| 1997 | April |
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For those of you who are interested, Kevin would more than be happy to talk about basketball recruiting at your alumni association meeting, high school booster group meeting or any other kind of athletic type function. Just give him a call at the phone number listed on the MISSISSIPPI HOOPS homepage. I can tell you for a fact he loves to talk about recruiting and he knows all the inside info, because he talks to all the high school and junior college players.
03/30/97 - As luck would have it, I got to see the power hitting Derry Hammond play Saturday. His team, West Point, played Columbus in the afternoon and Caledonia in the evening. He went 2 for 5 with 2 walks (both intentional) and 1 home run, 370' shot at least. Two of his outs were line drive shots to the outfield. He plays left field and has a very good arm. His speed is a little above average based on the few times I saw him run. Look for big things from this junior.
A Caledonia player that continues to impress me is senior Neal Phillips. During the Caledonia-West Point game, which Caledonia won 8-6, he got two hits and two RBIs as well as the pitching victory. This kid is a player.
03/29/97 - There is a tremendous power hitting high school junior located in West Point, Mississippi by the name of Derry Hammond. How much of a power hitter is this kid, you ask? Well, during this past summer American Legion season, Darrie hit 19 homers in approximately 36 games. And folks, these were not 300' homers; this kid, who is 6-4, hits mammoth home runs. He is already being looked at by MLB scouts. My source, who saw most of the games, told me he knew Jackson State was interested, but wasn't sure which other colleges might be looking at Darrie.
03/28/97 - Well, another New Hope baseball pitcher has pitched a no-hitter. This time junior Shane Bazzell did it; no-hitting Houston of Germantown, Tennessee's baseball team. As you know from an earlier post, Jeff Hunter, of New Hope, pitched a perfect game against Caledonia last Saturday. Folks, they've got some kind of baseball team in New Hope. If you get a chance to go see them play, do so. I plan on watching them while on my vacation next week. In fact, I hope to see Caledonia and some other teams as well. There's a lot of very talented athletics in the surrounding area.
03/27/97 - Here's a pitcher/first baseman who we need to follow the next couple of years: Sophomore Trey Wall of Starkville Academy. He is 4-1, with two wins against top five ranked teams. He has a 2.13 ERA and is hitting .456 through 13 games. This kid sounds like he has a chance to be a good one. If anyone has seen him play, email me what you think.
03/23/97 - New Hope's Jeff Hunter pitched a perfect game, Saturday, against Caledonia. This guy is so good; great curve, fantastic control and tremendous pitching savvy. For the life of me, I can't understand why he did not receive a D-I offer.
03/23/97 - I just received the career stats for Caledonia HS 1st baseman/pitcher Chris Markham from a fan of the team. Chris, who throws and bats left-handed, has hit .415 from his freshman to junior years. In 244 at bats, he has 24 doubles, 5 home runs and 103 RBIs, while only striking out 22 times.
Other career highlights: He earned Tournament MVP honors at a Junior-Legion Tournament which included Mississippi State signees Josh West and Jim Abraham and Ole Miss signee Robert Shelton. He made the All-District team as a first baseman for District 1, Class 3-A. He played for the North Central team at the State Games the past two years, winning both gold and silver medals.
He is qualified. The schools that have shown interest in him are LSU, Ole Miss, Duke, Millsaps, University of West Alabama, Meridian CC, and Delta State. I've seen this kid play and I can tell you without any hesitation, he is a D-I prospect.
03/22/97 - Here's a junior baseball player that is going to a big-time prospect next year. Shane Bazzell, a right-handed pitcher from New Hope, struck out 20 Mooreville batters, allowed 2 hits, and walked 3. Scott Atwood and Brad Montgomery hit home runs for New Hope. It seems like every New Hope game I post on this page, Brad hits a home run in it. BTW, he is also a junior. Source: The Commercial Dispatch.
