Support your hometown high school sports team because these players and coaches put forth a lot of effort and hard work to be the best they can be and by going to their games you show them that you appreciate their efforts. If you want to have an added incentive, go to the game to see if you can find a prospect I can put on this page. I want your input to make this page the best it can be.
| 1997 | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Jan |
02/26/98 - In state tourney activity Tuesday night the Rosedale-based West Bolivar Eagles (WB) moved to 35-0 with a 65-42, bench-clearing win over Kossuth. WB lead 35-10 at halftime and unloaded it's bench by game's end. Travarus Bennett and Marerllis Nix (guard) combined for multiple dunks and 28 points in limited playing time.
Latoya Thomas had 32 last night as Greenville (GHS) defeated Columbus. LATOYA RETURNS TO STARKVILLE! (after previous summer camping experiences there).
Indianola Gentry got 15 from Derrick Bush, 14 from Milas Randle and 11 from super-guard Quintarrius Hodges. The Rams had to overcome a 24-23 halftime deficit to win the contest.
Lucy Seaberry's Cleveland East Side team, ranked in the AP Top 10 all season, got a double-double for the umpteeth time this season from 6-5 center Amie Williams in Monday night's win.
Cleveland East Side, Greenville HS, West Bolivar and Indianola Gentry will move on to their respective North State Final Four's this weekend. The 5A boys' final four is in Indianola, the 5A girls' event is in Starkville. West Bolivar will be at New Albany for it's 3A Final Four.
West Bolivar and Gentry are the only undefeated boys teams in the state.
02/26/98 - New Hope defeated Mooreville Monday night 10-0. Shane Bazzell worked four innings giving up one hit and striking out 11. Brad Montgomery went 2 for 2 with his first home run of the season. Josh Buckley and Carey Upton also had two hits each for New Hope. New Hope plays at Tupelo Friday night and then at Pontotoc and Ripley on Saturday.
02/25/98 - Here is the latest Noxapater update: Noxapater. defeated Union (2a) 11-6 Saturday. Jeremy Woods (1-0) got the win, Brent Mcadory and Justin Yates hit home runs. In the second game, Andy Young pitched a 2-hitter and struck out 13 (1-0). Young had 3 hits in that game, as well as going 4-6 (3 doubles, 2 sac's and 7 RBI) for the doubleheader. Judd Sanborn (ss-c) had 2 hits in a 10-0 win over Clarksdale (1a). in the 1st game. Yates, Mcadory, and Donnie Boatner had 2 hits each. Noxapater plays Ackerman today.
If anyone else wants to spread the word about players from your favorite Mississippi HS baseball team, email me. It's a great way to help spread the word about players at your school. That's what I'm here for. Use my page for the benefit of these Mississippi kids.
02/24/98 - Although everyone in Mississippi high school baseball knows about the tremendous home run power of West Point's Derry Hammond, there is another power hitter in Mississippi who may be even more powerful, Josh Christian of Clinton HS. Josh is not only a great baseball player but an outstanding student as well, with a very high ACT test score. Look for this young man to get looks from a lot of D-I colleges before the season is over.
You want an example of Josh's power?
Josh hit a long home run against Cleveland H.S. Saturday that wasn't JUST a home run. It went over the left field lightpole at Clinton H.S.'s new field and it was still rising after it passed the light standard. He also hit a line-drive HR about 10 feet to the left of the centerfielder that was out of the park before he could take four steps out of the batters box. Obviously the injury that kept him out of baseball last spring is completely healed. Look for him to hit 20 or more HRs this year if the opposition will pitch to him.
02/24/98 - Katherine Gantz is not the only athlete in the Gantz family; her sister Julia was selected to play in the Academy Girl's All-Star Basketball game which we be played March 7th. Julia is also a good tennis player and throws the shot and discus in track.
02/24/98 - Noxapater's outstanding pitcher Andy Young struck out 13 while pitching a 2-hitter this past weekend. I'll have the full story tomorrow.
02/23/98 - Here is Mr. Baseball's Top 15 Mississippi HS baseball players (Alphabetical order)
(* means they have a solid chance of being drafted during the June Major League Amateur Draft):
02/22/98 - Thanks to my Mississippi High School baseball expert (he will go by the name of Mr. Baseball), I will be posting his Finest Fifteen Mississippi HS baseball players on my page Monday. Check it our tomorrow!
