Tag Archives: Smith-Wills Stadium

31 Aug

sign of the times

The Jackson Senators live. Well, the name lives. On the billboard out front of Smith-Wills Stadium. The Senators are 10 years gone from their short stay at the old ballpark, but the independent team’s name is still out there. It’s a safe bet that a lot of folks cruising by on Lakeland Drive are given to wonder: “Who the heck are the Jackson Senators?” For the uninitiated, they were the fourth pro team to occupy Smith-Wills, following the Mets, Generals and Bandits, uh, I mean, DiamondKats. The Senators reached the Central Baseball League championship series in their inaugural season in 2002 and won the pennant in Year 2. A pall was cast over the whole operation in 2004 when news broke that Atlanta was moving its Double-A club to Pearl for the 2005 season. By this time in ’05, the Sens were history. Nothing official had been announced by the local ownership group, but it seemed inevitable. The metro isn’t big enough for two pro baseball teams. The Central League split up after the 2005 season, and the Senators quietly faded away. Hill Denson managed the last Senators team, which finished 35-58. There were some good players on the roster, including Selwyn Langaigne, Josh Tranum, Gerard McCall, Fontella Jones, Rusty Camp, Jake Dickinson … . Erick Mejias hit a walk-off homer in the Senators’ last home game, on Aug. 13, 2005. And if you saw them play at all, you surely remember Vince Faison, the right fielder. Former No. 1 draft pick by the San Diego Padres. Also a prep football star in Georgia. He could flat-out play. Hit for the cycle in ’05. Hadn’t thought about him in years. But on a drive down Lakeland, there’s that billboard. The Jackson Senators live.

02 Aug

the lost boys

To the victors go the spoils, including the flowery prose that is written when significant anniversaries of their great moments come around. Mississippi has seen its fair share of great minor league teams. Pennants from the Cotton States League, Southeastern League, Texas League, Central League and Southern League have been raised and celebrated. We have also seen at least one very bad team, which is “celebrating” its 15th anniversary this year. Yet as dismal as the 2000 campaign was for the Jackson DiamondKats, the independent club did have some bright spots during its one-year run at Smith-Wills Stadium. Some recognition is due. It should be remembered that former Delta State star Casey Myrick was named the Texas-Louisiana League rookie of the year in 2000 after batting .329 with nine homers and 56 RBIs. Two D-Kats pitchers, Ryan Creek and Jeremy McClain, finished the season in the top 10 in the league in ERA. Creek, a onetime Jackson Generals ace, put up a 3.07 and went 5-5 (for a team that was 36 games under .500) before being injured. McClain, another DSU product, had a 3.27 ERA and went 7-9. William Carey College alumnus Perry Miley stole 38 bases, third-most in the TLL. And former big leaguer and ex-Jackson Mets outfielder Mark Carreon joined the team late in the year and hit .340. The D-Kats won their home opener, 5-4 against the Alexandria Aces, before an announced 2,389 (a bit of a stretch). The crowd included Mayor Harvey Johnson and ex-big leaguer Oil Can Boyd, a cousin of D-Kats outfielder Popeye Cole. Miley scored the winning run in the eighth inning, knocked in by Tupelo native Willie Gardner. Southern Miss product Danny Shupe made the lead stand up with a 1-2-3 ninth. Mark Davis, another Carey alum, got the win. The D-Kats didn’t win many more, finishing 38-74, a league record for losses. Former Ole Miss and MLB star Steve Dillard, a good guy, managed the club, which was heavy with Mississippians and largely overmatched against teams stacked with indy league veterans. The D-Kats were outscored by almost 200 runs and struck out a league-record 836 times. They endured two 10-game losing streaks. Home attendance was sparse, averaging under 700 a game. Alas, the D-Kats never got a chance at redemption. The franchise, owned by the league, folded before the 2001 season. The Jackson Mets and Generals, MLB-affiliated clubs, churned out stars at Smith-Wills for 25 years, from 1975-99, winning five Texas League pennants. The independent Senators arrived in 2002 and won a Central League crown in 2003. They ceased operations in 2006, one year after the Atlanta-affiliated Mississippi Braves arrived in Pearl, where they won a Southern League title in 2008 and are now playing their 11th season. While all those championship-stamped teams and many of the players they produced are regularly feted, the DiamondKats tend to be forgotten. Not today.

