Tag Archives: Trustmark Park

20 Mar

taking it all in

Ole Miss took two of three from Vanderbilt. Jackson State took two of three from Alcorn State. Delta State and William Carey scored sweeps, and Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi College and Belhaven all won conference series on the road. Oh yeah, and Jones County Junior College remained unbeaten. But as the dust settles on an eventful weekend in college baseball, Southern Miss emerges as the team of the moment. The Golden Eagles swept Louisiana Tech at Ruston, La., in their C-USA opening series. Tech, loaded with former Hinds Community College stars, was 15-2 entering the weekend and ranked in some polls. Each game was a battle: 5-2, 13-9, 8-5. The Eagles got clutch pitching from Kirk McCarty and Matt Wallner in Game 1 and from Nick Sandlin in Game 3. They blasted seven homers all told – two by Taylor Braley – in Games 2 and 3. USM is now 16-4 and will take a seven-game win streak into Tuesday’s game against Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl. MSU (12-9) was one of the few state teams to suffer a bad weekend, scoring just six runs while dropping three straight at Arkansas to start SEC play. … Ole Miss, 14-6 and up to No. 11 in Baseball America’s new poll, won a wild rubber match with Vandy 10-8 on Sunday in Oxford as Dallas Woolfolk tossed two scoreless innings late and Chase Cockrell delivered a go-ahead double in the eighth. C.J. Newsome drove in four runs and Jose Tirado pitched a sterling 4 1/3 innings of relief as JSU (12-9, 6-3 SWAC) beat Alcorn 11-6 in Sunday’s series clincher at Braddy Field. Zack Shannon, batting .440 with five homers and 33 RBIs, knocked in eight runs as DSU (18-7, 10-5 Gulf South) rolled past Alabama-Huntsville. William Carey, 22-5 and ranked 12th in NAIA, scored 49 runs in a sweep of outmanned Brewton-Parker. MC (6-18, 4-10) won its second straight GSC series, taking the rubber match from Christian Brothers 6-5 on Sunday as Will Elliott and Hunter Austin drove in two runs apiece. Landon Boyd worked seven shutout innings in relief on Saturday to lift Belhaven past McMurry and give the Blazers an American Southwest Conference series win. BU (12-8) will play Millsaps on Tuesday at Smith-Wills Stadium for the Maloney Trophy. The Majors are 9-12 and coming off a Southern Athletic Association series loss at Rhodes. Finally, Jones County JC beat East Mississippi 8-5 and 3-1 on Saturday in Scooba to improve to 20-0, 2-0 MACJC. The Bobcats are ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II.

25 Oct

the right stuff

There are players you find yourself rooting against, for whatever reason. It’s hard to find a reason to root against Jason Heyward. He plays hard, and he plays smart. He conducts himself like a professional, which is easy to do when you’re going good, which hasn’t been the case for Heyward here lately. It’s been tough to watch the former Mississippi Braves star scuffle at the plate this postseason. He is 2-for-28 during Chicago’s historic run to the World Series. In the first year of a $184 million contract, Heyward batted .230 with seven homers, 49 RBIs and 11 steals. (His career-highs: .293, 27, 82 and 23.) Yes, he plays a Gold Glove-quality right field, but for the money he’s making, he is expected to hit, too. And he can hit. If you saw him at Trustmark Park back in 2009, you know this first-hand. Arriving on July 4 of that season, as Atlanta’s top-ranked prospect, Heyward batted .352 with seven homers in 47 games for the M-Braves. He was 6 feet 5, cut like an elite athlete and just scary good. He won the right field job in Atlanta the next spring and homered in his first at-bat. A great career surely lay ahead. Yet there was always something odd about Heyward’s swing, and it seems that major league pitchers have gradually learned to exploit the flaws. There have been reports that the Cubs will address those in the off-season. Heyward isn’t in the lineup tonight for Game 1 against Cleveland; ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan, another left-handed hitter, will start in right field. But Heyward will play at some point, and when he does, Cubs fans can rest assured that his head and his heart will be in the right place. “It’s about this team,” Heyward said in a recent interview with CBSChicago.com. “It’s about the team.”