02/22/98 - New Hope defeated Caledonia 8-3 in a very sloppy game in which New Hope committed three errors and Caledonia eight. Dandy Dozen Shane Bazzell's two out double in the fifth gave New Hope a 4-3 lead. New Hope expanded the lead in the sixth with a pair of two-run singles by Brad Montgomery and Justin Hallmark.
02/22/98 - Greenville defeated Vicksburg Friday night 64-49. The two best girl's players in the state squared off again for the fourth time. Latoya Thomas of Greenville scored 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocked shots while Vicksburg's Frierson scored 21 points,16 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. They are both about 6-1 and juniors. Among the college recruiters at the game were Georgia and Louisiana Tech. Over the four games the two have very equal numbers. Greenville is arguably the best team in Mississippi. Of note, Thomas has a better supporting cast and can't be double-teamed as Frierson has been all year.
02/21/98 - Here is The Clarion-Ledger's 1998 Dandy Dozen Mississippi HS Baseball Players (Alphabetical Order):
02/21/98 - Results from the Lowndes Co. Tournament Friday night.
Caledonia scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Columbus 6 - 5 in the first game of the night. In the second game, Brad Montgomery went 4-4 and drove in 3 runs and Shane Bazzell struck out 13 in tossing a no-hitter as New Hope defeated West Lowndes 10-0.
Saturday, Columbus and West Lowndes play the first game at 12:00 and New Hope and Caledonia play the second game at 3:00.
02/20/98 - Important American Legion Announcement:
Sunday, Feb. 22. at 1:30 P.M. in the Field House at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS the Central Mississippi American Legion Districts will register teams (not players) (ages 15-16) and (ages 17-18) for the upcoming 1998 Summer season. Registration is $50 per team. Team Managers and Coaches should attend this important organizational meeting. The new State Director: Steve Fleming of Tupelo will be presiding over the meeting and Coaches should come prepared to schedule games for the upcoming summer. State and National Rule Books and Registration forms will be distributed at this meeting. For more information Coaches can call either Steve Fleming at 841-0758 or Harry Porter at 924-1337.
02/20/98 - How popular is Picayune's Jonathan Bender with the college recruiters, you ask? According to a source of mine, he gets about twice as much mail as Picayune High School.
02/20/98 - A girl's team to watch in the Academy playoffs is Leake Academy. Leake has defeated Marshall, Pillow and Jackson Academy.
02/20/98 - Junior phenom Latoya Thomas, of Greenville HS, scored 31 points in a 30-point rout of Indianola Gentry Tuesday night. Thomas has been looked at by numerous college coaches this season. Tennessee's Pat Summitt and/or her assistant coaches have been regular visitors to many of Greenville's games. Latoya, along with several of her teammates, have committed to attending Summitt's Summer Camp.
If you are interested in seeing Thomas play, Greenville plays Vicksburg in the girls' 3-5A final at Vicksburg Friday night while in the boys' game, Gentry meets Greenville. If any of you can make it, email me your player observations.
02/20/98 - West Union advanced to the finals of the Division 2-1A tournament with a 60-47 win over Myrthle. The 30-3 Lady Eagles were led by Jill Goolsby with 22 points.
02/19/98 - Byhalia HS (28-1 on the season) has two very good basketball players who are putting up some very impressive numbers:
02/17/98 - Megan Teel scored 28 points in the Academy North AAA tournament's championship game in a win over Oak Hill ... Katherine Gantz scored 26 in Indianola's consolation game win over Carroll. Both Teel and Gantz were named to the All-Tournament team.
02/17/98 - Friday night, in a win over Coffeeville, Hatley's Jessica Dunlap scored a team high 29 pts. in the last home game.
02/15/98 - Sophomore point guard Robert Ivy, of Northeast Lauderdale HS, is averaging 15 ppg, 8 rpg and 4 steals per game.
02/13/98 - Talking about a sleeper candidate: Leon Crawford, a 6-6 senior basketball player from Ashland HS is averaging 27 ppg, 6 rpg and is improving each game. He is hitting 80% of his free throws, 56% from 2-pt range and 38% of his 3-pointers. My source saw Leon score 54 points against Pontotoc HS. Not only is Leon a great basketball player, he is also a good student with an excellent grade point average.
02/13/98 - Indianola Academy's Katherine Gantz scored 30 points (3rd straight 30 or more pts game) against Grenada Kirk Wednesday night. Remember, this young lady is only a junior.