12 Jul

whatever happened to …

Travious Relaford, a former juco All-America shortstop at Hinds Community College, is back on the field at Class A Augusta, where he is batting .272 with 24 RBIs and 24 runs in 48 games. Relaford went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a steal in a doubleheader on July 7, his first game action after a month on the disabled list. It’s hard to get a read on how Relaford stands in the San Francisco Giants’ grand scheme. Drafted in the 44th round in 2011, he didn’t start his pro career until 2012. He got a look in Double-A in 2013 but hit only .188 and found himself on a short-season Class A team in 2014. He batted .283 with three homers and 28 RBIs for Salem-Keizer and made the Northwest League All-Star Game. He appeared in a couple of major league spring games this year, then was assigned to the low Class A South Atlantic League. He isn’t on any of the lists of the Giants’ top prospects, but he is only 23 and he appears to be progressing. P.S. Sixteen years after the Jackson Generals last played at Smith-Wills Stadium, there are two alums of the old Houston Double-A affiliate still playing. Daryle Ward, at age 40, is in the independent Atlantic League, batting .253 with one homer for Southern Maryland (Jackson native Stan Cliburn’s club). Ward hit 90 MLB homers and has 189 others as a pro. Freddy Garcia, 38, is pitching in the Mexican League. The big right-hander, in his 21st pro season, has a 6.00 ERA in five games for Tabasco.

17 Apr

coming attractions

Starkville’s Dudy Noble Field is a hot spot in the state this weekend — weather permitting, as always — with Mississippi State hosting SEC foe Florida as part of Super Bulldog Weekend. At Braddy Field in Jackson, Jackson State faces a SWAC showdown with Alabama A&M. Down in Hattiesburg at Taylor Park, Southern Miss has a big C-USA series against Florida Atlantic. Up in Cleveland, Ferriss Field will fill up for Delta State’s Gulf South Conference battle with Shorter. Mississippi Valley State will host Belhaven in Itta Bena today and then travel to Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium on Saturday for a twinbill against the Blazers. And on Sunday at Smith-Wills, perhaps the most compelling matchup of the weekend will see NJCAA Division II No. 1-ranked Hinds Community College take on No. 16 Northwest Mississippi CC. The doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. Hinds dropped a pair to Southwest at Smith-Wills on Thursday, falling into a tie atop the MACJC standings with Northwest at 16-4. Hinds (29-4 overall) has gotten prolific production from Jonathan Washam (.402 entering the Southwest set), Madison’s Matt Jones (.394, 34 runs), Cleveland’s Marshall Boggs (.349) and Clinton’s Chase Lunceford (.353, five home runs). Randy Bell (7-0, 2.36 ERA) of Woodville and Houston Case (6-1) of Brookhaven are the top winners on the mound for the Eagles, and Madison’s Austin Sanders has nine saves. Northwest (25-8) has won 12 straight games, including a sweep of Northeast on Tuesday in which the Rangers scored 21 runs on 29 hits. Clay Casey, the former DeSoto Central star, has swung a mighty bat, with a .358 average, eight homers, 28 RBIs and 30 runs. Ole Miss transfer Dalton Dulin leads the Rangers with a .382 average and has a school-record 36 stolen bases. Coldwater’s LeeMarcus Boyd is batting .320 with 30 runs. Myrtle’s Colt Smith is Northwest’s ace, having posted a 6-0 record with a 0.54 ERA, and Tupelo’s J.G. Lipscomb is 4-1, 1.48.

