Tag Archives: Southern Miss

08 Jun

game of adjustments

Konnor Griffin, a year removed from Jackson Prep, has made a remarkably smooth transition to pro ball. Playing at the Low-Class A level, the ninth overall MLB draft pick from 2024 is batting .338 with nine home runs, 36 RBIs, 49 runs and 26 steals through 50 games for the Pittsburgh affiliate. He was 3-for-5 with an inside-the-park homer on Saturday, ripping around the bases when two outfielders had a tough time picking up his shot to the wall in right-center. He’s making this look easy, which it is not. As he moves up the minor league ladder, Griffin will encounter speed bumps. It’s inevitable. He’ll have to make adjustments. Baseball is a game of adjustments. It’s a trite phrase — but very true. Many a highly regarded Mississippi prospect has scuffled at various levels of the game. Some adjust, some can’t. Injuries can be a factor. Gunnar Hoglund, a first-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2021, made the big leagues with the A’s last month. He is 1-3 with a 6.40 ERA and on the injured list, where he has spent time before. When he returns, some adjustments will be necessary. Former Mississippi State standout Jake Mangum finally made the majors this year in his sixth pro season. He hit .311 for Tampa Bay in April, went on the IL and is just 5-for-29 since he returned. “There are good days and bad days,” he told forbes.com in a recent interview. “When you fail, don’t be too hard on yourself.” In other words, reevaluate and forge ahead. Will Bednar, a first-rounder out of State in 2021, is in Double-A with San Francisco. He has a 9.56 ERA. Landon Sims, the 34th overall pick from MSU in 2022, is making the big adjustment to Double-A in the Texas system. He has a 4.91 ERA in 20 games. Ex-Ole Miss star Jacob Gonzalez was the 15th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2023. He reached Double-A in 2024 but struggled there. Back at that level this year, he appears to have figured some things out. He is batting .257 with four homers and 21 RBIs. Tough times have shadowed former Southern Miss star Reed Trimble, who has battled injuries since being drafted 65th overall in 2021. He is at Double-A in Baltimore’s system, hitting .069 in 10 games. He is at .237 in 153 minor league games. Also on the Orioles’ Chesapeake roster is Ole Miss product Anthony Servideo, a third-rounder back in 2020. He is batting .171 for his career, having reached Triple-A for a time in 2024. The game ain’t easy. But if they keep giving you a uniform, you keep grinding, looking for the right adjustments.

04 Jun

on the move

Blaze Jordan, the precocious slugger from DeSoto Central High, made his Triple-A debut on Tuesday night and went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and a pair of runs for Boston’s Worcester club. He played third base and hit cleanup. The Red Sox promoted Jordan, 22 but in his fifth pro season, from Double-A Portland, where he hit .390 in May. For the year at Portland, Jordan was batting .320 with six homers — all in May — 37 RBIs, 30 runs, 22 walks and just 19 strikeouts in 44 games. He hasn’t quite hit with the power that was expected when he was drafted in 2020 — 49 career homers — and he has dropped off the Red Sox’s Top 30 prospect list. But this recent surge obviously has grabbed some attention. Jordan’s move up was one of a slew of transactions on Tuesday involving Mississippians in the minors. Ex-Mississippi State standout Brandon Woodruff made another rehab start — his ninth all told — for Milwaukee’s Triple-A Nashville team but was struck on the right elbow by a line drive and left the game in the second inning. X-rays were negative; more tests are planned. … Southern Miss product Nick Sandlin, on the injured list in Toronto, got a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League and worked a scoreless frame. He has a 2.35 ERA in 10 MLB appearances. … MSU alum Justin Foscue was activated from the IL at Triple-A Round Rock in the Texas system. … Chuckie Robinson, former USM star, was DFA’d by the Los Angeles Dodgers just days after being claimed off waivers from the Angels. He had not yet gotten an at-bat at Triple-A Oklahoma City. … Ex-USM standout Tyler Stuart, on the IL at Triple-A Rochester in Washington’s chain, was activated and bumped to Double-A Harrisburg. … MSU product Preston Johnson was moved down to Double-A Chesapeake from Triple-A Norfolk, where he made one appearance, in the Baltimore system. … Tyler Samaniego, a Northeast Mississippi Community College alum on Pittsburgh’s Double-A Altoona roster, was sent on an injury rehab assignment to High-A Greensboro. … Brooks Auger, a 2024 draftee out of State, was activated from the development list at High-A Great Lakes in the Dodgers organization. He threw three scoreless innings on Tuesday.

