Tag Archives: Ole Miss

14 Mar

if the role fits

Former Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier is getting a lot of at-bats – and hits – while playing a lot of positions for Pittsburgh this spring, tuning up for what is expected to be a role as a super-utility player. Frazier batted leadoff and went 4-for-4 against Atlanta on Monday, raising his Grapefruit League average to .462. He has a homer, seven RBIs and seven runs in 26 ABs. He played center field, the sixth position he has manned this spring. “Anyway to get on the field,” Frazier said in an mlb.com article. “That’s the role I have on this team, I believe.” Frazier, a sixth-round pick in 2013 out of State, rose swiftly in the Pirates’ system and made his big league debut last summer, batting .301 in a reserve role. “We like what he’s doing,” said manager Clint Hurdle, the former Jackson Mets skipper. … Spring cleaning: State alum Mitch Moreland hit his first Grapefruit League homer for Boston on Monday; he’s batting .316 with his new club. … Ex-Ole Miss star Stuart Turner, trying to make Cincinnati’s roster as a Rule 5 draftee, is batting .389, the best average among any catcher in Reds camp. … Oakland has optioned UM alum Bobby Wahl to Triple-A, and San Francisco did the same with State product Chris Stratton. … Picayune High product T.J. House, hit in the back of the head by a batted ball last Friday, is back in Toronto’s camp but not expected to participate in any baseball activities for a few more days. The left-hander is in camp on a minor league contract. … Former Harrison Central High star Bobby Bradley, expected to play at the Double-A level this year, has gotten some ABs with Cleveland’s big league team the last couple of days, going 1-for-4. Bradley, a top prospect at first base, hit 29 homers in A-ball in 2016. … Other minor league players with Mississippi ties who have gotten called to big league camp this month include: Austin Riley (Atlanta), Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee), Tim Dillard (Milwaukee), Cody Satterwhite (Baltimore), Auston Bousfield (San Diego), Jacob Waguespack (Philadelphia), Ti’Quan Forbes (Texas), Daniel Sweet (Cincinnati), J.B. Woodman (Toronto) and D.J. Davis (Toronto).

13 Mar

pitching in

Four wins in five games, including a weekend sweep against Furman, propelled Ole Miss to the No. 18 spot in Baseball America’s new Top 25. The Rebels (11-5) aren’t hitting (.246 as a team) – the cause of much hand-wringing in Rebel Nation — but when your pitching staff allows just two runs over five games, you can still win. The Rebels make a rare road trip on Tuesday to play Nicholls State at MGM Park in Biloxi. … Mississippi State got a brilliant pitching performance from Konnor Pilkington on Friday to beat South Alabama 2-0. The sophomore left-hander struck out 13 in 7 2/3 innings. Clutch hits on Sunday by Brant Blaylock (a walk-off knock vs. Columbia) and Brent Rooker (a tie-breaking home run vs. South Alabama) gave the Bulldogs (10-6) a spotless record for the weather-interrupted weekend event heading into a matchup today against Columbia. … Southern Miss yielded two runs in three games against Xavier (Ohio) over the weekend but won only two of the three games. Hayden Roberts and J.C. Keys put up zeroes in their Saturday starts as USM swept the doubleheader without allowing a run. Kirk McCarty pitched well enough to win on Friday, but the Golden Eagles were shut out. USM’s staff ERA is now 3.36. The Eagles take an 11-4 mark into a two-game set with Columbia on Tuesday and Wednesday. … Jackson State’s Miguel Yrigoyen threw a five-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 4-1 win against Alabama State on Sunday. Yrigoyen’s gem prevented the Hornets from sweeping JSU (10-6) in the SWAC series at Braddy Field. … Corey Beard notched his third win and Zach Osbon his third save as Delta State beat West Georgia 5-2 in the first of two games on Sunday in Cleveland. DSU, 14-6 and ranked 18th in NCAA Division II, lost the second contest 8-4; the rubber game in the Gulf South Conference series is today. P.S. Thirty high school teams, including a couple from Alabama, will assemble on the Coast this week for the inaugural Battle at the Beach tournament. Games start today and will be played at several Coast schools as well as MGM Park.

