Tag Archives: Trustmark Park

28 Mar

triple feature

Mississippi State jumped to No. 5 (from 10th) in the new Baseball America poll, and on Tuesday the Bulldogs will jump back into the fray against Southern Miss, unranked but rolling, in the first of the three College Series games at Trustmark Park in Pearl. This should be good. State, at 17-7-1, has more losses than any team ranked 13th or higher in the BA poll. But the Bulldogs have beaten Vanderbilt and Georgia two of three in their first two SEC series, apparently impressing the pollsters. USM is 19-6, coming off a sweep of a C-USA series against Texas-San Antonio. The Golden Eagles won last year’s College Series game, ending a six-game skid against State with a 3-0 victory before a rowdy crowd of 5,438 at the TeePee. You can debate the significance of these midweek games, but last year’s sure seemed to be a harbinger. USM was 13-8-1 at the time, finished 35-16-1. State was 18-8 and finished 24-30. If nothing else, a win for USM on Tuesday would be a big boost toward cracking the national polls. Looming just ahead for State is a home series with Ole Miss, 20-5 but coming off a lost weekend against South Carolina that dropped the Rebels from seventh to 13th in the BA poll. … A few miles from Trustmark Park on Tuesday, Millsaps will host Belhaven at Twenty Field in the second Maloney Trophy Series game of the year. The Majors topped their NCAA Division III rivals 10-7 last week. … And a short hop from Twenty Field on Tuesday, Hinds Community College and East Central CC will play an MACJC doubleheader at Smith-Wills Stadium. Hinds, ranked in preseason, is 11-13 and 3-5. ECCC is 19-7, 7-3.

25 Mar

buy low

It might be a good time to invest in some Tim Anderson rookie cards. A web site devoted to such things reveals that the average price of a rookie card of the former East Central Community College standout is $4.96. But one card, a “2013 Leaf Draft Superfractor RC Rookie Auto Autograph 1/1,” sold for $58 in January of 2015. Anderson hasn’t played a big league game yet. He was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte by the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, but it won’t be long before the highly rated prospect assumes the shortstop job at Comiskey Park. Could be this summer. A first-round pick (17th overall) out of ECCC in 2013, Anderson put up some great numbers at Double-A Birmingham in 2015: .312, 12 triples, 49 steals, 79 runs and 46 RBIs in 125 games. Some might remember that he homered at Trustmark Park in Pearl in his first Southern League game back in 2014. He has been in the White Sox’s big league spring camp the last two years and made an impression. “The biggest thing for me seeing him in the last couple years is, defensively, he just looks so much better and confident,” ChiSox manager Robin Ventura told mlb.com. Buy low, they say. Might be a good time to load up on some Tim Anderson rookies.

17 Mar

now playing shortstop …

When the Mississippi Braves open the 2016 season on April 7 at Trustmark Park, keep an eye on the shortstop. He’s a heckuva player. As of today, we have no clear indication who the shortstop for the Double-A club will be, but we do know that he’s a heckuva player. It might be Dansby Swanson, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect. First pick in the 2015 MLB draft by Arizona. Former All-SEC star and College World Series MVP at Vanderbilt. But Swanson, 22, played in short-season Class A last year, and even though he has played a lot – and well — for the big league club in spring training, Braves brass might opt to start him in A-ball. So … the M-Braves’ shortstop might be Ozzie Albies, rated Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect on the mlb.com chart. The Curacao native, who also has been impressive in big league camp, played at low-A Rome in 2015. A switch-hitter, he batted .310 with eight triples and 29 steals. And yes, he can pick it. But Albies is only 19, and the Braves might be considering shifting him to second base. It’s possible he’ll start the year at high-A Carolina. So … the M-Braves’ shortstop might be Johan Camargo. The Panama native doesn’t get the kind of attention lavished on Swanson and Albies, but he’s certainly no slouch. Rated the No. 25 Atlanta prospect, the switch-hitting Camargo, 22, batted .258 with six triples, 32 RBIs and 50 runs for the Carolina Mudcats in 2015. He was a Carolina League midseason and end-of-year All-Star and was selected for the Arizona Fall League. So … it might be Swanson … could be Albies … maybe Camargo. However it shakes out, the guy at shortstop on April 7 will be worth watching. P.S. The M-Braves have had a succession of quality shortstops, including Luis Hernandez, Yunel Escobar, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Pastornicky, Andrelton Simmons, Ed Lucas and Daniel Castro, all of whom have played in the big leagues.