02/12/98 - Here is an outstanding New Hope HS baseball preseason review by a well informed fan of New Hope. If any of you want to do a review of any other Mississippi HS baseball team, email it to me and I'll post it on my page:
New Hope graduated fourteen players from last year's team. This year's team has only three players with substantial varsity experience. The team will be led by three seniors. On the mound, senior Shane Bazzell has a 15-1 Career record with a 1.13 ERA. He throws consistantly between 87-90 mphs. He has 146 K's in his 92.3 innings pitched. Last year, as a junior, Shane was 12-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 110 strikeouts.
Offensively New Hope will be led by senior Brad Montgomery. Brad has started every game of his sophomore and junior years. In 1997 he led New Hope in batting average (.446), Homeruns (10) and in RBI's (53). His career stats are .403, 15 HR's, and 94 RBI's. Brad has been All District for two years.
The other returning starter is Carey Upton, who played second base last year and will play shortstop this year. Last year, as a junior, Carey hit .368 with 3 HR's and 19 RBI's.
These three players will be the core of the team. The rest of the team will be made up of players from New Hope's Junior Legion Team that finished second in the State last summer.
02/12/98 - Last week in a rout over Hamilton, Hatley's Jessica Dunlap had 23 pts in the win. She didn't play in the second half.
02/10/98 - Kathering Gantz scored 32 points (her 2nd consecutive 30+ game) Friday night in a win over Prairie View (Bastrop, LA.). Indianola Academy is now 24-3 on the year.
02/10/98 - I was informed there is a player at Aberdeen HS that should have been included on my Top 30 Seniors-to-be list. His name is Nate Hodges and he is a 6-2, 245-lb fullback. My source told me Nate is very physical and intense on the field. My source goes on to say Nate is one of those players who never stops moving his feet and always gives that extra effort.
02/07/98 - Did you know Pascagoula HS junior football player Hunter Higdon's dad signed with Auburn out of high school and his mother is related to the Ole Miss Khyatt's? Hunter is a 4.0 student who could wind up in the SEC or the Ivy League.
02/04/98 - Moss Point running back Francisco Kelly will not be offered a scholarship by Auburn due to his academic situation.
02/04/98 - According to The Commercial Dispatch (Columbus, MS), the following players will sign with various colleges:
02/04/98 - Here are several players from Pascagoula and the surrounding area who will be signing with four year schools today:
02/04/98 - Saw this in The Clarion-Ledger yesterday: Picayune's Jonathan Bender earned one of two Top Performers of the week awards with an average of 31 ppg, 16.5 rpg and 6.5 bpg. For the season, he is averaging 21 ppg, 14 rpg and 5 bpg.
Looks like Jonathan is on a big-time streak because he scored 31 points, with 14 rebounds and 12 blocks Monday night against Oak Grove. More than half of his points were from outside of the paint. According to my source, he has great touch and excellent ballhandling skills.
02/04/98 - Katherine Gantz, of Indianola Academy, scored 35 points in a 63- 53 loss to (Greenwood) Pillow Academy Monday night. Pillow Academy's Laura Baria scored 26 points for Pillow.
02/04/98 - High School baseball is right around the corner. A team to watch this year is Starkville Academy. SA won the North State last year and finished 3rd in 4-AAAA. They return all of their starters, including junior lefty Trey Wall. According to my source, Trey attended the LSU and MSU summer baseball camps this past summer, plus he has worked hard during the off-season working with the weights which has helped him increase the velocity of his fastball.
02/03/98 - Hatley's Jessica Dunlap scored 37 points in a win against South Pontotoc this weekend.
02/02/98 - It appears Tishomingo County HS baseball standout Robert Brown is not only good at baseball, but is a very good basketball player as well. On January 30th, Robert (6-0, 180) scored 24 points (5 of 6 from 3-point range) against Houston HS. BTW, Robert is averaging 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 7 apg. Get this: he is shooting 91% at the free throw line.
02/02/98 - There is a sophomore basketball player from Northeast Lauderdale HS who won a national basketball camp slam dunking contest this past summer? His name is Robert Ivy (6-4, point guard) and, according to my source, he has an amazing jump shot and is a tremendous dunker. If anyone else has seen him play, email me with your thoughts.
02/02/98 - Here are the names of several Mississippi HS baseball players you guys need to keep your eyes on this spring: