a must read

In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated (cover date April 1), there is a story by Michael McKnight about former Meridian High star Brian Cole. It’s called “The Best Player You Never Saw.” Find it. Read it. Cole — the younger brother of former Ole Miss star Popeye Cole and ex-Southern Miss standout Greg Cole — could have been the best Mississippi-born ballplayer ever to put on a uniform. Tragically, he never played above Double-A. He was killed in a car crash in the spring of 2001. In the touching SI story, an array of current and former big leaguers who knew Cole give testimony to his tremendous talent and engaging personality. P.S. William Beckwith was at Trustmark Park today with the Atlanta Braves Future Stars team. He won’t start the 2013 season in Pearl — he’s ticketed for high Class A Lynchburg — but the former West Lowndes High star should make Double-A soon enough. A 21st-round pick out of an Alabama junior college in 2010, Beckwith hit .291 with 15 homers at low-A Rome last year and was named the team’s player of the year. He’s a left-handed hitting first baseman who’s listed at 6 feet 1, 230 pounds but looks bigger.

remember the time

The GPS is set for Memory Lane. The Atlanta Braves are coming to Trustmark Park in Pearl on Saturday and déjà vu, not just pollen, is in the air. First stop on this trip is 1986, when the New York Mets came to Jackson to play their Double-A affiliate. An overflow crowd of 7,061 showed up at Smith-Wills Stadium to watch as a New York team that would go on to win the World Series beat Our Jackson Mets 6-0. Former Jackson Mets star Lenny Dykstra went 3-for-4 for New York and another OJM alum, Rick Aguilera, struck out nine batters in seven innings. The New York club also included Darryl Strawberry and Kevin Mitchell, both ex-JaxMets, as well as Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson and Ray Knight. The Jackson team, which seemed a bit overwhelmed, featured future big leaguers Kevin Elster, Greg Olson, Shawn Abner and Jeff McKnight. Managed by Mike Cubbage, the ’86 JaxMets made it to the Texas League Championship Series. Moving on to the next stop … it’s 1997, when the Houston Astros trekked to Smith-Wills to play the Double-A Generals. Another overflow crowd — 6,196 officially — turned out to see the big league team, which would win the National League Central that year, beat the Gens 7-2. The game was played on what was a scheduled off-day in the regular season for both teams. The Astros were on their way to Atlanta. The Generals left afterward for Shreveport. And the game was played with a sense of urgency: The 7-inning affair lasted just 88 minutes. Astros stars Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio batted in the first inning and were then removed from the lineup. Derek Bell and Bill Spiers hit home runs for Houston, but the lasting memory of the game was the monster shot into the pines in right-center field launched by the Gens’ Daryle Ward. “That looked like one of (John) Daly’s zero irons,” Generals manager Gary Allenson said after the game. Ward was one of several future big leaguers on the ’97 Jackson team that also included Carlos Guillen, Mitch Meluskey and Scott Elarton. Now it’s back to the future … and Atlanta’s game against the Future Stars. The TeePee is sold out; the tally could hit 8,000. The Braves’ big league roster is packed with star power, including many former Mississippi Braves. It’s a playoff contender, to be sure. There are prospects aplenty on the minor league team that will be managed by Bobby Cox. It should be fun. It should be memorable – a future stop on Memory Lane.

roster spotting

Chris Coghlan reportedly has made Miami’s opening day roster. The Ole Miss product, whose career has been skidding since he won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2009, has had a good spring, batting .311 through Wednesday. There was a crowd in the Marlins outfield, which includes former Mississippi Braves standout Gorkys Hernandez. He is expected to be traded. Coghlan, a lefty hitter, batted .321 with nine homers, 47 RBIs and 84 runs in 128 games in 2009. He hit .268 in 2010, the year he injured his knee in an on-field celebration. He’s had other injury issues, as well. Coghlan batted just .230 in 2011 and .140 last year in limited big league time. … Starkville native Julio Borbon is apparently still in contention for a spot on Texas’ club, but the outfielder — who hit .304 in Triple-A in 2012 and has had some good big league numbers — could also be traded. … Former Pillow Academy star Louis Coleman, a reliever, was sent to Triple-A today by Kansas City, and Ole Miss alum Alex Presley, an outfielder, was sent down on Wednesday by Pittsburgh. … Watch for it: Evan Gattis, who belted nine homers in his 49 games with the M-Braves last year, could be the next alum to play in the big leagues. The catcher/outfielder, recently featured in Sports Illustrated, has made Atlanta’s roster; he’ll be in Pearl for Saturday’s Futures Game. Also making the Atlanta club as a reserve outfielder is Jordan Schafer, who played on the M-Braves’ 2008 Southern League title team.