18 Feb

save the date

New Alcorn State coach Brett Richardson will debut on Friday when the Braves play UNO in the MLB Urban Invitational in New Orleans. Four of the state’s other NCAA Division I schools open at home Friday: Mississippi State against Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss vs. Florida International, Southern Miss vs. Eastern Illinois and Jackson State vs. Tennessee-Martin. Mississippi Valley State is at Nicholls State. Here are some more dates of note on the Mississippi calendar for 2016:
Feb. 23: Belhaven at Millsaps (first Maloney Trophy Series game)
March 1: Jackson State-Southern University at MGM Park in Biloxi
March 2: Southern Miss-South Alabama at MGM Park
March 9: William Carey-Delta State at MGM Park
March 11: Jackson State at Alcorn State (series opener)
March 22: Southern Miss-Tulane at MGM Park
March 29: Southern Miss-Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl
April 1: Ole Miss at Mississippi State (series opener)
April 2: Milwaukee Brewers-Biloxi Shuckers exhibition at MGM Park
April 4: Jackson State-Biloxi Shuckers exhibition at MGM Park
April 5: Southern Miss-Ole Miss at Trustmark Park
April 7: Pensacola at Mississippi, Chattanooga at Biloxi (Southern League openers)
April 12: Mississippi Valley State at Delta State
April 15: Jackson State-Alcorn State at MGM Park
April 20: Mississippi State–Louisiana-Monroe at MGM Park
April 22: Biloxi at Mississippi (first meeting of season)
April 26: Mississippi State-Ole Miss at Trustmark Park
April 30: Mississippi College at Delta State (series opener)
May 25: Conference USA Tournament starts at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg
June 21: Southern League All-Star Game at Trustmark Park

10 Nov

in memoriam

Seven years have passed since Tommy Hanson pitched at Trustmark Park in Pearl. He is one of literally a hundred Mississippi Braves who have advanced to the big leagues – and one that ardent M-Braves fans surely remember. He arrived early in the 2008 season with a lot of hoopla, a big (6 feet 6, 220 pounds), hard-throwing right-hander on a fast track to the big leagues. And Hanson delivered on his promise. He went 8-4 with a 3.58 ERA, throwing a 14-strikeout no-hitter on June 25 at the TeePee against Birmingham and helping the M-Braves win their only Southern League pennant later that summer. He was an approachable, soft-spoken guy with bright red hair, originally from Oklahoma, drafted by Atlanta out of a California junior college. He went on to win 49 games in the big leagues, most of those in four seasons with the Braves. Injury issues curtailed his MLB career, but he was still pitching this past season in the San Francisco system. Hanson, just 29, died in Atlanta on Monday of what is described as “catastrophic organ failure.” It was shocking news. He is remembered here fondly.

09 Oct

campus notes

Southern Miss will play the first eight games of the 2016 season at home in Taylor Park, but the more interesting aspect of the schedule is where the Golden Eagles will play 10 of their road games. In addition to the annual games against Mississippi State (April 1) and Ole Miss (April 5) at Trustmark Park in Pearl, USM will visit three other minor league ballparks. USM is slated for three games in a March 4-6 tournament at Pensacola’s scenic Bayfront Stadium. The Eagles have two March games set for MGM Park in Biloxi and a three-game C-USA series March 18-20 against Marshall at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. USM opens the season Feb. 19 against Eastern Illinois. … After last weekend’s fall ball scrimmages in Oxford, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco singled out four pitchers for their work. Good stuff is expected from junior left-hander Wyatt Short, the Southaven product who was an All-SEC pick in 2015. The other three drawing praise were newcomers: juco transfer David Parkinson and freshmen Andy Pagnozzi and Parker Caracci. Caracci is from MAIS powerhouse Jackson Prep. … Pitching also has been in fashion of late at Mississippi State. In Sunday’s scrimmage, lefty Daniel Brown threw three shutout innings with five strikeouts. On Monday, Austin Sexton tossed four shutout innings with four K’s. And on Tuesday, freshman lefty Jared Padgett worked three scoreless innings. Padgett, from Florida, was a 26th round pick by the Chicago Cubs in June. P.S. Former Ole Miss left-hander Austin Wright was rated the top prospect in independent ball by Baseball America. Wright, who recently signed with Arizona, went 5-11 with a 4.46 ERA for Windy City in the Frontier League. He had a 4.26 ERA in four years in the Philadelphia system before being released – but he also has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s.

29 Aug

m-braves, hither and yon

It was a night for big home runs in Atlanta, Pearl and Danville, Va., a nice night for certain Mississippi Braves past, present and future. At Trustmark Park, where the M-Braves opened their final homestand on Friday battling for a second-half championship, third baseman Rio Ruiz smacked a three-run homer that propelled the home team to a 7-1 win over Biloxi. (Ruiz is legitimately hot, 16-for-40 with two homers and eight RBIs in his last 10 games. He is batting .237 for the year with four homers. Too bad the season is almost over.) At Turner Field, ex-M-Braves star Brian McCann returned to the ATL for the first time as a New York Yankee and, of course, launched a home run, his 23rd of the season, helping the Yanks crush the woeful Braves 15-4. (Former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman homered for the Braves, but so what? Atlanta is now 20 games under .500 and generally unwatchable.) And at Legion Field in Danville, where Atlanta’s rookie-level Appalachian League team holds forth, Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central standout, went yard for the 11th time this season. The 18-year-old third baseman, Atlanta’s top pick in June, blew through the Gulf Coast League and is batting .340 with four homers in 26 games at Danville. (Riley, if he progresses normally, could be at the TeePee by 2018. Something to look forward to.)

