Tag Archives: Southwest Mississippi Community College

19 Jun

a few small things

Just for the record, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson was the only Colorado batter to reach base (via an error) during Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. And Dickerson also made the final out, fanning at a breaking ball to become Kershaw’s 15th strikeout victim in the 8-0 gem. … Resurgent Cincinnati, which beat Pittsburgh 11-4 to reach .500 (35-35) for the first time since April 2, has gotten contributions of late not only from Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (now batting .278) but also from the other Mississippi connection on the team, Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart. Cozart had two hits on Wednesday and is batting .306 during the Reds’ current 7-3 run. … Former Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson went 1-for-3 as Kansas City won its 10th straight game, 2-1 over Detroit. Dyson is batting .300 with seven RBIs, 14 runs and 10 steals in 46 games for the first-place Royals. … UM product Aaron Barrett got one out and the win — he’s 3-0 — in first-place Washington’s 6-5 victory over Houston. The Nationals and slumping Atlanta start a big National League East series tonight. … Ex-Rebels standout Seth Smith went 1-for-4 as San Diego beat Seattle 2-1 on Tony Gwynn tribute night at Petco Park. … Lance Lynn, another UM product, took a loss for St. Louis against the New York Mets despite allowing just two runs in six innings of a 3-2 defeat. Lynn is 1-3 in his last four starts, 7-5 with a 3.15 ERA overall.

12 Jun

3 stars — plus a couple

Desmond Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College star, had a two-run single in a four-run fourth inning as Tampa Bay snapped a 31-inning scoreless blight and went on to beat St. Louis 6-3 on Wednesday night. All told, Jennings was 2-for-4 with a run for the reeling Rays, who have won just twice in their last 16 games. … Meridian CC product Corey Dickerson, enjoying more playing time in Colorado, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs as the Rockies beat Atlanta 8-2 and knocked the Braves out of first place in the National League East. … Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, a run and a stolen base (No. 24) as Cincinnati beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0. … Ole Miss alum Alex Presley, a veteran among Houston’s cast of kids, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal to help the Astros beat Arizona 5-1. … And Jarrod Dyson, the former Southwest Mississippi CC star, was 1-for-3 with an RBI for Kansas City, which beat Cleveland 4-1. Ned Yost’s Royals have climbed into second place in the American League Central. P.S. The Biloxi Shrimpers? That’s one of the choices — perhaps the best — on the new Southern League club’s name-the-team ballot. The others: Beacon, Schooners, Mullets, Shuckers and Black Jacks. Voting ends this week. The team, moving from Huntsville, is scheduled to begin play in a new ballpark on the Coast next April.

05 Jun

caught in a draft

Joe DiFabio is the answer to a good – no, make that a great – trivia question. Who was the first Mississippian (native or college alum) to be picked in the first round of the MLB draft? DiFabio, a right-hander out of Delta State, went 20th overall to St. Louis in the very first draft in 1965. Despite a good pro career (45-34 record, 3.28 ERA), DiFabio never made the big leagues. That’s the fickle nature of baseball — and the baseball draft. Being picked high is no guarantee of an MLB job, nor does going in a later round mean you’ve got no chance. Several Mississippians currently in the majors are evidence of that. Brian Dozier, having an All-Star worthy season (.251, 12 homers, 30 RBIs, 13 steals, 48 runs) for Minnesota, was an eighth-round pick out of Southern Miss in 2009. Corey Dickerson, batting .348 with seven homers in his second MLB season with Colorado, was picked in the eighth round in 2010 out of Meridian Community College. Aaron Barrett, having a marvelous rookie season with Washington (0.87 ERA in 22 games), was a ninth rounder from Ole Miss that year. Mitch Moreland, batting .256 with two homers and 17 RBIs in his fifth year as a regular in Texas, was a 17th rounder out of Mississippi State in 2007. And then there’s Jarrod Dyson. He is batting .275 with 10 stolen bases and playing solid defense in center field as a part-timer for Kansas City. Dyson was a 50th-round pick in 2006 out of Southwest Mississippi Community College and made The Show four years later. There might not be a Mississippian selected in today’s first round, but plenty will be called in the next 39. As Dyson and others have shown, all you need is an opportunity. P.S. Belhaven University is ranked 18th in final NAIA poll. The Blazers went 42-21 and made the regionals. Two BU players, Tyler Akins and Paul Pickerrell, were named All-Americans. … Three Mississippi high schools, all state champions, made the top 27 in Baseball America’s final poll. West Lauderdale was No. 10, New Hope No. 24 and Oak Grove No. 27.