star gazing

There are many familiar names on the roster for the Atlanta Braves Future Stars team that will play the major league club on Saturday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The 2:05 p.m. game is sold out. The Future Stars, who’ll be managed by Braves legend Bobby Cox, feature 2012 Mississippi Braves Sean Gilmartin (who will start on the mound), J.R. Graham, Christian Bethancourt, Todd Cunningham, Joey Terdoslavich, Mark Lamm and Phil Gosselin. Graham, Bethancourt, Lamm and Gosselin are expected to open the new season with the M-Braves. Also on Cox’s club are likely 2013 M-Braves Alex Wood and Edward Salcedo, as well as Class A-level prospects Matt Lipka and Jose Peraza. Former M-Braves star Mike Minor is slated to start for Atlanta, whose roster includes a large number of M-Braves alums (Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Andrelton Simmons, Kris Medlen, Craig Kimbrel, et. al.) Also on the Atlanta roster is former Mississippi State star Paul Maholm.

march madness in macjc

A check of the MACJC standings finds Jones County Junior College atop the South Division with Northeast, Northwest and Mississippi Delta setting the pace in the North. Jones moved to 8-2 in the division and 20-8 overall with a sweep of Hinds on Tuesday. Pearl River, which swept Hinds on Sunday behind eight RBIs from St. Stanislaus alum Krisjon Wilkerson, is 5-3 in the league and will host JCJC on Friday. East Central swept Copiah-Lincoln on Tuesday and moved to 7-3 in the South. The Warriors were led by highly rated prospect Tim Anderson, who went 4-for-4 in the opener, then doubled and scored in Game 2. Northeast (5-1) swept Northwest (6-2) in a big North showdown last week as Tigers pitchers Ben Hellums and Tanner Gaines (a Mississippi State transfer) delivered complete game efforts. Northeast faces back-to-back division doubleheaders against Coahoma and Itawamba today and Thursday. Northwest took a twinbill from Holmes on Tuesday and faces a showdown today at Mississippi Delta, 5-1 in the division after a sweep of Coahoma on Tuesday.

men of steal

Belhaven University ranks second in the NAIA in stolen bases (104 through Monday), so it should come as no surprise that thievery was a key element in the Blazers’ 7-6 win over Mississippi College today at blustery Smith-Wills Stadium. Down 6-5 in the ninth and down to their last out, the Blazers got a clutch hit from Emilio DeSilva, who promptly stole his third bag of the game. He went to third on a wild pitch. Caleb Baucum then drew a walk and — you guessed it — stole second, BU’s seventh bag of the game. Hamilton Harper stepped up and delivered a two-run single to give the red-hot Blazers their eighth straight win and also clinch the Maloney Trophy Series for this season. Belhaven (25-12) is 2-0 against both MC (10-15) and Millsaps. P.S. William Carey, BU’s rival in the Southern States Athletic Conference, is ranked 19th in the first NAIA poll of the regular season. The Crusaders are 22-10 and 13-5 in the league. BU is 10-5 SSAC. The teams don't meet until April 25-26, in Jackson in the last series of the regular season.

one step back

Drew Pomeranz will start the season in Triple-A for Colorado, the club announced late Monday. Not a huge surprise. The signing of veteran pitcher Jon Garland pushed the 24-year-old former Ole Miss standout out of the Rockies’ rotation, at least for the time being. He’ll open the campaign at Colorado Springs, where he spent part of 2012. “I’m ready for whatever,” Pomeranz told mlb.com. Pomeranz went 2-9 with a 4.93 ERA for Colorado last year and is 2-2, 5.50 in four starts this spring. P.S. Delta State (22-4-1) remained No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II poll. DSU, 7-2-1 in the Gulf South Conference, hosts league foe West Alabama at Ferriss Field in Cleveland this weekend.

