Tag Archives: Southern Miss

07 Jun

something special

We don’t get to see this very often, two Mississippi schools squaring off in the postseason. Two days in a row is a lot to handle. Ole Miss and Southern Miss play today for the Oxford Regional championship. The noon game will be televised on ESPN2. Somebody’s season ends today at Swayze Field. Four years ago, in Hattiesburg in 2017, USM and Mississippi State squared off in a regional title game. USM fans cringe at the memory: State won 8-6, its second straight win that day over the Golden Eagles, who saw one of their best-ever seasons end in heartbreak. USM can deliver a similar blow today to the Rebels, the No. 12 national seed and once the nation’s top-ranked team. Facing elimination on Sunday night, the Eagles bucked up for a 10-7 win that had a lot of everything over 3 hours and 35 minutes: 20 hits, seven walks, three HBPs, three home runs, 17 strikeouts, two errors. Both teams got heroic pitching performances. UM’s Tyler Myers quelled the first-inning uprising that saw the Eagles turn a 4-0 deficit into a 7-4 lead. Myers went five innings, yielding two runs. Chandler Best came out of the bullpen to do damage control for USM in the wild first two innings, and Tanner Hall owned the day with five scoreless frames to finish off the Rebels. Before Sunday’s game, the last regional meeting between the two schools came in 2007, when Lance Lynn threw a two-hitter in UM’s 4-0 first-round win in Oxford. Lynn won’t be walking through that bullpen gate today. It’ll be interesting to see who does; the pitching staffs for both teams are stretched thin. But somebody will step up. Somebody will have to, and they’ll earn a place in Magnolia State lore. P.S. Props to Mississippi juco products Jase Dalton and Tyler Samaniego, who combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in South Alabama’s win over Miami in the Gainesville Regional. The Jaguars are facing South Florida for the regional title. In the Ruston Regional, Kyle Crigger, an Itawamba CC alum, worked the last 4 1/3 innings in Louisiana Tech’s win over Alabama in an elimination game. The Bulldogs then lost to North Carolina State.

06 Jun

there and here

Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High slugger, was back in the big leagues on Saturday and doubled in his only at-bat as a pinch hitter for Cleveland. The lefty-hitting first baseman/DH made his MLB debut in 2019 but didn’t get the call last season. Sent to Triple-A Columbus despite a strong spring, he was hitting .196 with nine homers (and a 36 percent strikeout rate) when the Indians decided to give him another look after axing Jake Bauers. Bradley told cleveland.com that he feels no pressure: “I get to settle in and get comfortable and play my game.” Known affectionately as “The Assassin” at Columbus, where he hit 33 homers in 2019, Bradley could give the Indians some needed thump if he can cut down on the strikeouts. He’ll probably be in the lineup today at Baltimore. … Madison Central product Spencer Turnbull has landed on the 10-day injured list with a forearm strain. He is 4-2, 2.88 ERA for Detroit; one of the wins was a no-hitter. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Brent Rooker hit his seventh homer of the season and is batting .238 for Triple-A St. Paul in Minnesota’s system. Rooker was in the big leagues briefly in April. … LeDarious Clark, the East Mississippi Community College alum and former Texas Rangers minor leaguer, has four homers and a .320 average in nine games in the independent Atlantic League, now one of MLB’s new partner leagues. … Joe Gray Jr., the former Hattiesburg High star who was once a prized prospect in Milwaukee’s system, appears to be figuring some things out at Low-A Carolina. He blasted his ninth homer on Saturday and is at .291 with 34 RBIs. He is only 21. … After suffering three straight soul-crushing postseason losses, Southern Miss bounced back with a vengeance in a 21-0 win over Southeast Missouri State in the Oxford Regional. That gives the Golden Eagles another shot at Florida State in an elimination game today. FSU beat USM 5-2 on Friday, then lost to Ole Miss Saturday. … Hail to the MHSAA champs: Madison Central polished off Northwest Rankin for the Class 6A title, joining Saltillo (5A), West Lauderdale (4A), Booneville (3A), Taylorsville (2A) and Tupelo Christian (1A) in the winners’ circle.

05 Jun

the other phase

South Alabama’s hitters did a number on Florida today in a jaw-dropping 19-1 victory that eliminated the Gators — once the nation’s No. 1 team — from the Gainesville Regional. Also due some major props is Miles Smith, a former Pearl River Community College standout from Laurel who pitched the first six innings and limited the Gators to one run on five hits with five strikeouts. Smith departed after the Jaguars scored 10 runs in the sixth inning to take a 14-1 lead. Smith (7-1 this season) won 15 games over his two seasons at PRCC, including a 9-3 mark on the 2019 club that went to the juco World Series. … While Reed Trimble and Christopher Sargent were fueling an eye-popping offensive assault by Southern Miss on Southeast Missouri State today in the Oxford Regional, Walker Powell was getting it done on the mound. Powell pitched six dominant innings, holding SEMO to four hits while fanning four in the Golden Eagles’ 21-0 win in an elimination game. Powell, C-USA’s pitcher of the year, improved to 10-2 on the year.

04 Jun

on the bump

Throwing 44 pitches over three scoreless innings on Thursday, J.T. Ginn has taken the first official step of his pro career. The ex-Mississippi State standout from Brandon made his long-awaited debut for the Low-A St. Lucie Mets. He yielded two hits, two walks and an HBP while registering one strikeout against Fort Myers. It was Ginn’s first appearance in an actual game since February of 2020 with MSU. He had Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. The New York Mets picked him in the second round of last summer’s draft; they figure to be very cautious this year with their No. 6-ranked prospect. At MSU, right-hander Ginn posted a 3.22 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings, most of those in 2019 when he was the SEC and national freshman of the year. He features power stuff: an upper 90s fastball, a nasty sinker and a hard slider. Elsewhere on minor league mounds: Former Southern Miss standout Kirk McCarty improved to 4-0 with a strong seven-inning outing for Triple-A Columbus in the Cleveland system. The 5-foot-8 lefty, who has a 4.04 ERA in six starts, allowed five hits and two runs with seven K’s to beat Indianapolis. He is in his fourth pro season. … Ole Miss product Chris Ellis saw his ERA jump to 9.26 in four starts for Triple-A Durham in Tampa Bay’s chain. The well-traveled Ellis, 28, was touched for two hits, two walks and two runs in just one inning; he escaped with a no-decision. Durham’s game against Norfolk was called in the eighth inning after Bulls pitcher Tyler Zombro was hit in the head by a line drive. He was hospitalized and in stable condition at last report.

01 Jun

behold the power

Fear the Fighting Camels? Beware the ’Noles? If power is the key to winning these days, then the teams to watch in the Starkville and Oxford Regionals, respectively, are Campbell and Florida State. Campbell (35-16) has more total home runs (65) and the best homers-per-game average (1.27) of the four teams bound for Starkville. Matthew Christian leads the Camels with 16. Campbell pitchers also have done a good job of limiting homers, having yielded just 33. Samford (35-22), which plays Mississippi State in the first round, punched its ticket to the NCAAs with two huge homers in the ninth inning of the Southern Conference title game: a game-tying shot by Towns King and a walk-off bomb by Max Pinto. Sonny DiChiara has 16 of Samford’s 64. On the flip side, Samford pitchers have given up 70 homers. Logan Tanner (team-best 16 round-trippers) and the other State sluggers may be salivating over that stat. State (40-15) sits at 60 as a team, eight more than its pitchers have allowed. Another masher of note in that regional is Virginia Commonwealth’s Tyler Locklear, who has 16 bombs. The Rams (37-14) have allowed only 37 homers. … In Oxford, where the red cup crowd really digs the long ball, Florida State (30-22) comes in with 74 homers (1.42 per game, 18th in the nation). The Seminoles’ Mat Nelson is tied for the national lead with 22. FSU opens regional play against Southern Miss (37-19), which has belted 67 bombs, led by Reed Trimble with 14. Ole Miss (41-19) has slugged 75 homers (1.25 per game), led by Kevin Graham’s 14. Tim Elko, perhaps UM’s best power source, has 13 despite missing a big chunk of time with an injury. Rebels pitchers have allowed 65 homers, a relatively high number. Notably, UM’s opening opponent, Southeast Missouri State (30-20), is a relatively power-starved team with just 37 homers. Wade Strauss hit 14 of those.

24 May

the unkindest cut

Three outs from the SWAC championship, with the league’s reliever of the year on the mound, Jackson State appeared to have a firm grip on its first league title in seven years, a just reward for a dominant season. It didn’t happen. O’Neill Burgos, a former hero at Brookhaven Academy and Jones College, played that role for Southern University on Sunday, belting a three-run homer to propel the upstart Jaguars to a 7-6 victory and the SWAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. JSU went 24-0 in the league in the regular season and won its first three tournament games at Madison, Ala. But the one that mattered most slipped away. There was some confusion initially about Burgos’ homer as Tigers left fielder Jatavious Melton crashed through the bullpen gate trying to run down the ball. Video review showed the ball cleared the fence. The Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Closer Steven Davila took the loss, his first of the year. JSU finishes with a 34-9 record; an NCAA at-large bid is most unlikely. Southern entered the tournament with a 15-27 record, lost its second game there and then won four straight elimination contests. The Jags, who have a number of Mississippi products on their roster, will head to the NCAAs after a sidetrip to the HBCU World Series in Jackson this week. P.S. After falling in the decisive game of the GSC Championship Series on Saturday, Delta State got new life on Sunday when it received a bid to the NCAA Division II South Region tourney at Pensacola, Fla. DSU will open with Tampa on Thursday in a region filled with GSC teams. … East Central Community College pushed second-ranked LSU-Eunice to a second game in the championship round of the NJCAA D-II Region 23 Tournament but ultimately fell to the Bengals 7-5 on Saturday. LSU-E goes to the juco World Series. … Ole Miss, once ranked No. 1 in the nation, faces a win-or-go-home game vs. Auburn in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday at Hoover, Ala. Mississippi State plays the winner of Florida-Kentucky on Wednesday to begin the double-elimination phase of its bracket. Southern Miss, the 3-seed and the defending champion in the C-USA Tournament, plays Western Kentucky on Wednesday at Ruston, La., in the double-elimination event.

23 May

on the flip side …

Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High slugger, hit two home runs for Triple-A Columbus on Saturday, giving him six for the season. That’s tied for second-most in the Triple-A East. He drove in three runs and now has 15 RBIs, fourth-most in the league. That’s the good part. On the flip side: The 24-year-old first baseman, now in his eighth year of pro ball, has only 12 hits all told in 60 at-bats. He has struck out 22 times and drawn just six walks. While the Cleveland Indians are looking for production at first base, they may still not feel Bradley is ready to provide it. Bradley has been dialing up homers at a great rate over his seven minor league seasons. He has 153. He also hit one for the Indians during a brief call-up in 2019. It’ll be interesting to see when his next MLB opportunity comes. Clearly, just hitting bombs isn’t enough. … Bradley’s homers helped ex-Southern Miss star Kirk McCarty improve to 3-0, with a 2.66 ERA. He worked seven strong innings in the Clippers’ 5-3 win over Toledo. The 25-year-old left-hander might be closer to a call-up than Bradley.

20 May

pitch in for corky

A group of Southern Miss alumni have started a GoFundMe page for ex-USM and Meridian Community College coach Corky Palmer. In 2020, Palmer suffered a major stroke and faces a long recovery with a need for ongoing medical care. To make a donation, go to this link: gofund.me/49a9c9ef. Palmer, a Hattiesburg native, is a great guy and great coach who took USM to its lone College World Series in 2009, his last season there.

09 May

one crazy day

Why do we love this game? Crazy days like Saturday. Where to begin? In Hattiesburg, Walker Powell throws a no-hitter and Ben Ethridge follows with a three-hit shutout as Southern Miss sweeps Middle Tennessee State. In Columbia, S.C., Tanner Allen goes 4-for-5 with three RBIs to spark Mississippi State past South Carolina and clinch the big SEC series. In College Station, Texas, Tim Elko, in his third plate appearance since tearing an ACL in early April, hits a three-run homer to help Ole Miss beat Texas A&M and secure Mike Bianco’s 800th win in Oxford. In Jackson, Jackson State scores 19 runs in the third inning en route to beating hapless Mississippi Valley State 19-5, improving to 23-0 in SWAC play. In Oxford, Ala., Blayke Dendy hits a grand slam and Christian Day throws a complete game to pace Delta State to an upset of top-seeded Lee University in the GSC Tournament. In Mobile, Ala., Jorge Ramos tosses a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts to lead William Carey past top-seeded Loyola (New Orleans) and into the championship game of the SSAC Tournament. In Pearl, Atlanta prospect Shea Langeliers homers twice as the Double-A Mississippi Braves win their first game of the season by knocking off Pensacola. In Atlanta, former M-Braves star William Contreras belts a game-tying three-run double and then scores the winning run in the 12th inning as the Braves rally past Philadelphia. In Miami, former Biloxi Shuckers standout Adrian Houser goes six strong innings and hits a homer to drive Milwaukee past the Marlins. In Kansas City, East Central Community College product Tim Anderson singles twice and scores twice in an eight-run first inning that propels the Chicago White Sox past the Royals. Can’t wait to see what today brings.

07 May

another debut

The Los Angeles Angels made a flurry of roster moves on Thursday – you might’ve heard they cut Albert Pujols – and one of the new additions is former Mississippi State standout Jack Kruger. The 26-year-old catcher made his MLB debut in a loss against Tampa Bay, entering in the top of the ninth as a defensive replacement. He didn’t get to hit. Kruger was a 20th-round pick out of State in 2016 after an outstanding season with the Bulldogs: .344, eight homers, 40 RBIs. Over four minor league campaigns, Kruger is hitting .265 with 15 homers. He was with Mobile in the old Southern League in 2018-19. Kruger joins Justin Steele (George County/Chicago Cubs) and Nick Sandlin (Southern Miss/Cleveland) as Magnolia State products to debut in 2021. … Sandlin notched his first career hold on Thursday night, pitching two clean innings in the Indians’ 4-0 with over Kansas City, a victory that gave Cleveland sole possession of first place in the American League Central. Sandlin has yet to allow a hit or walk in 4 1/3 innings over three appearances.