10 Mar

leading men

The state’s college teams have played enough games to where the stats are starting to be meaningful. Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum, the 2016 SEC batting champ and Ferriss Trophy winner, isn’t experiencing any apparent symptoms of a sophomore slump. The Jackson Prep product currently leads the SEC in hits with 26; he’s second in runs (20) and fifth in hitting (.456). Brent Rooker sits third in the league with 18 RBIs. … Ole Miss pitcher Will Ethridge ranks second in the league in batting average against (.082) and fourth in strikeouts (26), while teammates Dallas Woolfolk and Will Stokes are tied for second with two saves apiece. … Southern Miss’ Taylor Braley is second in C-USA in on-base percentage (.542) and first in walks (12), while Mason Irby leads the loop in sacrifices with five. Hayden Roberts’ 25 strikeouts ranks second among C-USA pitchers. … Lamar Briggs is crushing it for Jackson State, leading the SWAC in batting (.429) and slugging (.571). The Tigers’ C.J. Newsome ranks first in runs (15), Jonathan Aponte first in wins (three) and Jose Tirado t-first in saves (two). … Alcorn State’s Jason Sanez is No. 2 in SWAC hitting at .375, and Mississippi Valley State’s Jackson Webb is second in slugging (.563). Webb and teammate Arrington Smith have two homers each, ranking second in the SWAC. … Delta State, 12-4 and ranked as high 18th in NCAA Division II, is led by Zack Shannon, whose 20 RBIs rank fifth in the Gulf South Conference; his .403 average is ninth. With four homers, Clay Casey is tied for fifth. Tre Hobbs’ 29 strikeouts is sixth-best in the league. … Mississippi College’s Casey Echols (son of former State star Tracy Echols) is seventh in the GSC with a .404 average while leading the Choctaws in hits and runs. … William Carey’s Tyler Graves tops SSAC hitters with a .443 average and is No. 2 in RBIs with 32. Adrian Brown is first in runs (28), Tyler James in stolen bases (19) and Lane Fazende in ERA (0.81). James Land’s four homers rank fourth. … Blue Mountain’s Miciah Heard is third in the SSAC with 17 steals, while teammate Caleb Leach, having a big year, is eighth in batting at .368. … Millsaps’ Jacob Mardick, a junior left-hander, leads the Southern Athletic Association with 31 K’s and is third in ERA at 2.28. He is 3-0 for an 8-8 team. … Belhaven’s Terrell Hodges is third in the American Southwest Conference with a .735 slugging average, and Daniel Ammirati is tied for second with seven doubles.

09 Mar

something’s brewing

Brandon Woodruff’s Cactus League debut went well. The former Wheeler High and Mississippi State standout worked a scoreless, hitless inning for Milwaukee against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in Phoenix. He walked two and struck out one. Woodruff, drafted by the Brewers in 2014, was the organization’s pitcher of the year in 2016 and is rated their No. 7 prospect by Baseball America. He is not on the 40-man roster, but some projections say he’ll make the big leagues this season. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-handed starter, Woodruff won 14 games at two levels last year, going 10-8 with a 3.01 ERA at Double-A Biloxi. He is one of three Mississippians in the Brewers’ camp trying to earn jobs on their pitching staff. Ole Miss alum David Goforth, a non-roster invitee, has worked in four spring games (4.0 innings) and posted a 4.50 ERA. Goforth made 30 relief appearances with the Brewers in 2015 and ’16 but spent most of last season in Triple-A. Tim Dillard, the 33-year-old ex-Itawamba Community College star, also has seen some duty in the big league camp. He made his second appearance on Wednesday, getting the last out in the 7-2 win over the Dodgers. Dillard, whose last MLB appearance was in 2012, pitched in the Brewers’ minor league system in 2016 and re-signed in the off-season.

07 Mar

new faces, new places

It has been a quiet spring for Seth Smith. Too quiet. The Jackson native and ex-Ole Miss star is 0-for-9 in four games with his new club, the Baltimore Orioles. But with the team’s World Baseball Classic participants heading out, Smith is expected to play more regularly in the coming days. The O’s host the Dominican Republic team today in Sarasota, Fla. Believe it or not, Smith is 34 and entering his ninth full season in the big leagues. The lefty-hitting outfielder, a .261 career hitter with 113 homers, has gone from Colorado to Oakland to San Diego to Seattle to Baltimore, which traded for him in January. Smith is coming off a productive year: He hit 16 homers and drove in a career-high 63 runs for the Mariners. He batted just .249 but put up a .342 on-base percentage. Smith likely will platoon in right field for Buck Showalter’s O’s, who made the postseason in 2016. … Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland, who also changed teams this year, is also having a quiet spring. Now with American League East heavyweight Boston after seven years in Texas, Moreland is 2-for-11 in Grapefruit League play, with three RBIs. … Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College alum, has been more impactful with his new club, Seattle. Dyson, who won a ring with Kansas City in 2015, is 6-for-17 (.353) with two RBIs, two runs and a stolen base for the M’s, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2001.

