bases over four levels last season.
Errol Robinson, the Ole Miss product who was coaching with the team last fall, has signed with Hagerstown of the independent Atlantic League, which opens its season this week. Robinson was a preseason All-America pick as a Rebels shortstop in 2016 and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers that summer. He has bounced around affiliated and indy ball ever since, batting .208 in 46 games in Triple-A with Baltimore in 2024.
P.S. Braden Montgomery, the Madison Central High alum, has proven a quick study in pro ball. A first-round pick last year out of Texas A&M, the switch-hitter is batting .326 at Low-A Kannapolis in the Chicago White Sox chain. He hit his third homer and stole his sixth base on Saturday. In 12 games, he has 17 RBIs and 13 runs. The ChiSox got Montgomery from Boston as part of the Garrett Crochet deal in the off-season. … MSU product Jurrangelo Cijntje, also a first-rounder in 2024, struck out six in 4 1/3 innings in his third start (fifth appearance) for High-A Everett in the Seattle system. Switch-pitcher Cijntje yielded one run — a homer — against Tri-City as he trimmed his ERA to 4.15. He has 19 K’s and 10 walks in 13 innings, working mainly as a right-hander.

19 Apr

weird, wild stuff

Have a double-duty day, Hunter Stovall. The 28-year-old former Mississippi State standout banged out three hits, scored a run, drove in a run and pitched a clean inning for the win as Montgomery beat visiting Rocket City 13-12 in 11 innings Friday night in the Double-A Southern League. It was the first pitching appearance in seven minor league seasons — 549 games — for Stovall, a .278 career hitter recently sent down from Triple-A by the parent Tampa Bay Rays. Four Magnolia State college alums took part in the Biscuits’ walk-off win at Riverwalk Stadium. Stovall started at shortstop before moving to the mound in the 11th. Matthew Etzel, ex-Southern Miss star, started at DH before moving to first base and went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run. MSU product Colton Ledbetter started in right field and went 0-for-5 with a game-tying sac fly in the 10th. Fellow Bulldogs alum Kamren James, an infielder by trade, pitched the ninth — his first mound appearance in four pro seasons — and blew a save, then walked (batting in Etzel’s spot) in the 10th and finished the game at third base. (Former Mississippi Braves broadcasters Chris Harris, now doing Rocket City games, and Jack Sadighian, the Biscuits’ play-by-play man, must have enjoyed calling that one.) … In the Low-Class A Carolina League, Columbia beat Kannapolis 8-7 in a game that featured six errors, four wild pitches, four hit batsmen and a whopping 13 stolen bases, one each by Mississippi prep products Braden Montgomery and Brennon McNair. Columbia, a Kansas City farm club, stole eight bases against the host Cannon Ballers, who had former Ole Miss standout Calvin Harris behind the plate. Harris did manage to throw out two would-be thieves and also went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for the Chicago White Sox affiliate. Montgomery, ex-Madison Central High star and a pro rookie, went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and his fifth steal for Kannapolis. For Columbia, McNair, out of Magee High, had a big two-run double in the seventh inning in addition to swiping his fourth bag. … Less wild but no less weird was a Carolina League game between Hickory and Charleston. The host RiverDogs won 1-0 despite getting no-hit by three Crawdads pitchers. Yes, there was a state connection in this one, too: Connor Hujsak, a 2024 draftee out of MSU by Tampa Bay, went 0-for-3 for the RiverDogs, whose run was unearned in the eighth inning. P.S. Kudos to M-Braves alum Drake Baldwin for his first game-winning hit, a two-run pinch knock in the eighth inning that propelled Atlanta to a 6-4 win over visiting Minnesota. Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, also former M-Braves stars, also had key hits as the Braves rallied from the dead for five runs in the eighth. … The Mississippi Mud Monsters have added two players to their preliminary roster: second baseman Lizandro Rodriguez and outfielder/first baseman Karell Paz. Rodriguez, from the Dominican Republic, played four years in the Kansas City system, and Paz, from Cuba, spent three seasons in the New York Mets’ system. The independent Mud Monsters will begin their inaugural season on May 8 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park.