29 May

a few atta boys

Toler Robinson of Pearl delivered a walk-off RBI double in the 13th inning on Wednesday night as Hinds Community College beat Madison (Wis.) 8-7 in the NJCAA Division II World Series. Austin Sanders of Madison worked four scoreless innings for the win. The Eagles are 4-0 in the tournament and play No. 1-ranked Mesa (Ariz.) in a semifinal round game today in Enid, Okla. … Mycal Jones got three hits, scored a run and drove in one as the Mississippi Braves beat Pensacola 5-4 in 13 innings at Trustmark Park. Jones is hitting .322 for the M-Braves, now 30-22 on the campaign. … JaCoby Jones, the former Mr. Baseball from Richton, went 3-for-6 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs for Class A West Virginia (Pittsburgh Pirates). Jones is batting .270 with six homers, 23 RBIs and 32 runs. … Tommy La Stella got two hits in his first major league game for Atlanta; the second baseman is the 85th M-Braves alumnus to advance to The Show. … Former M-Braves standout Brian McCann played flawlessly in his first pro start at first base and delivered two hits in a New York Yankees victory over St. Louis. … Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi CC star, stole two bases for Kansas City to boost his season total to nine. In limited playing time, Dyson is fourth in the Mississippians in MLB Stolen Base Race, trailing Billy Hamilton (18), Brian Dozier (12) and Desmond Jennings (11). … Last but certainly not least, T.J. House, the Picayune High product, worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in his second career MLB start for Cleveland. The Indians wound up losing 3-2 to the Chicago White Sox. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss pitcher Phil Irwin has been claimed on waivers by Texas (from Pittsburgh) and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

08 May

ups and downs

The new job seems to be working out fine for Seth Smith. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star, in his first year with San Diego, is batting .344 over his last 10 games and is at .295 for the year with two homers and seven RBIs. He batted .253 last season in Oakland. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore, batting .200 in limited work for Washington, has been sent down to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for pitcher Doug Fister, coming off the disabled list. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in Colorado’s 9-2 thumping of Texas on Wednesday. He is batting .348 with two homers and seven RBIs as a part-time outfielder. … Ex-MCC star Cliff Lee allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings as Philadelphia lost to Toronto 10-0. Lee’s record dipped to 3-3 and his ERA jumped to 3.64. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson contributed a hit, two walks and a run and Schlater native Louis Coleman threw a scoreless inning in Kansas City’s 8-0 win over San Diego. Dyson is batting .286; Coleman, who has been scuffling, dropped his ERA to 6.30. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, did not play in Cincinnati’s 3-2 loss to Boston. He has made just two appearances — no starts — since hurting his left hand on May 1. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart took an 0-fer for the Reds and is batting just .200 despite a recent hot streak (.314 over his last 10). … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier picked up a couple of RBIs — he has 14 for the season — in Minnesota’s 4-3 loss to Cleveland.

30 Apr

no doubt about it

We have replay confirmation: It left the yard. Actually, there wasn’t any doubt about Billy Hamilton’s first major league home run. “It wasn’t one of those wall-scrapers,” the former Taylorsville High star said of Tuesday night’s blast, which landed fairly deep in the right-field seats at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. Without seeing it, one would have been justified in assuming that the wispy Hamilton’s first homer was an inside-the-parker. He is considered the fastest man in baseball. And for the record, two of his three hits on Tuesday were of the infield variety. He also stole his 10th base, drew a walk, scored twice and made a diving catch in center field as the scrambling Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2. Hamilton has lifted his average to .244 with a recent hot streak. Also of note: Hamilton hit 13 homers in his minor league career. … Meanhwile, Mississippi’s other homegrown speed demon in MLB, Jarrod Dyson, went 2-for-4, stole his fifth bag and scored a run to help Kansas City beat Toronto 10-7 and climb over .500 (13-12). Dyson, from McComb and Southwest Mississippi Community College, is batting .375 in limited playing time in center field for KC. … Unfortunately, the Reds and Royals don’t play this season. It would be fun to see Hamilton and Dyson on the same field. A stopwatch would be a required accessory.

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.