03/20/97 - Here's a player to watch for next year: Brad Meadows of Horn Lake. On March 10th, he pitched a one-hitter with 21 Ks in a 15-0 seven-inning victory over Alcorn Central. Brad is a 6-0, 190 junior right-hander. According to his coach, he throws in the 80s and has a good change-up and curveball. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
03/20/97 - Here's a bit of info. about Jeff Hunter,a Meridian CC signee from New Hope HS. He doesn't throw extremely hard, 84 MPH, but he has a good curve and changes speeds very well and has baseball smarts. He won his 21st game in a row Tuesday night against Kosciusko. A New Hope friend of mine said he changes speeds with the best of them. As an example, during one of the games against one of the teams they played in Hawaii, he struck out the top hitter on the Islands with a 64 MPH change-up after throwing an 84 MPH fastball.
03/20/97 - In the Kosciusko - New Hope game Tuesday night, one of the four hits Jeff Hunter allowed was a two-run home run to Sam Potts.
03/20/97 - Caledonia, which won its sixth game in a row Tuesday night, beat MSMS 16-2. Dynamite senior shortstop Neil Phillips led Caledonia with two doubles and two RBIs. Anthony Brown was the winning pitcher and is now 5-0. Source: The Commercial Dispatch
03/17/97 - New Hope junior Brad Montgomery had a great weekend; hitting 3 home runs in three games as well as collecting at least 8 RBIs. Source: The Commercial Dispatch
03/14/97 - I talked to a friend of mine that went to Hawaii with the New Hope baseball team. He talked to a MLB scout while watching Shane Bazzell pitch for New Hope. The scout's JUGS gun was clocking Shane at 88-89 during the first few innings, then 83-84 in the third, then back up to 88-89 during the 4th and 5th innings. Remember, Shane is only a junior. Think about how hard he will be throwing next year. Yes, Miss State is recruiting him, as well as all the other major colleges in the Southeast.
03/13/97 - I talked to Kevin Henderson Wednesday night. He told me to watch out for a kid named Jonathan Bender. According to Kevin, Jonathan, a sophomore at Picayune, has a great chance to be one of the best offensive big men to ever come out of Mississippi. Kevin, who expects Jonathan to be 7-0 tall by the time he is a senior, said this guy has a chance to be an unbelievable talent once he adds bulk and strength.
03/12/97 - I have mentioned this player before, but not after such a spectacular performance. In two games Monday, Chris Markham, a lefthanded hitting first baseman from Caledonia HS, had 1 single, 3 doubles and a grand slam home run as well as 9 RBIs. Caledonia shortstop, Neil Phillips went 2 for 3 in one of the games. Source: The Commercial Dispatch
03/11/97 - Blake Holly continues to prove how great of a player he is. As of now, Miss State has not shown much interest; however, Mississippi College would love to sign this guy for baseball and basketball.
Blake, proving he is a great pitcher by pitching his 4th career no-hitter against Muscle Shoars, AL, is also hitting above .400 for the year. Blake is 2-0 for Tishomingo County, which is 6-0 for the year.
03/10/97 - New Hope's winning streak came to a halt 3-0, in Saturday night's championship game. They advanced to the championship round by defeating Mid Pacific, Hawaii, 21-10. All Mississippians are proud of you guys.
03/09/97 - Kosciusko catcher Sam Potts had 3 hits, including a double, in Kosciusko's 9-2 victory over Noxubee Co. I talked to a MLB scout about Sam at the Friday night baseball game. I hope he will go see this kid play. If none of the colleges are going to sign Sam, I might as well put the scouts on him.
03/09/97 - How good is the team from New Hope, Mississippi? Well, Thursday night, during their trip to Hawaii, they beat Punahoe, Hawaii's ace and Stanford signee, Justin Wayne, 1-0 on New Hope ace Jeff Hunter's 2-hitter. With this victory, New Hope is now 7-0 on the season and have now won 50 straight games. The national record for consecutive wins is 68. The only RBI of the game was provided by junior Brad Montgomery. This guy is a player to watch. You guys would be surprised at how much talent this New Hope team has. I am proud to say the only team that has come close to beating them is my very own hometown baseball team Caledonia. Game info: The Clarion-Ledger
03/07/97 - Another D-I prospect from Caledonia to watch for is Anthony Brown, a pitcher/infielder who has batted .343 for his career. He has started since his freshman year. He has also won 17 games during this same period.