18 Apr

answering the bell

Southern Miss, Ole Miss and Jackson State each dealt with a sense of urgency on Thursday. Two of them — USM and JSU — got the result they needed. In Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles faced Georgia State on Hill Denson Bobblehead Night with an announced 5,408, including the former coach, on hand at Taylor Park. If ever there was a must-win game … . USM made the Hall of Fame coach proud with an 8-1 win, belting five homers to back the brilliant pitching of J.B. Middleton. Nick Monistere hit his 13th homer — fifth in three games — and Middleton (7-1) tossed eight innings (three hits, one run, 12 strikeouts) as USM moved to 26-12, 11-5 Sun Belt. At Braddy Field in Jackson, JSU, which had lost seven of eight, rode a dominant outing from Erick Gonzalez to a 2-0 victory against Alabama A&M. Gonzalez (4-3) worked 8 2/3, allowing six hits and punching out 10. The Tigers (18-17, 6-10 SWAC) cobbled together two runs in the second inning on a sac bunt, an error and a sac fly. Alas, Ole Miss, coming off a clunky home loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, went to Columbia, S.C., and dropped a 3-2 decision to South Carolina, one of the worst teams in the SEC at 3-13. Hunter Elliott (5-2) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to take a hard-luck loss for the nationally ranked Rebels (27-11, 9-7 SEC). UM has lost three in a row and four of five. … Incidentally, d1baseball.com projects Ole Miss to host a regional that will include USM. The website also put Mississippi State in the 64-team field. The Bulldogs (23-14, 5-10) open a big SEC series today against Florida (25-14, 4-11) at Starkville. … Also on tap this weekend: William Carey University visits Blue Mountain Christian in an SCAC series. Ranked No. 9 in NAIA, Carey (31-9, 20-4) leads 34-8 in the all-time series with BMC. But the Toppers (21-22, 10-14) won the regular season series in 2024 before losing a league tournament game to the Crusaders. P.S. In MLB: Cool moment at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Thursday when Tampa Bay’s Jake Mangum faced former Jackson Prep teammate Will Warren, the New York Yankees’ starting pitcher, in the second inning. Mangum hit a high hopper that Warren fielded, but with no one covering first base for some reason, Mangum got an infield hit. That was the rookies’ only clash. Mangum had two hits to raise his average to .345; Warren (5.17 ERA) lasted just 1 2/3 innings, yielding one run. The Yanks won 6-3. … Former Jackson Mets and big league manager Clint Hurdle is the new hitting coach for Colorado, which dismissed Hensley Meulens on Thursday.

17 Apr

stat sheet watching

As the Chicago White Sox continue to struggle at the plate, their Triple-A first baseman — Tim Elko — is flourishing with a .373 average, three homers and 11 RBIs in 14 games for Charlotte. Former Ole Miss star Elko went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs in the Knights’ loss to Nashville on Wednesday night. He ranks sixth in the International League in hitting. Elko, 26, has hit at every level since the White Sox drafted him in the 10th round in 2022: .291 career with 54 homers. The folks at MLB Pipeline suggest that Elko, who isn’t on the 40-man roster, could be an impactful call-up for the ChiSox (4-13), who are 29th in MLB in both runs and batting average. … In the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim — another off-the-radar slugger — stands sixth in the league in batting at .364 and has three homers and 11 RBIs for Round Rock, a Texas affiliate. Crim, 27, a sixth-year pro, is a .297 career hitter with 104 homers. … Mississippi State product Justin Foscue, also at Round Rock, is hitting .333 with two bombs and eight RBIs. He might rate another shot with the Rangers; he hit .048 in limited at-bats in his MLB debut in 2024. … Kemp Alderman, Ferriss Trophy winner at Ole Miss two years ago, is third in the Double-A Southern League with a .359 average and tied for first with three homers at Pensacola in Miami’s system. … Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt has hit two homers for Biloxi in the SL and is batting .266 in his debut for Milwaukee’s Double-A team. … In the Double-A Texas League, Ole Miss alum Cooper Johnson has three homers — tied for the TL lead — in seven games for Frisco, a Texas affiliate, and is batting .304. … Braden Montgomery, an ex-Madison Central High standout and a first-round pick last summer, is tied for first with 13 RBIs in the Low-Class A Carolina League and is batting .353 with two homers for the White Sox’s Kannapolis club. He was traded to Chicago by Boston in the Garrett Crochet deal. … Konnor Griffin, the Jackson Prep product drafted ninth overall by Pittsburgh in 2024, is tied for second in the Low-A Florida State League with six stolen bases. He is batting .231 with two homers, seven RBIs and nine runs through 10 games in his pro debut with Bradenton. … Oddest stat for a Mississippian in the minors: ex-South Panola standout Emaarion Boyd is tied for fourth in the High-A Midwest League with seven steals. He got six of them in one game. The fourth-year pro, who has 98 career bags, is batting just .120 (three hits) for Beloit in the Miami system. P.S. Former Southern Miss star Dustin Dickerson was promoted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City and debuted as a defensive replacement on Wednesday. The shortstop was batting .286 in Double-A. … Ex-USM slugger Matt Wallner, now with the Minnesota Twins, went on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He was batting .263 (.373 OBP) with a homer, three RBIs and seven runs, leading off for the Twins much of the time.

15 Apr

just stuff

As Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, here’s a tip of the cap to Luke Easter, the first black Mississippi native to play in an MLB game. The Jonestown native broke in with Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1949, at the age of 34. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound left-handed hitter belted 93 homers for the Indians over parts of six seasons. He also played in the Negro Leagues and in the minors for many years, hitting 351 homers all told, per baseball-reference.com. … The Columbus Clingstones, Atlanta’s Double-A team that previously played in Pearl, will make their home debut tonight at Synovus Park in Columbus, Ga. Quite a few familiar names populate the roster, including former Southern Miss and Mississippi Braves standout Landon Harper and M-Braves alum Craig Kimbrel, the erstwhile big league star who is launching his 2025 season in Double-A. … After a weak start this season, former DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley is coming on strong for Atlanta. The M-Braves alum hit two homers in Monday’s win at Toronto and is batting .452 with eight RBIs and seven runs over his last seven games. … Jake Mangum, the rookie out of Jackson Prep and Mississippi State, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs Monday for Tampa Bay, which saw every starter get at least one RBI and score at least one run in a 16-1 win against Boston. Mangum has cooled after his sizzling start but is still batting .311 over 13 games and making great plays in the outfield. … Hunter Renfroe, MSU alum from Crystal Springs, needs to step it up for Kansas City. He is batting .128 with no homers in 39 at-bats and is no longer playing regularly. A .236 career hitter with 192 bombs, the 33-year-old outfielder is coming off a poor year. … Ole Miss product Kemp Alderman, who had a two-homer game last week for Double-A Pensacola (Miami system), and ex-MSU star Khal Stephen, who had a nine-strikeout game for Low-Class A Dunedin (Toronto), were named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week. … Konnor Griffin got his first pro homer and triple in a game last week and continues to fill out the stat sheet for Low-A Bradenton (Pittsburgh). The ninth overall pick last summer from Jackson Prep, Griffin is batting .258 with six RBIs, seven runs and five steals. … Sad to see Justin Steele, the lefty from Lucedale, lost for the season to elbow surgery; he was 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts. That’s a blow for the first-place Chicago Cubs. Also going on the IL last week was Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes (oblique), who was batting .300 in 20 at-bats as Miami’s starting catcher. … Kudos to Will Warren, the Jackson Prep grad who notched his first MLB win in his eighth career start for the New York Yankees last week. The 25-year-old right-hander went five innings Saturday to beat red-hot San Francisco. … Ex-MSU star J.T. Ginn got his second MLB win Saturday in his 2025 debut as the A’s beat the Mets; Ginn was recalled from Triple-A that same day. … Former MSU standout Brandon Woodruff threw 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday in his first rehab start as he aims to return to Milwaukee’s rotation. The righty from Wheeler is 46-26 in his MLB career; the Brewers sorely need him. … Ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull, still unsigned for 2025, has been throwing for various teams, per reports. The veteran right-hander put up a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings for Philadelphia in 2024.