08 Apr

so much to remember

The year 2015 brings a bonanza of significant anniversaries for Mississippi pro baseball teams.
On April 19, 1975, 40 years ago, the Jackson Mets played their first game at Smith-Wills Stadium, beating the Arkansas Travelers 6-4 before a crowd of 2,862. Managed by John Antonelli, the original JaxMets went 65-65 and did not make the Texas League postseason. It was not a club of future big league stars. It was a club of Mike Agosto, Craig Casek and Angel Cantres, the team leaders in homers, average and RBIs. There was also Craig Clark, Rich Miller, Randy Trapp and Carlos Sagredo. Jeff Grose went 13-8 with a 3.54 ERA, and Mississippian Bobby Myrick won seven games.
In 1985, 30 years ago, the Jackson Mets won a Texas League championship, the franchise’s third pennant and second in a row under manager Sam Perlozzo. The tone was set in the home opener at Smith-Wills, when Biloxi native and Delta State product Barry Lyons hit a walk-off home run. Lyons, who batted .307 with 11 bombs and 108 RBIs, was one of a bunch of future big leaguers on that club. Some others: Mark Carreon, Keith Miller, Greg Olson, Randy Milligan, Stanley Jefferson and DeWayne Vaughn.
Fifteen years later — in the year 2000 — after Jackson’s Texas League team had moved away to Round Rock, Texas, the DiamondKats took up residence at Smith-Wills for one largely forgettable campaign. The independent club, managed by ex-Ole Miss and MLB star Steve Dillard, posted a 38-74 record and was outscored by almost 200 runs. Crowds were sparse. Some players did manage to shine, however. Mark Carreon, at age 36, joined the team late in the season and hit .340 in 42 games. Casey Myrick batted .329 with nine homers and 56 RBIs, and Jeremy McClain, another Delta State product, went 7-9 with a 3.27 ERA. The roster also included Popeye Cole, Willie Gardner, Jimbo Pinnix, Perry Miley and Rusty Camp, all Mississippi natives.
And 10 years ago, a new era dawned when Double-A baseball returned to central Mississippi. The Mississippi Braves trotted out a team on opening day at brand new Trustmark Park in Pearl that would produce 10 major league players, including Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Gregor Blanco, Blaine Boyer, Luis Hernandez, Scott Thorman, Macay McBride and Zack Miner. But that original group wasn’t together for very long. McCann went to Atlanta in June, and many others would also move up over the next few weeks. The ’05 M-Braves, managed by Brian Snitker, finished 64-68 overall, failing to make the Southern League postseason. Still, it was a great debut act, one that started a steady stream of talent flowing through Pearl to the big leagues.

30 Jan

beginnings

When last we saw the Belhaven Blazers — on May 14 of last year — they were walking off the Smith-Wills Stadium turf following an 8-7 loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan. That heartbreaking defeat, in an NAIA opening round regional, ended BU’s season at 42-21. Today, the Blazers turn the page. They’ll walk back onto the Smith-Wills turf to start the 2015 season against Saint Francis (Ind.). Among Belhaven’s returning cast are two key position players: NAIA All-American Paul Pickerrell, who batted .345 with 44 RBIs, 48 runs and 38 steals, and Reagan Rutledge, a .278 hitter who swiped a school-record 64 bags, batted .278 and scored 60 runs. How those two go may well determine how the team goes. … Meanwhile, in Hattiesburg, William Carey also opens its season, facing NAIA nationally ranked Missouri Baptist at Wheeler Field, and a milestone watch begins in earnest. This is Bobby Halford’s 30th year as Carey’s coach, and he has 992 wins. The Crusaders (31-26 in 2014) are led by D.J. Johnson, who hit .305 last year.

30 Dec

warm-up tosses

Ready or not, the 2015 college baseball season begins in Mississippi one month from today, when Belhaven University hosts Saint Francis (Ind.) at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson and William Carey takes on Missouri Baptist in a twinbill at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Tougaloo, under new coach Earl Sanders, the former Jackson State star, opens on Feb. 3 at Belhaven. The Bulldogs will serve as the opening day foe for Mississippi College on Feb. 6 at Frierson Field in Clinton. MC, transitioning to NCAA Division II, begins playing a Gulf South Conference slate this season; the much-anticipated Delta State series will be April 11-12 in Clinton. DSU starts the 2015 campaign on the road on Feb. 6, playing Nova Southeastern in Florida. The Statesmen’s home opener at Ferriss Field in Cleveland is Feb. 18 against Harding. Opening day for NCAA Division I schools is Feb. 13, and each of the Big 4 is at home: Ole Miss hosts William and Mary, Mississippi State gets Cincinnati, Southern Miss plays Murray State and Jackson State welcomes Texas-Pan American. Alcorn State opens at Savannah State. Mississippi Valley State hasn’t published a schedule. The Delta Devils’ opener will be the debut of coach Aaron Stevens, a longtime assistant to Doug Shanks, who retired in November to take a high school job at Central Hinds Academy. Shanks had a good run at Valley, winning five division titles, but 2014 was a rough year: 4-38, 4-17 in the SWAC. NAIA member Blue Mountain also has not released its schedule. P.S. The Maloney Trophy Series between Belhaven, MC and Millsaps, once a nine-game round-robin, has been reduced to a total of three games. Maybe it’s time to bring Tougaloo into the mix.