catching up

While the state’s Big 3 Division I schools were losing conference series over the weekend, Jackson State and Alcorn State battled it out in an overshadowed — but significant — Southwestern Athletic Conference series. After dropping the Saturday opener at Rat McGowan Stadium in Lorman, JSU bounced back to sweep a Sunday doubleheader, scoring 27 runs on the day. Stephen Curtis had five hits and three RBIs in the twinbill for the Tigers, now 12-12, 9-3 SWAC. Alcorn is 5-22, 5-4. … Playing at Smith-Wills Stadium (on the artificial surface) because of inclement weather, Millsaps pounded Centre 13-0 on Sunday and moved to 14-7, 6-3 in Southern Athletic Association play. Daniel Ross allowed just two hits over seven innings for the W. … Keith Case, coach at Copiah-Lincoln Community College for 21 years, has announced his retirement at season’s end. His current club is 15-10 and 5-3 (tied for second) in the MACJC South. … On the MLB front: Former Jackson Generals stars Freddy Garcia and Ramon Castro have been released by San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, and Nettleon’s Bill Hall was cut by the L.A. Angels. … Former General Lance Berkman, playing first base for Texas on Sunday, went 2-for-2 with a homer and raised his spring average to .275. … Edward Salcedo, expected to be the Mississippi Braves’ third baseman this season, hit two home runs for Atlanta on Saturday. … Southern Miss product Brian Dozier, hoping to nail down the second base job with Minnesota, had a 3-for-4 Sunday and is batting .278. … Ole Miss alum Seth Smith is up to .341 with Oakland. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product Tony Sipp now has a 2.70 ERA for Arizona, his new team. … Meridian CC alum Cliff Lee has a 5.94 ERA and Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon an 11.37 for Philadelphia.

turning it on

Mississippi State fans have been waiting for Hunter Renfroe to throw the power switch, and he appears to have done it. The junior outfielder from Crystal Springs belted his seventh home run on Friday night to help the Bulldogs (21-4, 2-2 SEC) beat Kentucky 8-4 in a showdown of nationally ranked clubs. After his 3-for-4, 2-RBI effort, Renfroe is batting .427 with a team-best 32 RBIs; he is slugging an impressive .853. The 6-foot-1, 216-pound right-handed hitter smacked a line drive homer to left-center field at Trustmark Park last week against Southern Miss. It’s not easy to hit one out there. After playing sparingly as a freshman at State, Renfroe batted .252 with four homers last year. That was not the kind of production expected from a player who hit a Mississippi private school record 20 bombs at Copiah Academy in 2010 and was drafted in a late round. But something may have clicked for Renfroe last summer in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League, where he hit a loop-record 19 homers and was named MVP. That juice is still flowing this spring. P.S. State’s win was part of a sweet sweep by the Magnolia State’s Big 3 on Friday: Ole Miss, now 21-2 and 3-1 SEC, beat nationally ranked Texas A&M and USM took down nationally ranked Rice.

rolling rockies

In Colorado’s 10-4 Cactus League win over San Francisco on Thursday, two Mississippi-connected players made an impression. Former Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz, battling for a spot in the Rockies’ rotation, went five innings to get the win (beating Matt Cain, by the way). And McComb native and Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson added another hit and an RBI to his ledger. Left-hander Pomeranz, the former first-round pick by Cleveland who struggled with the Rockies in 2012, has had a decent spring: 2-2, 5.50 ERA. He allowed 10 hits and two walks on Thursday but limited the Giants to three earned runs. “(I) have more in the tank (this year),” Pomeranz told mlb.com. “I can reach back when I need to.” Dickerson, an outfielder who is not on the 40-man roster, is hitting .409 with a homer and eight RBIs. The lefty-hitting Dickerson batted .274 with 13 homers in a partial Double-A season in 2012 and then played well in the Arizona Fall League. His chance will come.

a fresh start?

Southern Miss gets to wipe the slate clean, sort of, on Friday when Rice comes to Taylor Park for the Conference USA opener. The start of this season has been a bit messy for the Golden Eagles, who showed up in some preseason polls. They’re 8-12. They were walloped by Mississippi State last week before 7,000 strong at Trustmark Park. They took a punch to the gut Wednesday night when Auburn beat them in 11 innings. On paper, the Eagles’ problems appear to be many. They’re hitting just .268 with little power (six homers, .351 slugging average). They’ve been outscored 115-94. The staff ERA is 4.58, and there are a lot of individual numbers uglier than that. Bright spots? Sure. Chase Fowler is hitting .345, Tim Lynch .314 with 13 RBIs. Andrew Pierce has pitched like an All-American, going 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA plus 43 strikeouts and just four walks in 37 2/3 innings. What the Eagles need is another couple of arms, at least, to pitch in with some shutdown innings. They need former ballyhooed recruits Mason Robbins (.270) and Connor Barron (.237 in 38 at-bats) to rise up at the plate. Rice also began the season with high expectations and scuffled out of the gate. The bad news for USM: The Owls (16-7) come in on a seven-game win streak.