05 Mar

all about runs

1 – Runs scored by Ole Miss in two losses (vs. Baylor and Texas Tech) in the Shriners tournament in Houston this weekend. The 7-3 Rebels play top-ranked TCU today.
5 – Runs scored by Southern Miss (7-3) in dropping the first two of three at nationally ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.
5 – Runs scored by Mississippi State (7-4), which is 1-1 on its road trip to chilly Oregon.
17 – Runs scored by Millsaps, which homered three times on Saturday in a 17-4 blowout of Emory at Twenty Field.
39 – Runs scored by William Carey, which ran its win streak to 11 with a three-game sweep of an SSAC series against Loyola-New Orleans at Wheeler Field.
18 – Runs allowed by Delta State in a Gulf South Conference doubleheader split against Union at Ferriss Field on Saturday; the Statesmen won the opener 10-8 on a Zack Shannon walk-off bomb in the 10th inning.
21 – Runs allowed by Mississippi College in losing a pair of GSC games against Shorter at Frierson Field on Saturday; the hapless Choctaws (2-16, 0-8) scored 16 runs.
27 – Runs allowed by Belhaven in losing three straight road games to Division III nationally ranked Texas-Tyler.

02 Mar

road trip

Mississippi’s Big 3 Division I schools, who have a 20-5 combined record, have played one road game between them this season. It’s time to buckle up. All three are scheduled for a significant road test this weekend. Southern Miss (7-1), which lost to Alabama in its only game away from Taylor Park, is at nationally ranked Louisiana-Lafayette for a Friday-Sunday series. USM is averaging 10 runs a game, led by Hunter Slater (.467), Taylor Braley (.464) and Dylan Burdeaux (.333, four homers, 13 RBIs), among others. With the exception of Kirk McCarty (2-0, 1.46 ERA), USM’s starting pitching has been erratic. The Ragin’ Cajuns (4-3) have a 2.25 staff ERA, though they have been somewhat challenged with the bats (21 runs total). A winning series might get the Golden Eagles some attention in the polls. Mississippi State (6-3), which makes the long trip to Eugene, Ore., this weekend, has been hitting a ton at Dudy Noble Field, having scored 76 runs. Familiar names like Jake Mangum (.474), Ryan Gridley (.447) and Brent Rooker (.394, three homers, 17 RBIs) are off to hot starts. The Bulldogs’ pitching hasn’t been as sharp with a 5.31 ERA, though sophomore Peyton Plumlee is 2-0, 0.64. Oregon (4-3) is not a traditional powerhouse but has put up seven straight winning seasons. The 2017 Ducks have been hampered by an anemic offense (.240 average, only two .300 hitters). Ole Miss, 7-1 and ranked in various national polls, heads off to Houston for the loaded Shriners Hospital for Children Classic. The Rebels will face three good Big 12 teams: Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU, the latter ranked No. 1 in some polls. UM has hit (.319) and pitched (3.50 ERA) well at Oxford-University Stadium, a sloppy 9-6 loss to Memphis on Tuesday notwithstanding. Freshmen Thomas Dillard (9-for-18) and Cole Zabowski (.417) and veteran Will Golsan (.355, seven RBIs, nine runs, eight-game hit streak) have shined at the plate, David Parkinson (2-0, 2.77) and Dallas Woolfolk (three saves) on the bump. The Rebels should get a good read on their club in this event. P.S. Jackson State makes the trip up to Itta Bena this weekend for a SWAC series against Mississippi Valley State at Magnolia Field. The Tigers are 4-4, coming off a home loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday. Lamar Briggs (.433), the reigning SWAC player of the week, and C.J. Newsome (.370) have paced the JSU attack. Valley is 1-4, its last two games cancelled because of weather, including a contest against Delta State on Wednesday.

01 Mar

big league chew

Zack Cozart, the former Ole Miss star, is expected to make his spring debut today for Cincinnati, which is 0-5 in Cactus League play. Cozart, a pending free agent who has been the subject of trade rumors, missed the last few weeks of the 2016 season with a knee issue but reportedly is fine now. He hit .252 with 16 homers last year. … Lance Lynn, another notable UM alum, made his spring debut on Monday for St. Louis; he threw two innings (35 pitches) and yielded four singles, a walk and a run against Washington. The right-hander, coming off Tommy John surgery in 2015, made a few minor league appearances late in 2016 but did not pitch in the big leagues. He is 61-39 with a 3.37 ERA for his career. Lynn, who’ll be 30 in May, is in the last year of a three-year contract. … Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson contributed two hits and a run in Tampa Bay’s wild 19-0 win over Minnesota on Tuesday. … Former Southern Miss standout Brian Dozier did not play for the Twins in that game and has appeared in only one of Minnesota’s five Grapefruit League contests. There are no reports of him being injured. … East Central CC alum Tim Anderson, coming off a strong rookie season with the Chicago White Sox, has hit the field swinging this spring. With two hits on Tuesday, he lifted his average to .556. He may be the club’s leadoff batter in 2017. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Tyler Moore, a non-roster invitee in Miami’s camp, is batting .667 with two homers and three RBIs to date. … UM product Alex Presley, trying to stick with Detroit, hit his first homer of the spring on Tuesday. … Ex-State star Chad Girodo, taken off Toronto’s 40-man roster just before spring games began, threw his second scoreless inning for the Blue Jays on Tuesday. … UM alum David Goforth, in a similar situation with Milwaukee, also threw a second scoreless inning. … Bobby Wahl, the former Rebels standout who is new to Oakland’s 40-man roster, got roughed up in his outing on Tuesday, allowing two runs while fanning three.

26 Feb

one fine day

On the first full day of spring training games, the names of Mississippians were all over Saturday’s box scores. Ex-Mississippi State star Tyler Moore, trying to make the Miami club as a non-roster invitee, hit what proved to be the game-winning home run for the Marlins against St. Louis. The blast came in the seventh inning against former Mississippi Braves pitcher John Gant and it made a winner of Southern Miss alum Scott Copeland, who had yielded the tying run in the top of the inning. Appearing in center field in that game for the Cardinals was ex-M-Braves standout Jordan Schafer, who is getting a look as both an outfielder and pitcher. … Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson, in his first game with Seattle, played left field, batted leadoff and went 1-for-2 with a run and a stolen base. Former State star Hunter Renfroe, batting cleanup and playing right field, had an RBI double in that game for San Diego. … Ex-Richton High standout JaCoby Jones went 2-for-2 with a run and Ole Miss product Alex Presley 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run for Detroit. Both are in the mix for the Tigers’ center field job, though Presley is in camp on a minor league contract. … MSU alum Adam Frazier hit leadoff and played shortstop for Pittsburgh, going 2-for-3 with a run. Frazier is likely to be the Pirates’ super-utility player this season. … Jonathan Holder, the ex-State standout, pitched a perfect inning for the New York Yankees, fanning two. … Ole Miss product Bobby Wahl, now on Oakland’s 40-man roster, struck out two in a scoreless inning of work for the A’s. … East Central CC alum Tim Anderson went 1-for-3 for the Chicago White Sox, batting leadoff and playing shortstop. … Ex-Itawamba CC star Desmond Jennings, trying to stick as a non-roster invitee with Cincinnati, started in right field and went 1-for-2. … Former State standout Mitch Moreland picked up his first official RBI for Boston; he hit a three-run homer on Thursday in an exhibition against a college team. … Petal High product Anthony Alford, batting fifth and playing right field for Toronto, was 1-for-3 with an RBI double against Atlanta. Seven former M-Braves played for the Braves; Dustin Peterson went 2-for-3 with a run and Johan Camargo 1-for-2 with two runs.

21 Feb

heat check

The eye-popping number of the state college season to date belongs to William Carey University’s Tyler Graves. The number: 17. Graves has driven in 17 runs through 11 games for the Crusaders, who are 7-4 while playing every game away from home. Graves, a senior from Petal, is 15-for-37, a .405 average matched by teammate Christian Smith. … Ole Miss’ sweep of highly rated East Carolina over the weekend was fueled in part by Ryan Olenek’s bat; the SEC player of the week went 6-for-13 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs. But noteworthy also are the numbers put up by Cole Zabowski, one of the lesser heralded freshmen in Oxford; the Georgia native is 3-for-7 with a homer and four RBIs. … Taylor Braley carried the big bat for Southern Miss in its sweep of Northeastern, going 4-for-10 with two homers, seven RBIs and four runs. … Hunter Stovall banged out eight hits in 15 at-bats with three RBIs for Mississippi State, off to a 3-1 start. … Kirt Cormier is 8-for-14 with a homer and three RBIs for Alcorn State (2-2). … Jackson Webb has two homers in a 7-for-18 start for Missisisppi Valley State (0-4). … Jackson State (1-2) was led over the weekend by Lamar Briggs, who went 4-for-12. … Delta State (7-2) has gotten major production from Emil Ellis, who is 13-for-34 with eight runs and three RBIs. … Will Elliott is 10-for-31 with a homer, five RBIs and five runs for Mississippi College, which has stumbled to a 1-10 start. … Miciah Heard is 21-for-49 with 13 runs and six RBIs for Blue Mountain (8-6). … Terrell Hodges (8-for-17, two homers, nine RBIs) and J.G. Miley (8-for-17) have helped Belhaven get off to a 4-1 start. … At Millsaps (2-5), Logan Patterson has eight hits in 22 trips. … D’Anthony Morrow has six hits in his last 11 at-bats for Tougaloo, which is 4-5 heading into a twinbill with William Carey in Jackson on Wednesday.