02 Jun

bombs away

On a chaotic Sunday in the NCAA Tournament — when regional 1-seeds Vanderbilt, Texas, Georgia, Clemson and Oregon all bit the dust — Ole Miss and Southern Miss are still standing. Weary, but still standing. In winning two elimination games each, they got some clutch pitching from some unsung players, but what carried them both into today’s championship showdowns were home runs. Ole Miss, which blasted six bombs in an elimination game on Saturday, hit eight more in its two Sunday wins. Isaac Humphrey’s three-run shot in the first inning was the first — and perhaps biggest — of three in the 11-6 victory over Georgia Tech. In the 19-8 bashing of Murray State, Will Furniss — in a 4-for-6, four-RBI effort — went yard twice and his teammates added three more homers. Humphrey homered again, tripled, doubled and walked twice. The Rebels get Murray State again tonight at Swayze Field. For USM, which got three huge bombs in a must-win game against Alabama on Saturday, Ben Higdon’s three-run eighth-inning homer was the key hit in Sunday’s 8-1 victory vs. Columbia. In the 17-6 mauling of Miami that followed, the Golden Eagles crushed four homers, two by Joey Urban, whose three-run shot highlighted a nine-run first inning. Kudos also to Eagles pitcher Camden Sunstrom, who pitched the last 4 2/3 and allowed a lone unearned run. USM gets a rematch with the Hurricanes tonight at Taylor Park. … Ole Miss has hit 121 home runs all told, with six players in double digits, topped by Judd Utermark’s 21 and Austin Fawley’s 20. USM has 102 homers on the season, 21 by Nick Monistere, 17 by Matthew Russo and 15 from Carson Paetow. Both schools rank in the national top 20 for bombs. P.S. It was a tough day for Mississippi State on the field in the Tallahassee Regional, where the Bulldogs beat Northeastern 3-2 behind the pitching of Evan Siary and Stone Simmons but then lost to Florida State 5-2 in a contentious elimination game. The Bulldogs, with 103 homers in 2025, hit two vs. FSU but that was all they got against sophomore Wes Mercedes, an Ole Miss transfer who worked eight strong for the victory, fanning nine. That hurts. MSU fans did get to cheer a bit on Sunday, however, when it was revealed that they have a new coach for 2026 — Brian O’Connor, a veteran who brings a great track record, including a national title, from Virginia.

01 Jun

on the bump

A host of starting pitchers with Mississippi ties took the bump on Saturday in games of significance all over the map. As might be expected, there was some good, some bad and even some ugly. To wit:
Start in the Oxford Regional, where Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott, from Tupelo, was a little wobbly early but settled in to go six innings and get his 10th win in an elimination game against Western Kentucky. The Rebels hit six homers in the 8-6 victory.
In the Hattiesburg Regional, Southern Miss ace J.B. Middleton, from Yazoo City, gave up three bombs over seven innings against Alabama and stood to get the loss before the Golden Eagles rallied for a 6-5 win in an elimination game.
In the Tallahassee Regional, in an MLB scouts’ delight, Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn went against Florida State’s Jamie Arnold in a matchup of highly rated draft prospects. Kohn got roughed up: seven earned runs, including a see-ya-later grand slam, in 3 2/3 innings. Arnold battled through seven, struck out 13 and notched the W in the Seminoles’ 10-3 winners bracket victory.
In the NJCAA Division II World Series title game, Jacob Johnson, a 12-game winner from Carriere, went to the bump for the 18th time for Pearl River Community College but lasted just 2 2/3, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks. PRCC, which finishes 53-10, actually led late before a bullpen implosion gave Pasco-Hernando State an 11-7 victory and the national crown at Enid, Okla.
At Wrigley Field in Chicago, ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz opened for the Cubs — his first start since 2019 — and threw a perfect frame, his 15th scoreless appearance. The first-place Cubs rolled on to a 2-0 win against Cincinnati.
At Dodger Stadium, former Jackson Prep star Will Warren, a rookie with the New York Yankees, struggled from the jump against Los Angeles’ array of mashers. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs in the 18-2 slaughter and saw his record dip to 3-3, his ERA rise to 5.19.
At Toronto, Ole Miss product Gunnar Hoglund, an A’s rookie, got roughed up by the Blue Jays, allowing four homers and eight runs in six innings in an 8-7 loss. He is 1-3 with a 6.40 ERA.
In Atlanta, Spencer Schwellenbach, who toiled for the Mississippi Braves just last year, pitched a gem for the big Braves: 6 1/3, five hits, no walks, 11 punchouts in a 5-0 win against Boston. Schwellenbach is 4-4, 3.13, in 12 starts. (Today in Atlanta, we get Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox’s flame-throwing ace, vs. M-Braves alum Bryce Elder.)
P.S. MSU and Jackson Prep alum Jake Mangum hit his first big league homer Saturday for Tampa Bay in the 23rd game of his rookie season. He hit just 24 bombs in five minor league seasons. … Ex-USM standout Matt Wallner, just off the injured list, homered for Minnesota in his first at-bat since April 15. He has 31 career homers. … Former MSU star Chris Stratton made his Dodgers debut as a reliever and gave up one run — an Aaron Judge homer — in one inning of work. … The Dodgers claimed USM alum Chuckie Robinson off waivers from the Angels and assigned the veteran catcher to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