08 Oct

a look (way) ahead

Here’s a way-too-early forecast – some six months before the first game — of what the 2017 Mississippi Braves might look like: One of the “star attractions” could be power-hitting second baseman Travis Demeritte, rated Atlanta’s No. 9 prospect. Demeritte was acquired by the Braves in a trade with Texas in mid-summer. A Ron Gant-type, he hit .266 with 28 homers and 70 RBIs on the year, which he finished at high-A Carolina (the team that will be in Florida next year). With Ozzie Albies ahead of him in the pipeline, Demeritte might be shifted to third base. Outfielder Braxton Davidson didn’t have a great year at Carolina — .224, 10 homers, 63 RBIs, lots of strikeouts – but the No. 24 prospect is still a logical candidate for a job in Pearl. Might as well challenge him in Double-A. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Jacob Schrader back at first base, Carlos Franco at third and Connor Lien, Joey Meneses and injury-plagued Sean Godfrey in the outfield. Infielder Johan Camargo played well enough (.267, six triples, 43 RBIs, 46 runs) to rate a promotion, but he’d be a nice fit as the regular shortstop in 2017 after bouncing around the infield this past year. At catcher, pencil in Kade Scivicque, the ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star, and Joseph Odom. Both came up late in 2016, Scivicque after being picked up in a trade. Other candidates for promotion from the high-A club include infielders Luis Valenzuela and Ryan Gebhardt and outfielder Keith Curcio, who got some ABs with the M-Braves in the playoffs. The pitching staff could be manned by familiar faces like Max Povse, Patrick Weigel and A.J. Minter and Double-A rookies such as Touki Toussaint and Max Fried, all top 30 prospects from the Braves’ abundant stable of quality young arms. The M-Braves, who reached the Southern League Championship Series this season, will take up the next chase for that elusive second pennant on April 6. But take heed, fans: The 2017 season will be Year 13 for the team at Trustmark Park. P.S. Disappointing to see that Roger McDowell, the ex-Jackson Mets standout, won’t be back as Atlanta’s pitching coach in 2017. From all indications, he had done a good job over his 11 seasons in that role. The Braves have lot of questions about their pitching staff heading into next year. Apparently they want someone new to search for the answers.

16 Sep

in other news

There was a celebration at Trustmark Park on Thursday night, but it was the “bad guys” who threw down. The Jackson (Tenn.) Generals claimed the Southern League pennant with an 11-3 win against the Mississippi Braves that completed a 3-0 sweep. So … enough about that. In the Class A South Atlantic League, former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley hit a home run – his 22nd of the year – to help the Rome Braves move to within a victory of the championship in the low-A loop. Rome beat Lakewood 2-0 on Thursday to take a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 set for tonight in New Jersey. “We’re ready to get after it,” Riley told milb.com. Riley’s star is rising. At age 19, in his first full pro season, he hit .271 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs for Rome, making Baseball America’s All-Low Class A team at third base. The 41st overall pick in 2015, he is currently rated Atlanta’s No. 6 prospect by BA and No. 13 by mlb.com with an ETA in the big leagues of 2019. “Riley has the makings of an impact run-producing hitter,” writes MLBPipeline. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-handed hitter could be in Mississippi sometime next summer. That should give M-Braves fans a little lift.

12 Sep

numbers to ponder

As the Mississippi Braves and Jackson (Tenn.) Generals square off in the 2016 Southern League Championship Series, here’s a Mississippi minor league postseason primer:
1 – Number of Southern League pennants won by the Mississippi Braves, who arrived in Pearl in 2005 and won the title three years later at Trustmark Park.
1 – Number of SL pennants won by the Jackson Generals, the Tennessee version, who took the title 16 years ago when they were known, regrettably, as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.
2 – Number of Texas League pennants won by the Jackson Generals, the Mississippi version, who claimed those crowns in 1993 and 1996.
1 – Number of pennants won by the Jackson Senators, who captured the independent Central League title at Smith-Wills Stadium in 2003.
3 – Number of pennants won by the Jackson Mets, who took Texas League championships in 1981, 1984 and 1985.
8 – Streak of Texas League playoff appearances reeled off by the Jackson Mets from 1980-87.
4 – Southern League postseason appearances by the M-Braves.
3 – Number of Southern League awards won by the 2016 Jackson Generals: Tyler O’Neill was MVP, Ryan Yarbrough was pitcher of the year and Daren Brown was manager of the year.
1 – Number of M-Braves who made the SL postseason All-Star team: outfielder Dustin Peterson.
9 – Wins, in 15 games, by the M-Braves against the Generals this season.
5 – Number of Southern League starts in 2016 by M-Braves lefty Michael Mader (0-3, 2.40 ERA), slated to go in Game 1 of the SL Championship Series tonight at Jackson, Tenn.
9 – Number of wins, in 12 decisions, this season by Andrew Moore, the Generals’ scheduled starter in Game 1. He has a 3.16 ERA over 19 starts.
6 – RBIs by Carlos Franco, on 7-for-15 hitting, in the M-Braves’ South Division series win against Pensacola.
7 – Hits, in two postseason games, by M-Braves newcomer Kade Scivicque, the former Southwest Mississippi Community College (and LSU) star.
152 – Strikeouts this season, most in Double-A, by M-Braves lefty Sean Newcomb (8-7, 3.86 ERA), who is slated to start Game 2 against Jackson.
8 – Number of players from the 2016 M-Braves’ original 25-man roster who are still on the club.
1 – Number of former M-Braves on the Generals’ current roster: pitcher Ryne Harper.
Photo: Carlos Franco of the M-Braves heads for home. Joe Culpepper/Shuttergig.com