07 Apr

a page-turner … so far

Though the book is far from finished, Ole Miss is writing one of the best stories in college baseball. From unranked in preseason — and picked to finish 15th in the vaunted SEC — the Rebels are 24-7 and ranked seventh nationally again this week in Baseball America’s Top 25. The Rebels battled for a 5-4 win in 12 innings at Kentucky on Saturday to win their third straight SEC series. They’re 8-4 in the league. National champs three years ago, UM foundered through the ’23 and ’24 seasons. Coach Mike Bianco rebuilt the roster for 2025 and apparently has found pieces that fit. The Rebels are middle-of-the-pack in the league in hitting (ninth in average) and pitching (12th in ERA). But they’re winning, which is all that really matters. In that 12-inning victory at Kentucky, they took a lead in the 11th, then lost it. Undaunted, they got a clutch two-run homer from Luke Hill — a .353 hitter — in the final frame and an heroic save from Alex Canney, who has a 1.50 ERA. A big week looms. The Rebels visit longtime rival Memphis on Tuesday, host undermanned Alcorn State on Wednesday and then welcome No. 4 Tennessee to Swayze Field for a weekend series that could define the season. The Vols, defending national champs, are 28-4 and 9-3 and no doubt plenty angry after losing a series at Texas A&M in ugly fashion (17-6 in the finale). UM fans are no doubt eager to see how the next chapter of this season is penned. P.S. Whenever there’s a list, there’s usually a Mississippian on it. Since 2007, Barry Bonds’ last season, San Francisco has started a different left fielder on opening day every year — 18 all told. Fred Lewis, former Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout, is on the list. He was in left field on April 7, 2009, and he went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs — plus an error — in a 10-6 win over Milwaukee at AT&T Park. In 2009, Lewis was in the fourth year of a seven-year MLB career in which he batted .266.

06 Apr

minor matters

A pair of 2024 first-round draftees with Mississippi connections strutted their potential on Saturday. Jurrangelo Cijntje, the switch-pitcher out of Mississippi State, threw four scoreless innings in his pro debut for High-Class A Everett (Seattle system), and Braden Montgomery, the Madison Central High alum drafted out Texas A&M, hit his first pro home run for Low-A Kannapolis (Chicago White Sox). Cijntje, 15th overall pick, faced 14 batters, pitching righty 11 times, lefty three times. He allowed just one hit (to a righty), two walks (both to lefties) and struck out six against Spokane (Colorado affiliate) in the Northwest League contest. Cijntje was 11-7 with a 5.25 ERA in two years at MSU but has much better stuff, from both arms, than those numbers would indicate. Montgomery, the 12th overall pick (by Boston), belted 62 homers in three college seasons, 27 in 2024 at A&M. A broken ankle delayed his pro debut to 2025, and in his second game in the Carolina League, the switch-hitting slugger went yard. A Gatorade player of the year while at Madison Central, he is off to a 2-for-8 start with four RBIs and a stolen base for Kannapolis. … In a High-A Midwest League game of some local interest, former Mississippi State standout Brooks Auger faced ex-Ole Miss star Dylan DeLucia, with Auger and the Great Lakes Loons beating Lake County 6-1. Auger, who famously shut down Ole Miss in that dramatic SEC Tournament game last year, went 5 2/3, allowing one unearned run in his pro debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a sixth-round pick last summer. DeLucia, a hero on UM’s national title team in 2022, yielded four runs in three innings and took the loss. A sixth-rounder by Cleveland in ’22, he has been limited by injuries to 14 pro games. P.S. In MLB on Saturday, Brent Rooker, ex-MSU star, hit his fourth homer of the season, helping the A’s set a franchise record. The team has homered in its first nine games for the first time. The A’s won 7-4 at Colorado to improve to 4-5.