31 May

good news and …

Good day for Mississippi State and Pearl River Community College. While rumors percolate about who’ll be coaching them in 2026, the ’25 MSU team upended Northeastern 11-2 Friday in the opener of the Tallahassee Regional. Joe Powell and Noah Sullivan hit home runs and Ben Davis and Ryan McPherson combined on a five-hitter as the Bulldogs set up a winners bracket meeting today with Florida State, the top seed in the regional. Pearl River got a brilliant two-hitter from K.K. Clark — an MSU transfer — and beat East Central CC 10-0 in five innings to advance to the championship game of the NJCAA Division II World Series. Second-seeded PRCC, which won the title in 2022, faces No. 1 Pasco-Hernando State (Fla.) today in Enid, Okla., for the crown. ECCC ends its season at 46-16. … Bad day for Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Pitching let both of the regional hosts down. The Rebels were shocked by Murray State 9-6 in Oxford, while the Golden Eagles got pummeled 11-4 by Columbia in Hattiesburg. Ole Miss gets 3-seed Western Kentucky today. Former Hinds CC star Thomas Marsala is on the Hilltoppers’ roster. USM plays an elimination game against 2-seed Alabama, upset by Miami on Friday. There are several familiar names on the Crimson Tide roster: Bryce Fowler, who played at USM two years ago before transferring to Pearl River CC; Will Hodo, a former Wayne Academy star; Beau Bryans, a Madison Central and Jones College alum; and Jack Ketchum, a freshman out of Heritage Academy. P.S. Jake Mangum, out since April 24, returned to Tampa Bay’s roster on Friday. The rookie out of MSU, batting .338 when he was hurt, went 0-for-3 in a 2-1 loss to Houston. (Fun fact: Yainer Diaz, who hit the walk-off homer for the Astros, is the older brother of the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ Victor Diaz. Both are catchers.) … Rick Collier, who won more than 700 games in 23 years at Itawamba Community College, has retired. A three-time coach of the year in the state, his teams were a regular in the NJCAA national rankings and made the postseason 18 times. Under Delta State alum Collier, the program had more than 20 players drafted by MLB clubs, among them Tim Dillard and Desmond Jennings. … Happy trails, also, to Bill Blackwell, who has retired as executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, where he had served since 2016. Blackwell, who played baseball at Southern Illinois, was a longtime general manager of the Double-A Jackson Mets and Generals at Smith-Wills Stadium. … Today is opening day for the Cotton States League, the New Albany-based college summer loop that’s been around since 2009. The league will field four teams, stocked mostly with small college and juco players.

30 May

names to know

John Lewis and Andrew Nielsen: Lewis, from Columbus, drove in the tie-breaking run in the 11th inning and Nielsen, from Lucedale, got the last 11 outs without yielding a run as East Central Community College rallied past Pearl River CC 6-5 Thursday in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Division II World Series. The teams play again tonight — their eighth clash of 2025 — for a berth in the finals in Enid, Okla. Lewis’ knock in the top of the 11th scored Pablo Roque, who had led off with a double. Nielsen, 4-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 18 appearances this season, posted saves in the Warriors’ first two games in Enid.
Riley Maddox, Matthew Adams and Ben Davis: In today’s NCAA Tournament openers, Maddox gets the start for Ole Miss, Adams for Southern Miss and Davis for Mississippi State. Maddox, out of Jackson Prep, is 6-5 with a 5.26 ERA for UM, which plays Murray State in the Oxford Regional. Adams is 6-2 with a 3.93 headed into the Hattiesburg Regional game vs. Columbia. Davis, a Booneville product by way of Itawamba Community College, is 3-2 with a 3.96 in 22 games, just three starts, the last in March. He faces Northeastern in the Tallahassee Regional. Each of the state’s Big 3 is holding its ace for the second round.
Austin Riley: The ex-DeSoto Central star delivered in a time of major need for Atlanta, going 2-for-3 with a homer, two walks, three runs and four RBIs in a 9-3 win in Game 2 of a twinbill Thursday at Philadelphia. The Braves had lost the first game — Riley was 2-for-5 — and three in a row overall to fall to 25-29. Riley’s homer — his ninth — was his first in 22 games and his 20th career bomb vs. the rival Phillies. The third baseman is batting .280 with 32 RBIs.