10 Sep

on the brink

The Mississippi Braves were wounded and backed into a corner earlier this week. Having already lost their highest-rated prospect (Dansby Swanson to promotion in mid-August) and one of their top power hitters (Jacob Schrader to injury) down the stretch, the M-Braves lost sparkplug Ozzie Albies to a season-ending injury during Game 1 of the Southern League South Division playoff series. Then they lost the game to Pensacola in the bottom of the ninth, stung by an error and two walks. But things can change quickly in the postseason, and here are the M-Braves today, leading the series 2-1 and aiming to win it in Game 4 at Trustmark Park. Pick a hero; there have been many. In Game 2 on Thursday, Patrick Weigel was brilliant on the mound and Carlos Franco mashed a three-run homer in a 5-0 victory. Back at the TeePee on Friday, the M-Braves used four pitchers and 17 hits to crush the Blue Wahoos 9-2. Mallex Smith, a 2015 M-Braves star back on a big-league rehab assignment, provided three hits and three runs. Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Kade Scivicque, acquired in a recent trade with Detroit, went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Franco, now 6-for-11 in the series, and Joey Meneses added three hits each, and Keith Curcio, a recent call-up from Class A Carolina, hit an inside-the-park home run. The spotlight is now on right-hander Lucas Sims, Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2012 draft who gets the start tonight. Sims, still a highly rated prospect, is 36-36 with a 3.91 ERA in an uneven minor league career. It’s a huge game for many reasons. A lot of people, in Atlanta and elsewhere, are paying attention. A berth in the SL Championship Series — where the M-Braves haven’t been since 2008 — is on the line, and there’s nothing like celebrating on your home field. If there is a Game 5, the series goes back to Pensacola. … Meanwhile, in Lawrenceville, Ga., on Friday, former Mississippi State star Tyler Moore hit a grand slam to help the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves pound Columbus 11-1 in the International League playoffs. Ex-Ole Miss standout Chris Ellis, who began this season in Mississippi, threw seven shutout innings for the G-Braves, who lead the series 2-1.

02 Sep

brave ramblings

The Mississippi Braves appear to have righted the ship in the nick of time. A 5-1 win over Biloxi on Thursday night at Trustmark Park was the team’s third straight and reduced their magic number to 3 for clinching the Southern League South second-half title. The M-Braves, shaking out of a funk that saw them lose eight of nine, have four home games left against the Shuckers, who still have a shot at a wild card playoff entry. For the M-Braves, Patrick Weigel, in just his third Double-A start, went 8 1/3 innings, allowing a lone, unearned run. Dustin Peterson and Ozzie Albies homered, and rehabbing big leaguer Mallex Smith, back on his old stomping grounds, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The only thing lacking was a big crowd – an announced 2,128. … Former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman is playing like an MVP. Unfortunately, he’s playing for the worst team in the National League. Freeman has a 24-game on-base streak during which he is batting .361 with 10 homers. He’s at .289 with 28 bombs for the year. … Shae Simmons, another ex-M-Braves standout, threw a clean inning in relief for the Braves on Thursday, his first MLB appearance in over two years. He had Tommy John surgery 18 months ago. … When Jed Bradley, now with Atlanta, makes his debut, he will go into the books as another former Mississippi Brave and former Biloxi Shucker to reach the majors. Bradley, 26, a left-hander, was drafted by Milwaukee – 15th overall — out of Georgia Tech in 2011. He made it to Double-A Biloxi this year, posting a 6.20 ERA before being traded to the M-Braves. He found something in Pearl, putting up a 4-3 record with a 2.35 ERA as a starter and earning a promotion to Triple-A. … Ex-M-Braves infielder Daniel Castro delivered an 11th-inning walk-off hit, scoring M-Braves alum Matt Lipka, as Triple-A Gwinnett beat Durham 1-0 on Thursday. … Austin Riley has a 16-game hitting streak at Class A Rome, which is clinging to first place in the South Atlantic League South. The third baseman out of DeSoto Central High is batting .360 with five homers and 16 RBIs in that stretch. The 2015 draftee, already one of the Braves’ top-rated prospects, is hitting .269 with 19 homers and 76 RBIs for the year.

