Tag Archives: Ole Miss

03 May

rise and shine

Jackson State needed a hero on Friday. Desmond Russell came through. The Bahamas native threw a complete game, with 14 strikeouts, and went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Tigers beat Alcorn State 9-3 at Braddy Field. Russell is 7-4 for JSU, now 27-21 overall and 9-13 in the SWAC East, in a virtual tie for third with the Braves (8-12). JSU, the defending league champ, has lost five straight SWAC series, including a rather embarrassing pratfall against hapless Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers need to get it in gear with the SWAC Tournament approaching. Other stars from a fun-filled Friday: Westin Stringer won his 10th game as No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College beat Holmes 12-2 in the MACJC playoffs. … Chance Whitten delivered a decisive two-run double as East Central upset North Division champion East Mississippi 4-3 in the opener of that three-game series. LaDarious Clark homered for the Lions. … Jonathan Andrews drove in four runs to lead Delta State past Christian Brothers 15-2 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. … Chris Ellis improved to 7-0 as Ole Miss beat Arkansas 3-2. … Conor Fisk won his fifth game and Connor Barron homered as Southern Miss topped Tulane 4-2. … C.T. Bradford hit his first homer and Jonathan Holder notched his sixth save as Mississippi State beat Auburn 3-0. … In MLB, former MSU and Meridian CC star Tyler Moore hit his second homer — off former MCC standout Cliff Lee — to help Washington beat Philadelphia 5-3. … Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings belted his third homer and stole two bases as Tampa Bay knocked off the New York Yankees 10-5 in 14 innings.

30 Apr

going independent

Fred Lewis is playing in the States again, currently with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the independent Atlantic League. Lewis, a Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product, spent last year in Japan after a his six-year major league tour ended with the New York Mets in 2012. Lewis, 33, is career .266 hitter in MLB with 27 homers and 53 stolen bases. He had a good year in Japan but apparently found no interested parties among major league clubs. … Also with Lancaster is former Ole Miss star Bobby Kielty, another ex-big leaguer. Other Mississippians in the Atlantic League — the best of the indy loops — include Delta State product Edwin Maysonet and ex-UM pitcher Matt Maloney with Somerset, Gulf Coast CC alum Roy Corcoran with Sugar Land and former Rebels star Cody Overbeck with Bridgeport.

27 Apr

kings of swing

Nomination for Understatement of the Year, College Edition: “We swung the bats well today.” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco made that comment today moments after the No. 12 Rebels produced 17 hits and beat nationally ranked Kentucky 18-5 in Lexington. Yes, 17 hits and 18 runs qualifies as swinging the bats well. Auston Bousfield, having an amazing season, went 5-for-6 with a home run, six RBIs and three runs. For the year, the junior from Florida is at .363 with five homers, 34 RBIs and 38 runs. The Rebels got three more homers in today’s win, from Will Allen, J.B. Woodman and Sikes Orvis. Orvis homered for the second straight day and now has 11 bombs for the year. Yes, the Rebels also swung the bats well on Friday, getting 15 hits in a 12-4 victory. They are 32-12, 12-8 SEC, heading into Sunday’s series finale. Chances are they’ll swing the bats well again. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Seth Smith, now with the San Diego Padres, missed a second straight game today because of a groin injury. Smith has been swinging the bat well, so to speak, hitting .313 over his last 10 games before the injury. He’s at .277 for the year. Smith homered in his first at-bat as a Padre back on March 31 but has hit just one since.

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.

21 Apr

the rivalry

In April of 1984, a newcomer to Mississippi ventured out to Smith-Wills Stadium to watch a college baseball game. The newcomer had a hard time finding a parking place. The newcomer was stunned to see that the Jackson ballpark, which seats about 5,000, was practically full. For a college baseball game. Where the newcomer came from, no one would have believed this. That 1984 game matched Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the fifth renewal of what used to be known as the Mayor’s Trophy Game. It’s now called the Governor’s Cup and is played at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. The Mississippi Braves’ home stadium, which can accommodate 7,000-plus, will be packed when the Bulldogs and Rebels meet there Tuesday night. Both teams are nationally ranked, but that doesn’t matter. The fans would show up regardless. The tickets are pricey — $12 for general admission, $25 or more for a reserved seat — but that doesn’t matter, either. The fans will pay. Even lousy weather won’t keep them away. Ole Miss-State is that kind of rivalry. In a recent issue of Baseball America, a columnist built a case for Clemson-South Carolina as the best current college baseball rivalry. The columnist ought to make a trip out to the TeePee on Tuesday night. Like that newcomer to Mississippi back in 1984, he might be impressed. He might change his mind on that rivalry thing. P.S. The Rebels are coming off a series loss to LSU, though they outscored the visiting Tigers 8-7 in three tense games. State is coming off a series sweep at Missouri. Ole Miss took two of three from State in Starkville just over a week ago, outscoring the Bulldogs 23-11.

21 Apr

slowly but surely?

It seems odd to put Billy Hamilton and the word “slowly” in the same sentence, but here goes: The former Taylorsville High star is slowly starting to hit for the Cincinnati Reds. The jet-fast Hamilton, feeling some pressure perhaps as the Reds’ new leadoff batter this spring, got off to an awful start but is batting .282 over his last 10 games. He extended his hit streak to five games with a 1-for-5 effort in the Reds’ 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He is now hitting .213 with seven stolen bases in nine tries. He has walked just three times and scored only six runs, but those totals should begin to rise. “I’m starting to get to the point where I’m more relaxed, and I can play this game with the big guys,” Hamilton told mlb.com before getting three hits on Saturday. The Reds, just 8-10, need Hamilton’s spark at the top of the lineup. They could also use some more offensive crackle from Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who is batting just .153. The Cincy shortstop went 3-for-5 Sunday and belted his first home run, so perhaps things are beginning to turn around for him, too. P.S. The New York Mets reportedly will recall 40-year-old outfielder Bobby Abreu, the only ex-Jackson General still playing affiliated ball. (Freddy Garcia apparently is going to pitch in Taiwan this year.)

18 Apr

going places

The Milwaukee Brewers’ decision to move David Goforth from starter to closer is working out well. Goforth, the former Neshoba Central High and Ole Miss standout, notched his fifth save (in six appearances) on Thursday night as Double-A Huntsville beat the Mississippi Braves 1-0 at Trustmark Park. The game ended on a fly out (by Seth Loman) to the warning track with the tying run at third base, but, hey, what closer doesn’t like to make things interesting once in a while. It was Goforth’s second save in the Southern League series, which is tied 2-2 going into tonight’s finale. He lowered his ERA to 1.23. The right-hander, a fourth-year pro who made the switch to the bullpen in the middle of last season, is rated among the Brewers’ top 10 prospects and was invited to their big league camp this spring. Yes, Goforth is going places. P.S. It will be interesting to see if Jackson native Donnie Veal, designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, gets another big league opportunity. The left-hander has a 7.50 ERA in seven games this season and a 4.87 in 100 career appearances. But he is a lefty.

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.

04 Apr

winning ways

Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz, who was 0-4 with Colorado last season, got a win in his second appearance with his new team, Oakland, on Thursday night. The left-hander, converted to the bullpen by the A’s, pitched a clean 12th against Seattle and notched his first MLB victory since 2012 when Coco Crisp hit a home run in the bottom of the inning. Another former Rebels star, Lance Lynn of St. Louis, toughed out five innings against Cincinnati on Thursday to get a win in his first start of 2014. Toss in Aaron Barrett’s win in relief on Monday in his big league debut with Washington and UM alums are now 3-0.

03 Apr

tale of two dogs

Mitch Moreland was diplomatic in his comments after his Texas team rallied to beat Philadelphia and closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. “That’s a good team over there and Papelbon has definitely had a lot of success,” Moreland told mlb.com. Moreland — like Papelbon, a former Mississippi State star — had one of the four hits and scored one of the three runs the Phillies right-hander allowed in a jolting 4-3 loss. There is some serious heat on Papelbon, who is in the third year of a 4-year, $50 million contract with Philly. He blew seven of 36 save chances last year, his ERA over the last couple months jumped over 4.00 and his velocity reportedly was down. He got just one out Wednesday and wound up walking in the winning run. “One of the strong points of my game is being able to bounce back …,” Papelbon told mlb.com. Stay tuned. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who won 15 games for St. Louis last season, starts today against Cincinnati and ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, 0-for-8 in two games so far.