18 Aug

crunch time at teepee

Birmingham is one of the Southern League’s best hitting teams. The Mississippi Braves are running out a rotation filled with prospects, young guns that could be in Atlanta in the near future. The compelling clash of Barons bats and M-Braves arms begins tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Right-hander John Gant is slated to start Game 1 for Mississippi. He is followed in the rotation by Lucas Sims, Greg Ross, Zack Bird and Andrew Thurman. Birmingham, hitting .261 (second in SL) as a team with 482 runs (fifth), features a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of its order. Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson, one of the Chicago White Sox’s highest rated prospects, is batting .316 and tops the league in runs (69) and steals (45). Two-hole hitter Jacob May is batting .296 with 31 bags, second in the league. For power, the Barons have Christian Marrero (12 homers), Danny Hayes (seven) and Brian Fletcher (six). They’ll test the young guns. Gant, recently acquired from the New York Mets, has been slotted in as the Braves’ No. 23 prospect by mlb.com. Since joining the M-Braves, he is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in three outings. Sims, Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2012 and the seventh-best prospect, is 1-2, 5.87 in five Double-A starts. Jackson native Bird, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers and ranked No. 12 on the prospect chart, is 1-1, 4.26 over three starts. No. 18 prospect Thurman, picked up from Houston late in the spring, took a loss in his M-Braves debut on Aug. 14, allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. Ross doesn’t have a top 30 rating, but the Double-A veteran is 7-9, 3.98 in 23 games. P.S. Former M-Braves star Brian McCann did something Monday night that no catcher in the New York Yankees’ long history has done, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: He drove in five runs and threw out three runners attempting to steal. McCann’s efforts, which included his 21st homer, led the Yankees to an 8-7, 10-inning win over Minnesota. One of the runners he cut down was Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier, who had three hits for the Twins.

05 Aug

finishing touch

For Mississippi Braves right-hander Jason Hursh, change has done him good. Since moving from the rotation to the bullpen in early July, Hursh has a 2.25 ERA, a win and two saves in nine appearances. He has allowed 11 hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 12 innings out of the pen. Atlanta’s No. 13-rated prospect (by mlb.com) entering this season, the 2013 first-round pick had been erratic as a starter: 2-6, 5.63 ERA this season after going 11-7, 3.58 at the Double-A level a year ago. Hursh got the W on Tuesday night, working a scoreless frame in a 7-6, 11-inning decision against Montgomery that moved the M-Braves’ record to 21-17 in the second half. They are 2.5 games out of first in the Southern League South. The club ranks ninth in the 10-team league in runs and last in slugging and homers, but pitching may just keep them in the playoff hunt. The staff includes six of Atlanta’s current top 30 prospects: Lucas Sims (No. 8), Murrah High alum Zack Bird (13), Hursh (now 18), Mauricio Cabrera (22), John Gant (24) and Stephen Janas (30). The M-Braves have a solid 3.53 ERA with an SL-best 38 saves and have allowed the fewest home runs in the league. Gant (1-0, 1.59) goes tonight against the Biscuits at Trustmark Park in his second start since coming over from the New York Mets in one of last week’s trades.

03 Aug

here and there

The list of Mississippians to play for the Mississippi Braves will grow tonight when Jackson native Zack Bird makes his Double-A debut at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Former Murrah High star Bird joins a group that includes Jay Powell, Michael Rosamond, John Thomson, Van Pope and Brent Leach. Powell (West Lauderdale High), Rosamond (Madison Central), Pope (Terry) and Leach (Brandon) were prep and college stars in the state. Thomson, a Vicksburg native who appeared with the M-Braves on two different major league rehab assignments, went to high school in Sulphur, La. A number of Mississippi natives also played for Jackson’s old Texas League franchise, including Murrah product Fletcher Thompson, the second baseman for the 1993 pennant-winning Generals. Bird, acquired last week from the Los Angeles Dodgers, was 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) at the high Class A level this season. … The Tippah Tribe beat the Tupelo Thunder 5-1 on Sunday in New Albany to claim the Cotton States League championship. Northwest Mississippi Community College alum Stephen Sexton and Bryan Ray Jr. homered for the Tribe. … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier matched his career-high for homers with No. 23 for Minnesota on Sunday; the Tupelo native, now in his fourth MLB season, has 70 career homers. … Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton is 51-for-58 on steal attempts this season for Cincinnati, an 88 percent success rate. His 2014 rate was 71 percent; he was thrown out an MLB-high 23 times while stealing 56 bases. … McComb native and Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson is back on Colorado’s disabled list, his third trip of the year, this time due to broken ribs. He has played just 43 games, hitting .315 with five homers. … Former Itawamba CC standout Desmond Jennings is 1-for-5 in two rehab games at Triple-A Durham. Out since April with a knee problem, he figures to rejoin the Tampa Bay club sometime soon. … Last but hardly least, ex-Richton High star JaCoby Jones hit three homers for Erie on Sunday, his third game with Detroit’s Double-A club since he was traded last week (for Joakim Soria) by Pittsburgh. Jones, a shortstop, had 10 homers in A-ball this season and 23 in 2014.