notable stuff

Tyler Aldridge, a senior from Steens via East Mississippi Community College, has hit safely in all 25 of Delta State’s games. … The NCAA Division II nationally ranked Statesmen (21-4) overcame an early 3-0 deficit to beat D-I Mississippi Valley State (3-21) by a 9-3 count on Tuesday in Greenville. … Mississippi State trailed Alcorn State 5-0 on Tuesday before mounting a rally and winning 7-6 in Starkville. The nationally ranked Bulldogs are now 20-4, the Braves 4-18. … Jonathan Holder notched his seventh save for State. … Southern Miss, sputtering at 8-11, travels to Mobile tonight to play Auburn in a final pre-conference tuneup. Conference USA power Rice comes to Hattiesburg on Friday. … USM is 1-4 all-time against Auburn, but the win came last year. … Jackson State (10-10) is 7-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, led by — no surprise here — Desmond Russell, the Bahamas native who is batting .321 with two homers and 19 RBIs and is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and a save as a pitcher. … Belhaven moved to 3-0 in Maloney Trophy Series play with a 6-4 win at Millsaps on Tuesday. … Robert Marzoni, who has seven saves, got the win for BU, now 21-12. … William Carey (21-8) is tied for first in the Southern States Athletic Conference with a 12-3 mark. Carey has series wins over the other two first-place clubs (NAIA nationally ranked Lee and Faulkner). … Carey’s Scott Fabre, who homered in a win over Arkansas Tech on Monday, is batting .389 with four bombs and 29 RBIs. … Mississippi College’s Josh Perez, a preseason All-American Southwest Conference pick, is batting .385 with 16 runs, 10 RBIs and 11 steals. … MC (9-12, 2-4 ASC) has hit just one home run (by Keaton Hankins) this season.

on the juco watch

The junior college season is young, but key series are already beginning to sprout. Longtime MACJC rivals Northwest and Northeast, both playing very well, meet in Senatobia on Wednesday. The host Rangers, coming off a much-wanted sweep of Itawamba, are unbeaten in the North Division at 4-0. Sophomore pitcher Cody Reed is 3-1 for a 13-6 club. Northeast is 3-1 in the league and has won six of its last seven, picking up coach Kent Farris’ 150th win during that stretch. First place in the South Division will be on the line in Ellisville on Wednesday when Jones County (15-7, 3-1) hosts Copiah-Lincoln (13-8, 3-1). Another South twinbill to watch this weekend is the Pearl River-Hinds clash in Raymond. Hinds, ranked in the preseason, is 10-10 overall and 2-2 in the division after a sweep of fading Gulf Coast last Thursday. PRCC (18-6, 2-2) is No. 8 in the most recent NJCAA Division II poll.

boxing out

Talking box scores here, not rebounding technique: Mitch Moreland is having a very good spring. The former Mississippi State standout, who has competition at first base and DH in Texas, went 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) on Sunday and is batting .361. … Also playing well for the Rangers is Starkville native Julio Borbon, batting .289 after a 2-for-3 on Sunday. He’s in the outfield picture. … MSU alum Tyler Moore blasted a pair of homers for Washington and is batting .261 this spring. He should break camp with the big club. … Ex-Ole Miss star Alex Presley, vying for a spot in the Pittsburgh outfield, is hitting .306; he had another hit on Sunday. … The Atlanta bullpen is overrun with strong arms, but Delta State alumnus Dusty Hughes has made a mark this spring, posting four holds and a 1.29 ERA. … Though he didn’t play Sunday, former UM standout Chris Coghlan is faring well for Miami (.318, three runs, four RBIs) as he attempts to reclaim a big league job in the Marlins outfield. … On the not-so-hot chart: Ex-Rebel Lance Lynn (now 1-3, 7.50 after a rough start Sunday) with St. Louis, Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (.136) with Cincinnati and Ole Miss product Phillip Irwin (6.97 ERA) with Pittsburgh. P.S. Former Nettleton High star Bill Hall, trying to make the Los Angeles Angels’ roster as a non-roster invitee, hasn’t played since late February because of a thigh injury.

a spark in time?