18 Oct

spirit of ’76

The most famous player on the 1976 Jackson Mets arguably was pitcher Mike Scott, who became a Cy Young award winner. You could make a case for outfielder Lee Mazzilli, who played briefly in Jackson that season and went on to be a fairly successful big leaguer. A few others from that team also made the majors, including Roy Lee Jackson, Dwight Bernard and, of course, Ned Yost, who is certainly the most talked-about former JaxMets player at the moment. The Kansas City Royals manager played 83 games for Jackson in ’76, which was the second year the New York Mets’ Double-A club operated at Smith-Wills Stadium. Yost, a catcher, batted just .199 with three homers and 25 RBIs for manager John Antonelli. Yost was back in Jackson to start the 1977 campaign, batted .309 in 30 games and was promoted to Triple-A Tidewater, where he hit .299 with 12 homers in 60 games. He made it to the big leagues in 1980 with Milwaukee. Yost married a Jackson girl, and their son, former minor league player Ned Yost IV, was born in the Capital City in 1982. P.S. Gavin Collins, a catcher who made the All-SEC Freshman team in 2014 for Mississippi State, clubbed a walk-off homer Friday night as the Gray beat the Maroons 4-3 in a fall ball scrimmage in Starkville. The Bulldogs will play an intrasquad game at Smith-Wills today at 4 p.m. … Former State star Tyler Moore hit his first homer on Friday in the Dominican Winter League.

02 Oct

the road ahead

Anthony Alford, once rated the 36th-best MLB draft prospect in the country, has some catching up to do. The former Mr. Baseball from Petal High, who recently left the Ole Miss football team to return to pro baseball, has played just 25 minor league games, none since 2013. Alford, an outfielder, will spend a couple of weeks in Toronto’s Instructional League camp in Florida and then head off to the Australian Baseball League, according to the National Post of Toronto. Because of his commitment to football — he originally signed with Southern Miss — he slipped to the third round in the 2012 draft. Toronto signed Alford with the intention of letting him continue to play college football while spending the summers in pro baseball. In two limited stints in the low minors, Alford has a career .200 average with a homer and six steals. Alford, who was also the state’s Mr. Football in 2011, has tremendous potential on the diamond. This is a guy who hit .483 with four homers, 31 RBIs and 14 steals as a senior at Petal. It’ll be interesting to see if he can get back on the prospect track. P.S. In addition to Bobby Abreu (see previous post), there was one other ex-Jackson Generals star still playing in 2014, though not in the major leagues. Daryle Ward, now 39, began the 2014 season in Mexico and finished in the independent Atlantic League. The lefty-hitting first baseman batted .239 with eight homers for Somerset, which recently was eliminated from the APBL playoffs. Ward, who hit 90 homers over his 11 MLB seasons, last played in the majors in 2008. He had a huge year for the 1997 Gens, batting .329 with 19 homers and 90 RBIs in 114 games before moving to Triple-A. And, of course, he famously hit a foul ball that blasted a hole in the outfield fence at Smith-Wills Stadium.

26 Sep

falling in

Fall ball has cranked up at Ole Miss, where the Rebels welcomed back 20 players from last spring’s College World Series finalist and blended in 18 recruits from a class rated No. 15 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Sophomore Colby Bortles, a .250 hitter in a part-time role in 2014, went 5-for-7 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs in two intrasquad scrimmages last weekend. Mike Bianco’s Rebels are slated for games today and Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium. … For the record, Mississippi State’s recruiting class was rated No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball. Baseball America’s ratings have not been released. … Belhaven University’s Steak and Burgers Series is under way at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium. The Green leads the Gold 2-0; Thursday’s game was halted after eight innings with the scored tied 5-5. The Blazers were an NAIA regional participant last spring. … Mississippi College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Rice Field House on Thursday. The hope in Clinton is that the baseball-specific facility will aid in recruiting as the Choctaws move into NCAA Division II. They’ll play a Gulf South Conference schedule in 2015. … Two new coaches are on the job in the junior college ranks: former Delta State assistant Rodney Batts at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Ken Jackson at Southwest Mississippi CC. Batts was replaced on Mike Kinnison’s staff by former DSU star Eric Patten.