30 Aug

tumble

There are slumps, and then there is tumbling into the abyss, which is what the Mississippi Braves seem to be doing. (Think Red Sox of 1978, Cubs of 1969 or Phillies of ’64.) On the morning of Aug. 13, the M-Braves were 30-16, sitting pretty with a 6-game lead in the Southern League South and counting magic numbers. Today, they are 34-28, clinging by their fingernails to a half-game lead in the second-half race over Pensacola, the first-half champ. Worse than that, the M-Braves have actually fallen a half-game behind Biloxi in the overall South standings, which will determine the wild card playoff team should Pensacola also win the second half. What the heck happened? Yes, hot prospect shortstop Dansby Swanson went to Atlanta on Aug. 17, but he wasn’t carrying the team by any means. Can’t blame the funk on that. It just appears the M-Braves’ lack of consistent offensive firepower is catching up to them. They’re ninth in the 10-team league in runs – ahead of only Biloxi, oddly enough – and ninth in on-base percentage. They don’t have a lot of power, nor do they steal many bases. Combine that with a pitching staff that, despite a league-best 3.16 ERA, ranks first in walks and second in hit batsmen and you begin to understand what a tightrope the M-Braves are walking. While dropping 12 of their last 16, the team has lost by such scores as 5-4, 5-1, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1, 6-3, 2-0, 5-0, 3-2 and 3-1. When Ozzie Albies got that desperately needed clutch triple on Sunday at Chattanooga to snap the seven-game losing streak, there might have been reason to think they’d broken their fall. But then the M-Braves got drilled 13-0 by the Lookouts on Monday. They’ll come tumbling home to Trustmark Park on Thursday. Waiting for them will be the Shuckers, who beat the M-Braves five straight in Biloxi last week. A playoff berth will be on the line. If Mississippi-Biloxi isn’t already a rivalry, it should feel like one by the end of that five-game series. P.S. Kade Scivicque, a former All-State catcher at Southwest Mississippi Community College, has been promoted to Mississippi from Class A Carolina. A fourth-round pick from LSU by Detroit in 2015, Scivicque was acquired by Atlanta in the Erick Aybar trade. He was 5-for-28 in eight games at Carolina after hitting .282 with six homers and 41 RBIs in high A-ball for the Tigers.

09 Aug

in a good place

It’s too soon to start calculating magic numbers out at Trustmark Park, but there is some magic in the air. The Mississippi Braves (28-16) have won six straight games, the last four at home against Mobile. They entered the current series tied with the BayBears for first place in the Southern League South. Suddenly, it’s a 4-game spread. (Third-place Jacksonville is 7 back.) Dominant pitching and just enough hitting has been the M-Braves’ formula against Mobile, which has scored only six runs in the four games, three of them decided by one run. In Friday’s opener, it was Max Povse with the quality start and Dustin Peterson with the game-turning eighth-inning homer. On Saturday, Jed Bradley had a stellar start and Carlos Franco a key two-run double. On Sunday, Wes Parsons and a passel of relievers (Caleb Dirks, Evan Phillips, David Peterson) owned the bump and Franco again provided the big hit. Lucas Sims took the ball on Monday and worked seven strong. A.J. Minter and Steve Kent closed. Franco – reigning SL player of the week — and Dustin Peterson drove in the runs in the 2-1 win. Sean Newcomb, Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect, starts tonight’s series finale. Ready the brooms. The M-Braves last made the playoffs in 2013, as a wild card. They’ve won two half-season division titles in their 12 seasons at the TeePee, the last in 2008, when they won the SL pennant, as well. Yes, with almost a month left in the season, it’s too soon to start rambling on about playoffs. But Luis Salazar’s club certainly is in a good place. P.S. While Biloxi is 18-26 and well off the M-Braves’ pace in the SL South, former Mississippi State star Brandon Woodruff has been one of the best pitchers in the league of late. He is 5-1 with an 0.41 ERA in his last seven starts for the Shuckers, 7-6 with a 2.87 ERA overall.

08 Jul

going forward

The Mississippi Braves go for a fourth straight win tonight at Trustmark Park. It would match the team’s longest streak of the season, previously accomplished in early May. They’re 8-6, first by a game in the Southern League South second-half standings. They’re 6-3 at home; they had a losing record at the TeePee in the first half. Maybe things are starting to click. Leadoff batter Ozzie Albies fueled Thursday night’s 3-2 victory over Montgomery with a couple of hits, two runs and a steal. He is batting .397 and is 15-for-32 since he came back from Triple-A Gwinnett to play second base. Jacob Schrader smacked his team-leading ninth homer on Thursday, and the M-Braves also got a nice start from Lucas Sims and a ninth save from Madison Younginer. There’s a lot to like here. Uber-prospect Dansby Swanson is batting .417 over his last 10 games. Connor Lien is hitting .286 with four steals in 10 games since coming off the disabled list. Dustin Peterson has rather quietly driven in 54 runs, third in the league, with seven homers. Rob Whalen has been a steady starter, and Sean Newcomb, who goes tonight against the Biscuits, is brimming with potential. Left-hander Newcomb, 6 feet 5, 255 pounds, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the Andrelton Simmons deal, is 4-5 with a 4.14 ERA. A strong finish from Atlanta’s No. 2-rated prospect would certainly help the team’s title chase.