After a rather tepid start, Belhaven University has begun to heat up. A three-game sweep of Auburn-Montgomery this weekend moved the Blazers to 20-12 overall and 7-5 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. BU has won eight of nine heading into a Maloney Trophy Series game at Millsaps on Tuesday. The Blazers completed the sweep of AUM in fist-pumping fashion on Saturday, winning 14-13 on Bud Britt’s walk-off, two-run homer in the 10th inning. It was the sixth homer of the year for Britt, from Brookhaven by way of Copiah-Lincoln Community College. P.S. The No. 1 catcher for Auburn-Montgomery is Brett Wellman, the son of former Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman. The younger Wellman often caught in the bullpen for the M-Braves. The elder Wellman is now a hitting coach in the St. Louis system.

numb with numbers

If you follow baseball closely, numbers always grab you. Southeastern Conference play starts this weekend for Ole Miss and Mississippi State – and just check out the numbers involved. Ole Miss is 18-1 heading into its three-game set at Arkansas, which is 13-5. (Please note, the Razorbacks were Baseball America’s preseason No. 3.) State is 18-2 with 16-1 LSU coming to Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs are hitting .324 as a team, tops among SEC schools. LSU is second at .321. And Ole Miss is third at .310. Arkansas pitchers have a 1.60 staff ERA, tops in the league. State’s at 1.84, second. Ole Miss is fifth at 2.21 and LSU sixth at 2.41. Just for good measure, the Tigers lead the league in fielding percentage (.980). In Friday’s openers, Ole Miss will start Bobby Wahl, 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA, against Arkansas freshman Trey Killian, 2-1, 0.86. (The Hogs’ real ace might be Ryne Stanek, 1-1, 3.71, who’ll go Sunday.) State will start lefty Jacob Lindgren, 2-0, 0.96, against LSU’s Aaron Nola, 2-0, 2.77. All those numbers are indicative of the talent that will be on those two fields this weekend. Quite a few future pros, to be sure. Of course, the only numbers that will matter when all the dust has settled by Sunday evening are the ones that appeared on the scoreboards. Those will grab us, too.

major impact

In a Millsaps College lineup crowded with big hitters, Keith Shumaker has managed to stand out. Shumaker, a sophomore third baseman, leads the Southern Athletic Association in RBIs with 22 and is tied at the top with three home runs. The former Jackson Academy standout, a left-handed hitter who goes 6 feet 3, 220 pounds, was named the SAA player of the week earlier this week on the heels of a 7-for-17 performance. (He also threw six shutout innings as a starting pitcher.) Shumaker, who hit .307 with 22 RBIs all of last season, is surrounded by the likes of Stephen Gates (.458), Samuel Doucet (.431) and Wes Perkins (.414) on a club that is off to an 11-3 start. The Majors swept Hendrix in three games at home in their inaugural SAA series and head to Georgia this weekend to meet Berry College (5-1 in the league). The new SAA has no automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, so every game has added significance for at-large consideration. The top two teams in the league’s regular season race will host four-team mini-tournaments and the winners of those will clash in a best-of-3 for the SAA title.

teepee time

Granted Ole Miss swiped the state spotlight over the weekend, moving to 16-1 with a sweep of Lipscomb. But let’s give Tuesday night’s Mississippi State-Southern Miss game its due. Though State saw a 17-game win streak snapped and actually lost the series to Central Arkansas over the weekend, the Bulldogs (17-2) are still a top 10-type club and they’re scheduled to start veteran lefty Luis Pollorena (3-0, 1.88 ERA). The game at Trustmark Park in Pearl will be the Dogs’ first away from Dudy Noble Field this season. USM limps in at 7-8, having lost two of three at home to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Golden Eagles have lost four in a row in the State series — the Dogs lead 77-36 all-time — entering the only scheduled meeting this year. Obviously, it’s a big game for the Eagles, who’ll throw Mason Robbins, who is 1-1, 3.08 though better known as a hitter (.302). State’s Hunter Renfroe comes in hot, with four homers for the year. USM’s top hitter is Chase Fowler at .395. P.S. Ole Miss has been doing a lot of things well, but the numbers put up by Stuart Turner and Bobby Wahl are worth singling out. Turner, a transfer from juco power LSU-Eunice, is batting .491 with nine doubles, two homers, 27 RBIs and 14 runs. That’s 41 runs accounted for in 17 games. Wahl, considered the top MLB draft prospect in the state, is 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA.