29 May

just stuff

Brandon Woodruff, the ex-Mississippi State star, reportedly is on schedule to rejoin the Milwaukee pitching staff on the Brewers’ next homestand, which starts June 6. Making his eighth rehab appearance as he comes back from shoulder surgery, Woodruff went seven innings for High-Class A Wisconsin on Wednesday and yielded a lone unearned run. “It went pretty good,” Woodruff told reporters. He has a 1.94 ERA over 36 2/3 innings split between High-A and Triple-A. A two-time All-Star, Woodruff missed all of the 2024 season after the surgery. … Jake Mangum is batting .389 in 18 at-bats on his rehab assignment for Tampa Bay; the former MSU standout, on the injured list since April 24, is 6-for-15 at Triple-A Durham. … Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson and Southern Miss alum Chuckie Robinson have been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels. Former All-Star Anderson, a curious off-season addition, was batting .205 with no homers and one steal in 83 at-bats. Robinson, on the 40-man roster but playing at Triple-A Salt Lake all season, was batting .272 with a homer and 18 RBIs in 28 games. … Biloxi Shuckers alum Orlando Arcia, released by the Atlanta Braves, signed with Colorado and went 2-for-3 as the DH in Wednesday’s game, a loss to the Chicago Cubs. … Let’s do it again: Pablo Roque went 3-for-4 with six RBIs to lead East Central CC to a 13-4 win Wednesday against Southeastern Iowa, setting up another game against Pearl River CC. The MACCC rivals will meet tonight at Enid, Okla., for the seventh time this season and second time in the NJCAA Division II World Series. ECCC will have to beat second-seeded PRCC, unbeaten in Enid, twice to reach the World Series finals. … A couple of Mississippians have helped fuel NAIA No. 1 LSU-Shreveport’s run to a record 57-0. That’s 57-0. Hinds CC alum Vantrel Reed is hitting .397 with five homers and 61 RBIs and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product D.J. Walker is batting .387 for the Pilots, who beat Southeastern (Fla.) 10-0 Wednesday in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. LSU-S plays Hope International (Calif.) today for a berth in the finals. A third Mississippian, Pearl River CC product Byrion Robinson, is also on the LSU-S roster but has not pitched this season. … There will be three Golden Spikes Award semifinalists on display in the Hattiesburg Regional: Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton, Alabama’s Justin Lebron and Miami’s Daniel Cuvet. There will be two in the Oxford Regional, both playing for Georgia Tech: Drew Burress and Kyle Lodise. The NCAA Division I Tournament starts Friday at all 16 regionals.

26 May

set a course for omaha

The College World Series is the ultimate destination, and the path has been laid out for Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Mississippi State, each of which made the NCAA Tournament field of 64. Each must clear considerable hurdles in the bracket to get to Omaha. Ole Miss, hosting a regional as the No. 10 national seed, will welcome Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky and Murray State to Oxford next weekend. Tech — seeded second in the regional — is 40-17, won the ACC regular season title and was ranked 19th in the final Baseball America poll. Shortstop Kyle Lodise is an MLB draft prospect. Western Kentucky, the 3-seed, is 46-12 and comes in hot, having won the C-USA Tournament title. Should the Rebels win their regional, they’d meet the champion of the Athens Regional, where Georgia — ranked No. 3 by Baseball America — is the favorite to advance. USM, hosting a regional as the 16th national seed, welcomes Alabama, Miami and Columbia to Hattiesburg. Columbia, USM’s first-round foe, won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Ivy League. Alabama, out of the vaunted SEC, is the 2-seed in Hattiesburg and is ranked No. 18 by Baseball America; the Crimson Tide beat USM in early April. Bama’s Riley Quick, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound right-hander, is a prime pro prospect. Worth noting: Miami, the regional 3-seed, claims four national titles — the last in 2001 — and 25 — yes, 25 — CWS appearances. The Hattiesburg Regional is paired with the Nashville Regional, where Vanderbilt, the overall No. 1 seed and the SEC Tournament champ, is lurking as the heavy favorite to make the Super Regional round. Mississippi State, 34-21 in a tumultuous year, heads to the Tallahassee Regional as a 3-seed. First up for the Bulldogs is Northeastern (48-9), the CAA regular season and tournament champion and Baseball America’s No. 24. Reports say the Huskies can really pitch. Regional host Florida State, the No. 9 overall seed, is 38-14 and boasts a host of MLB draft prospects, most notably shortstop Alex Lodise. These are heady times for Magnolia State schools. MSU won the national title in 2021 and Ole Miss in 2022. USM has been in a regional nine of the past 10 seasons (there was no postseason in 2020) but only once has reached Omaha (2009). The path there in 2025 certainly ain’t easy for any of the three — but, as we know, unexpected stuff often happens in baseball.

25 May

games of throne

It’s championship Sunday, and look who’s here. Though nothing can be taken for granted in tournament play, it’s no surprise, really, that Southern Miss has reached the Sun Belt Conference title game. The Golden Eagles, two-time defending champs, came in as the No. 2 seed with a 15-game win streak. They’ll meet Coastal Carolina, the top seed, today (1 p.m.) in Montgomery, Ala. In Hoover, Ala., Ole Miss is something of an interloper in the SEC championship match. The Rebels came in as the seventh seed (16-14 in the league) and were a little wobbly down the stretch of the regular season, going 14-11 after a hot start that had lifted them into the national top 10. They’ll play 4-seed Vanderbilt today (noon). Ole Miss (40-18), the 2022 national champ, last won the SEC tourney in 2018, its third crown. To get to this final, the Rebels beat Florida, Arkansas and No. 1-ranked LSU, 2-0 on Saturday. The Rebels won two of three from Vanderbilt in Oxford this season. Vandy (41-16) won the SEC Tournament in 2023, its fourth league title. The Commodores, typically loaded with MLB-caliber arms, have won two national titles. A pick to click for UM: Will Furniss. He hit a big homer against LSU, his 10th of the year, and is batting .288 with 40 RBIs. For Vandy, it’s freshman Brodie Johnston, who has 12 homers, 51 RBIs, 14 doubles and a .502 slugging average. In the Sun Belt finale, USM (44-13, 18 straight wins) gets a Coastal Carolina club that is also sizzling hot. The Chanticleers are 47-11 with 17 straight wins. The teams did not meet in the SBC regular season; USM leads the all-time series 5-2. A key player for USM figures to be Jake Cook, former Madison Central High star who is hitting .357 with 54 runs and 30 RBIs. For Coastal, which won the national title in 2016, the pick to click is Sebastian Alexander, a .302 hitter with nine homers and 25 steals. P.S. Belhaven ran into a buzzsaw in its NCAA Division III super regional. The Blazers, finishing 34-15, were blasted two straight, 17-3 Friday and 14-1 Saturday, at No. 2-ranked Denison (Ohio). … East Central Community College, behind the pitching of Chris Bilingsley and the power of Jayden Adcox, won its NJCAA Division II World Series opener 6-5 Saturday against Catawba Valley. Pearl River CC, which had a first-round bye in Enid, Okla., plays its opener today against Kellogg (Mich.).

19 May

just stuff

Might be time to see if Konnor Griffin is ready for another challenge. The former Jackson Prep standout, in his first pro season, is batting .324 with seven home runs, 24 RBIs and 17 stolen bases for Bradenton, Pittsburgh’s Low-Class A affiliate. His 45 hits lead the Florida State League. The 19-year-old shortstop is riding a nine-game hit streak during which he is batting .525 with two homers, nine RBIs and six bags. Griffin was the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft after winning the national Gatorade Player of the Year Award. … Kudos to Southern Miss pitcher J.B. Middleton, who won the Ferriss Trophy, the fifth USM player to claim the honor as the state’s top college player. Middleton, a Benton Academy product and a prime MLB draft prospect, is 9-1 with a 2.07 ERA for a nationally ranked Golden Eagles team. Nick Sandlin and Tanner Hall, former Ferriss winners from USM, are currently playing pro ball. … Belhaven will play Denison in an NCAA Division III super regional starting on Friday at Granville, Ohio. Denison is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Belhaven is 34-13 following its 7-4 win Sunday over Milwaukee School of Engineering in the Webster (Mo.) Regional. … Mississippi College bowed out Sunday in the NCAA D-II Tournament, losing for the second time to No. 1-ranked Tampa 9-8. The Choctaws (35-23), who beat Tampa in an earlier regional meeting, let an 8-1 lead get away. … Former Mississippi State star J.T. Ginn (1-1, 4.61) has been activated from the injured list and will start tonight for the A’s against the Los Angeles Angels. MSU product Chris Stratton, a 10-year MLB vet having a rough season (7.94 ERA), has been designated for assignment by Kansas City. The former SEC pitcher of the year was a first-round draft pick in 2012.