03/07/97 - I had so much to post for Thursday, I had to wait until today to post this. In Wednesday's Hamilton - Caledonia game, Miss State signee Josh West pitched; allowing 4 hits, 5 walks, 3 runs and recording 9 Ks. A player I have mentioned earlier, Caledonia shortstop Neil Phillips had one of the hits, a double, against West. I tell you what folks, a lot of teams are missing the boat by not signing this kid. He is really playing well.
03/06/97 - Here's the latest update on Kosciusko catcher Sam Potts. I will quote the writer, since he did such an outstanding job: "After a week layoff because of rain, the Whippets returned to the diamond Tuesday with a 7 to 4 victory over the Louisville Wildcats. Sam Potts, the outstanding Kosy catcher, continued to shine with his bat and his arm. He went 1 for 2 with 1 RBI, 2 walks and 1 line drive shot which was run down by the left fielder. He gunned down a runner trying to steal third base by 10 feet. It wasn't even close. The man has a gun for an arm."
03/06/97 - Here's a quote from someone who saw 6-3 junior guard David Sanders of Provine play the other day: "I really was impressed with David. He isn't real big as far as weight goes, but he showed quickness. One of the things that impressed me the most was his leadership. He doesn't appear to be a vocal leader, but he leads by example. He plays under control at all times; he has good touch; tremendous explosiveness to the basket; excellent free throw shooter; and maybe his best attribute is his court awareness. I honestly believe that he has a bright future somewhere."
03/04/97 - Here's what someone emailed me about Matthew Roebuck. (He) "is 6-9 and still growing. He will need to hit the weights to beef up a little. He's a player that can be as good as he wants to be. His stats are strong. He needs some better competition to sell himself to recruiters."
03/04/97 - I went to my first Caledonia High School baseball game Monday night. They played West Lowndes. They were leading 5-0 when I had to leave to come home and update my page. Here are a few of my observations:
03/04/97 - I also found out that New Hope HS pitcher Shane Bazzell throws in the 86-87 MPH range. Since he is tall, 6-3, and lanky, he has very good potential to throw even harder. He is already getting some major looks from some big-time colleges, including Miss State. Look for this kid to be one of the best in the state next year.
03/03/97 - Here's a basketball player we need to follow the next two years: 6-9 sophomore Matthew Roebuck of Newton County Academy. If any of you had a chance to see him play in the recent Academy Overall Tournament, tell me what you thought about him.
03/02/97 - Source: The Commercial Dispatch: As some of you may know, New Hope High School did not lose a game last year; setting a Mississippi high school record in wins. Well, they have played 5 games this year and have won all five.
Yesterday, they defeated Starkville 13-2 and Pontotoc 11-0.
The winning pitcher for New Hope in the first game was The Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen pitcher Jeff Hunter, who is 2-0 on the young season. Junior designated hitter Brad Montgomery, a baseball player to watch for next year, had a two-run home run in the third inning. Ole Miss signee Robert Shelton had a double and single.
In the second game, New Hope pitcher Shane Bazzell, 3-0 on the season, scattered 7 hits and had 12 strikeouts. He now has 27 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched this season.
03/02/97 - New Hope pitcher Jeff Hunter signed a scholarship with Meridian CC this past Thursday. As you know, he is a member of The Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen. His life-long dream is to play for Miss State. He is hoping he will be able to improve his pitching enough to sign a scholarship with Miss State once he graduates from Meridian CC.
03/01/97 - It appears Columbus Heritage's Chad Ferraez is known by more than me. I received a phone call Thursday morning from a former high school coach who has seen Chad play a couple of times and he said Chad is a Paul Lacoste in the making. In the games the former coach saw, Chad did not dominate, but showed flashes of the player he could be. In the former coach's opinion, if Chad would go to East Miss CC and play under the watchful eye of former Bulldog Tom Goode, he could become a D-I propspect. I'll keep you guys infomed as I hear more about Chad.
03/01/97 - Here are the stats for Caledonia HS shortstop Neil Phillips:
Games - 4
At Bats - 12
Runs - 4
Hits - 5
HRs - 0
RBIs - 2
BA - .417
Ks - 2
BBs - 3
On Base % - .600