heat wave

Something special may be brewing in Hattiesburg at the “other” college in town. Yes, Southern Miss broke a three-game losing skid behind ace Andrew Pierce on Friday night — but a better pitching performance for a hotter club took place down the road at William Carey’s Wheeler Field. Jake Fabre, a senior right-hander from Houma, La., threw a 14-strikeout, seven-hitter at NAIA powerhouse Lee University, leading the Crusaders to their ninth straight win, 8-2. Carey is 17-6 and 9-1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Lee fell to 19-4 and 8-2. They’ll play a doubleheader today. Fabre improved to 3-2 with a 1.55 ERA; he has 40 K’s and just three walks in 40 2/3 innings. None of Carey’s top four starters has an ERA over 2.35. Coach Bobby Halford has a few hitters, too, with Mitch Bohon (.392, 17 RBIs) and Scott Fabre (.371, two home runs, 18 RBIs) leading the way. P.S. Corey Wimberly, the Alcorn State product now in Atlanta’s system, made a big league spring appearance on Friday, going 0-for-1 in the Braves’ win over Houston. Wimberly, 29, a switch-hitting second baseman/outfielder, has been plugging away in the minors since 2005 with decent success (.297, 281 steals). He batted .301 in 39 games for the New York Mets’ Triple-A Buffalo team in 2012. … Noticed that former Mississippi Braves Barbaro Canizares and Yasser Gomez are playing for Spain in the World Baseball Classic. Both are Cuba natives — how does that work?

coming attractions

Strap in. This weekend in college baseball could be quite the thrill ride. Where to start? Mississippi State is 16-0, its second-longest win streak ever, and climbing in the polls. The Bulldogs host Central Arkansas for a three-game set this weekend. Don’t sleep on the Bears, who are 12-1. … Ole Miss is 13-1 and hosting Lipscomb. The big story in Oxford: Coach Mike Bianco is two wins from moving past Jake Gibbs as the Rebels’ all-time leader in victories. … Southern Miss is 6-6 and in the throes of a three-game skid with Louisiana-Lafayette (10-2) coming to Hattiesburg. Never fear Eagles fans: Ace Andrew Pierce, 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA starts today’s opener. … Jackson State is hosting rival Mississippi Valley State for a SWAC series at Bob Braddy Field. … Delta State, 14-2 and 2-1 in the Gulf South Conference, welcomes conference foe North Alabama to Ferriss Field. … Belhaven, 13-11 but just 1-5 in the Southern States Athletic Conference, needs to get it going this weekend against Loyola in New Orleans. … William Carey (16-6) is 8-1 in the SSAC with a huge series on tap at Wheeler Field this weekend against NAIA No. 3 Lee University. … Millsaps (7-3), which has played just once since Feb. 24 (a 6-5 Maloney Trophy Series loss to Mississippi College on Tuesday), opens Southern Athletic Association play with a three-game home set against Hendrix. … MC (6-7) begins American Southwest Conference play at Texas-Tyler. P.S. Pearl River Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC moved into the most recent (Feb. 27) NJCAA Division II poll, the Wildcats at No. 10, the Bulldogs at 15. Both are now 13-3. … East Central CC dedicated a new, $30,000 covered grandstand at Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur on Wednesday, then swept Meridian CC in a doubleheader.

off the beaten path

Alcorn State tends to move under the radar, but the Braves have at least one player worth tracking this season. Shortstop Angel Rosa was picked as the Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason player of the year by Baseball America and also is rated the league’s second-best MLB draft prospect. Through his first 11 games this season, Rosa was hitting .452 with three doubles and five RBIs. And the Braves, off to a 2-12 start, have played some good competition, including Southern Miss, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State and Louisiana-Monroe. This weekend Alcorn is at Tennessee for a three-game set. Rosa is a 6-foot-2, 182-pound native of Puerto Rico and is in his third season with the Braves. He hit .292 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 2012. P.S. Belhaven, at 13-11, has had a rather uneven start, but the Blazers have notched some quality wins of late. They beat NAIA No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday and also have beaten nationally ranked Freed-Hardeman and Lee University in the last two weeks. … Props to Southwest Mississippi Community College coach Lee Kuyrkendall on recently picking up his 400th career win. He also coached at Mississippi College.

