Tag Archives: Southern Miss

04 Jul

old home night

The game was played in Birmingham and the visiting team came from Chattanooga, but there was a lot of Mississippi sprinkled all over Saturday night’s Double-A South game at Regions Park. Chattanooga’s lineup included three Magnolia State college products — Ole Miss’ Errol Robinson and Braxton Lee and Southern Miss’ Chuckie Robinson — while the host Barons’ featured former Columbia High standout Ti’Quan Forbes at third base plus Mississippi State’s Konnor Pilkington on the mound. Chuckie Robinson had the game’s big hit, a three-run homer off Pilkington in a four-run fourth inning that propelled the Lookouts, a Cincinnati affiliate, to a 10-4 victory. Errol Robinson (no relation) contributed two walks and a run, and Lee went 1-for-4 with a couple of RBIs. Pilkington, a third-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2018, took the loss and slipped to 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA. Forbes, a second-round pick way back in 2014, went 1-for-2 with two walks. Still only 24, he is batting .299 this season. The Chattanooga contingent are new this season to the Cincinnati system. The Robinsons were Rule 5 draft picks last December, while Lee – who has been on quite an odyssey (see previous post) – was signed out of an independent league last month. Errol Robinson, a shortstop, was a Los Angeles Dodgers draftee in 2016. He had a 10-homer, 18-steal season in Double-A in 2018 and reached Triple-A in the L.A. system. The Reds started him in Triple-A this year, but he hit just .176 at Louisville before being bumped down. Chuckie Robinson, a catcher, was drafted in 2016 by Houston and reached Double-A in 2019. A career .250 hitter with 34 homers, he is batting .258 with four homers in 2021. Lee, 27, a 2014 draftee by Tampa Bay, was a Southern League batting champion in 2017 who made the big leagues with Miami in 2018. A lefty-hitting outfielder with speed, he is batting .227 in 19 games for the Lookouts. P.S. Curious to see what the story is behind the sudden removal of Mitch Moreland from Oakland’s lineup on Saturday. The former State star from Amory was pulled for a “non-baseball related issue” and will not play today, the team announced.

03 Jul

an odd couple

A couple of pitching performances, from very different pitchers, jumped out from Friday’s array of games. Both, by sheer coincidence, involved the Detroit Tigers, who were on the losing side in each game. In the big leagues, former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn delivered one of his typical workhorse performances in the Chicago White Sox’s 8-2 win against the Tigers. In Triple-A, ex-Southern Miss star Kirk McCarty, a Cleveland farmhand, delivered one of his typical crafty performances in Columbus’ 7-1 win over Toledo, Detroit’s top farm club. The veteran Lynn threw 117 pitches to get through six innings. He allowed four hits, walked five, struck out nine and yielded just one run in improving to 8-3 for the first-place White Sox. His 2.02 ERA ranks second in the American League. The self-proclaimed “big bastard” just might get an All-Star Game invite. McCarty, a 5-foot-8 lefty in his fourth pro season, worked seven innings for Columbus, allowing four hits, two walks and the one run with six strikeouts. The only Toledo hitter who really gave him any trouble was Mississippi State alum Jacob Robson, who went 3-for-3. McCarty, an Oak Grove High product, is 6-1 with a 4.11 ERA in his first Triple-A campaign. The six wins rank second in the Triple-A East. He isn’t rated among the Indians’ top prospects, but he is surely on their radar.

30 Jun

triple-a troopers

Getting to the big leagues is hard. Staying, they say, is harder. And getting back to the big leagues after losing your roster spot might be a different level of hard. That’s the plight faced by a handful of Mississippians currently playing in Triple-A with no clear path to another MLB chance. Anthony Alford, Cody Carroll, Chris Ellis, JaCoby Jones and Jacob Waguespack are veteran pros no longer holding a 40-man MLB roster spot in their respective organizations. Alford, 26, from Petal, was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on April 21, hitting .083 at the time. He has perked up at Indianapolis, batting .292 with six homers in 35 games. But his MLB track record (.150 in 62 games over five years) isn’t good. Former Southern Miss star Carroll, 28, pitched in 15 games for Baltimore in 2018 and got into three games last summer but was waived in September. Assigned to Norfolk this year, he has a 5.56 ERA in 13 appearances. Ellis, 28, a former Ole Miss (and Mississippi Braves) standout, has one MLB game (one inning, actually) on his resume. That was with Kansas City (as a Rule 5 draft pick) in 2019. He was DFA’d after that game and returned to St. Louis, which released him in May 2020. Tampa Bay signed Ellis in the off-season; he is 0-1 with a 6.45 ERA in eight games at Durham. Jones, 29, the former Mr. Baseball from Richton, seemingly had established himself as an outfielder with Detroit. But after struggling to start this season, he was demoted and then DFA’d on June 6. He is batting .222 in 25 games for Toledo. Waguespack, 27, an Ole Miss alum, was up with Toronto last summer (8.15 ERA) but was DFA’d in March. He is 3-2, 3.43 at Buffalo. What are the odds any of these players gets another shot in the big leagues? Well, as they say, as long as you’re wearing a uniform, you’ve got a chance. P.S. Former Mississippi State ace Ethan Small and Mississippi Braves product Drew Waters have been selected for the All-Star Futures Game in Denver on July 11. Small, recently promoted from Double-A Biloxi to Triple-A Nashville, is Milwaukee’s top-rated pitching prospect. Waters, 2019 Southern League MVP, is playing at Triple-A Gwinnett; the switch-hitting outfielder is Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect.

29 Jun

numbers to crunch

2 – National championships by four-year schools in Mississippi: William Carey in NAIA in 1969 and Delta State in NCAA Division II in 2004. (Jones College won a junior college title in 2013.)
7 – Wins this season by Houston Harding, Mississippi State’s projected starter in tonight’s Game 2 of the College World Series finals. The left-hander also got a W in 2020 and won 19 in two years at Itawamba Community College. He beat Campbell in the regional and got no-decisions vs. Notre Dame in the super regional and Texas in the CWS.
3 – Wins this season by Christian Little, Vanderbilt’s projected starter in Game 2 of the CWS finals. The 17-year-old, 6-foot-4 freshman right-hander – a January enrollee — went 5 1/3 innings (one run) in a Vandy victory vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament but was not the pitcher of record. He also worked against Tennessee, Louisville and Stanford.
873 – Feet covered by Hunter Renfroe’s two home runs in Boston’s win over Kansas City on Monday. Mississippi State alum Renfroe now has 11 homers on the year and is batting .340 with six bombs in his last 30 games.
1 – Earned run allowed by rookie Nick Sandlin for Cleveland in 10 June appearances. The Southern Miss product worked a clean inning in a win against Detroit on Monday and now has a 2.08 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings over 19 games.
0.47 – Brandon Woodruff’s ERA in three games vs. the Chicago Cubs this season. The ex-MSU star, 6-3 with a 1.89 on the season, will start for host Milwaukee tonight against National League Central rival Chicago.
1 – Hit, a single, in two at-bats for Blaze Jordan in his pro debut on Monday. Jordan, a third-round pick out of DeSoto Central High by Boston in 2020, is playing for the Red Sox’s Florida Complex League team.

17 Jun

awards season

The awards keep rolling in for Mississippi college products in what has been another banner year in the Magnolia State. Mississippi State’s Tanner Allen and Landon Sims and Ole Miss’ Doug Nikhazy have been named to Baseball America’s first-team All-America squad. Those three are also semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which will be announced in July. Ole Miss’ Taylor Broadway was a second-team All-America pick by BA. A boatload of other honors already have come down. To wit: Allen, the SEC’s player of the year (and Ferriss Trophy winner), and Nikhazy were also first-team A-A picks by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. Southern Miss’ Reed Trimble was a first-team Freshman All-America choice by the NCBWA, and Ole Miss’ Jacob Gonzalez was a second-teamer. Those two along with Jackson State’s Chenar Brown made Collegiate Baseball’s freshman honor roll. Delta State’s Jake Barlow was named a D2CCA first-team All-America, in addition to several other national accolades. Mississippi College’s Caleb Reese was a D2CCA All-South Region first-teamer; William Carey’s Sloan Dieter was a second-team NAIA All-America pick; and Belhaven’s Brett Sanchez made first-team All-West Region in NCAA Division III. Pearl River Community College’s Landon Gartman and Tate Parker made the NJCAA Division II first-team All-America list. They were the MACCC’s pitcher and player of the year. Walker Powell of USM was the C-USA pitcher of the year, and JSU swept the SWAC’s honors: Ty Hill was player of the year, hitter of the year and newcomer of the year, Anthony Becerra was pitcher of the year, Steven Davila relief pitcher of the year and Brown the freshman of the year.

12 Jun

around the horn

The matchup of the National League’s third-leading hitter against the pitcher with the loop’s third-best ERA — who just happened to be teammates eight years ago at Mississippi State — went to the latter on Friday night in Milwaukee. So did the game. Brandon Woodruff retired Adam Frazier in three at-bats while working seven strong innings in the Brewers’ 7-4 win over Pittsburgh. Woodruff is 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA for the Brewers, tied for first in the NL Central with Chicago. Frazier’s average dipped to .328 after an 0-for-4 for the last-place Pirates. … Cleveland’s decision to give Bobby Bradley another big league opportunity is looking like a shrewd move. The former Harrison Central High standout, looking fitter than ever, hit his second homer in the Indians’ 7-0 win against Seattle and is batting .462 with six RBIs in four games. … Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet threw two scoreless innings, fanning three, to notch his sixth hold in the Chicago White Sox’s 5-4 win against Detroit. Crochet’s ERA is 0.44, and the flame-throwing lefty has 25 K’s in 20 1/3 innings. … Down in Double-A, the Mississippi Braves lost their manager — Wyatt Toregas resigned unexpectedly (no reason given in the press release) — and then lost in 10 innings at Biloxi. The M-Braves had won four straight. … Also in the Double-A South, former Southern Miss star Chuckie Robinson homered in Chattanooga’s 1-0 win vs. Pensacola. Robinson, batting .269 with two bombs, was behind the plate for Cincinnati mega-prospect Hunter Greene’s fifth win. … MSU product Brent Rooker homered for the second straight game for Triple-A St. Paul and now has nine homers on the season. He is batting .237 with 16 RBIs as he works toward a recall to Minnesota. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Parker Caracci picked up his fourth save and trimmed his ERA to 1.50 over 13 games for High-A Vancouver in Colorado’s system. … On the college front, Ole Miss fell into a hole at Arizona, yielding four home runs and failing to score after the first inning in a 9-3 loss in Game 1 of the Tucson Super Regional. Mississippi State hosts Notre Dame today in Game 1 of that best-of-3 super regional.

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.