good job

Kudos to Chris Good, the Belhaven University left-hander. The New Mexico transfer threw a 2-hit shutout on Saturday to beat NAIA No. 3 Lee University 1-0 at Smith-Wills Stadium. Good, now 5-2, struck out six and walked just one. It was the first Southern States Athletic Conference win for the Blazers (now 12-10, 1-5) and the first league loss for Lee (19-3, 8-1). Kudos also to Delta State’s Josh Branstetter, who tossed a nine-inning complete game to beat nationally ranked West Florida 5-2. Branstetter is 3-0 in 2013 and has 20 career wins for the Statesmen. Saturday’s game was the Gulf South Conference opener for NCAA Division II top-ranked DSU (12-1). P.S. Preview of things to come: Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton stole a bag for Cincinnati on Saturday, giving him three for the spring, all in his last two games. He’s ticketed for Triple-A to start the season but might not be there long. … Former Ole Miss standout Chris Coghlan, the former rookie of the year who spent most of 2012 in the minors, is 6-for-15 this spring in his bid to regain a job in Miami.

the sound of 12-0

That noise you hear coming from Starkville — sounds kinda like a train — is the Bulldog Express, which has roared to a 12-0 start with remarkable efficiency. Highly ranked Mississippi State has outscored its opposition 134-65. Eight of its 12 wins are by five runs or more; the Bulldogs have played just three one-run games. They are hitting .338 as team. The staff ERA is 1.42. The team’s fielding percentage is .981 (just nine errors). The expected stars are shining: Adam Frazier is hitting .468, Hunter Renfroe .393 with two homers. Jacob Lindgren is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in three starts, and closer Jonathan Holder has three saves and a win in four appearances. A newcomer, California junior college transfer Alex Detz, has jumped into the lineup and hit .429 with 14 RBIs. Granted, State has played only home games and the schedule hasn’t been terribly challenging. But 12-0 is impressive just the same. And the Dogs’ next seven games are also at Dudy Noble Field. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see them sporting a 19-0 record when they come to Trustmark Park in Pearl to play Southern Miss. Can you imagine what the atmosphere will be like at the TeePee if that is indeed the case? P.S. Former Mississippi Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons went 3-for-5 with two runs to help the Netherlands win its World Baseball Classic opener over Korea. M-Braves alumnus Matt Kennelly caught for Australia in its loss to Chinese Taipei. Former M-Braves pitchers Craig Kimbrel and Tim Collins are on Team USA, which doesn’t play until Friday.

box score bits 2

Lance Berkman, one of the last Jackson Generals still standing, made his spring debut for Texas on Thursday. Leading off as the DH, Berkman went 1-for-2 with a walk and scored twice. If he can stay on the field, he’ll really help the Rangers. … Ex-Gens ace Freddy Garcia, with San Diego on a minor league deal, was roughed up (five runs in one inning) in his Padres debut last weekend. Bobby Abreu remains unsigned, though Baltimore has been rumored to have an interest. Julio Lugo officially retired after the recent Caribbean Series. … Former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland hit his first home run of the spring on Thursday for Texas. … Ex-Bulldogs star Tyler Moore had two hits for Washington and is batting .313 in his quest to stick with the big league club as a backup outfielder/first baseman. … On Wednesday, a day after his 4-RBI performance for the Los Angeles Angels, Nettleton’s Bill Hall injured his right quad making a play at third base and is listed day-to-day. That’s a setback. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, battling for job with Pittsburgh, is 3-for-9 thus far. … Former South Panola High star David Renfroe, who has dropped off the prospect charts with Boston, had a hit and an RBI for the Red Sox on Thursday. … Meridian CC alumnus Corey Dickerson, in camp with Colorado, is 1-for-5 with a homer. … Ex-UM star Zack Cozart hit into a triple play for Cincinnati on Thursday. … MSU alum Paul Maholm had a rough start for Atlanta, yielding five runs in 2 2/3 innings. … Evan Gattis, a 2012 Mississippi Braves catcher/outfielder, is batting .462 for the big club as a non-roster invitee.