| 1996 | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | January | February |
Brian Wiese, who has now won 5 games, had his best performance of the year, throwing 6 innings, while allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run and 7 Ks. Van Johnson, who earned his 5th save, pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 earned run, 1 hit, 4 Ks and no walks.
There were several hitting stars Sunday: Adam Piatt - 2 hits, 1 RBI; freshman Brian Terry - 2 hits, 1 RBI (watch this freshman, he is going to be a great hitter); Richard Lee - 2 hits, 1 RBI and Brooks Bryan - 2 hits.
For the second time in the Georgia series, Miss State did not commit an error. In fact, they only committed 1 error during the entire 3 game series.
The Bulldogs, who have won 13 of their last 15, are now 20-7 and 7-5 in the SEC. Miss State plays Jackson State in Jackson Monday night. If you have a chance go out and watch them play.
03/30/97 - He crushes 90 MPH flying missles with a small metal object. He catches speeding bullets with one hand while flying through the air. Superman you say? Noooo, it's Travis Chapman, Superfreshman.
If any of you saw him play Saturday, you know what I mean. This kid is unreal. During the Bulldogs 14-9 victory over Georgia Saturday, Travis got three hits with three RBIs. Then he made a highlight film catch to rob one of the Georgia players of a sure double. This guy has a chance to be as special as Rafael Palmeiro and Will Clark were before his Bulldog career is over. I've seen all three play and he can be as good as them if he continues to improve.
Before you guys think this was a one man show, here are the other Bulldog hitting stars for Saturday's game: Brooks Bryan had 2 doubles, 1 home run and 2 RBIs, Richard Lee had 4 hits and 1 RBI, and every other player in the lineup had at least 1 hit. It was an across the board hitting day Saturday against a very good right-handed pitcher.
The defense played well again. In fact, there were at least 3 other outstanding plays, besides Travis', made by Damian Scioneaux, Mark Power and Matt Peeples.
Eric DuBose pitched adequate and Hank Thoms, except for one pitch, pitched very well, striking out 6 in 4 innings, while allowing 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 earned runs, all 3 in one inning when he gave up a home run.
Right now, Miss State is playing as well as anyone in the SEC, with the possible exception of Auburn. And we may be even with them over the last 14 games. The Dawgs are now 19-7 and 6-5 in the SEC. We are still 4 games behind LSU, but they have to play us at DNF. And the way we are playing right now, I pity the poor fellows.
03/29/97 - Miss State beat Georgia, 19-8, Friday night, their 11th victory in their last 13 games. Barry Patton had an outstanding night Friday, knocking in 5 runs with his 3 hits. This guy just keeps getting better and better. There were many other hitting heroes as well: Travis Chapman - 3 hits, Damian Scioneaux - 3 hits, Matt Peeples - 2 hits, Richard Lee - 2 hits. The winning pitcher was Chris Reinike, who is now 1-1. Keith Dilgard, who pitched very well at times, kept the Bulldogs in the game for the first several innings until the bats came to life. A couple of Bulldogs, Eric DuBose and Adam Piatt, did not play tonight due to minor injuries. Both are expected to play Saturday.
The Bulldogs, now 18-7 on the season (5-5 in the SEC), are on a roll right now due to great clutch hitting and fair defense. The pitching is still not where we want it to be, but, hopefully, it will improve. Today's game will be televised by Sports South at 2:00 p.m. CST.
03/27/97 - Miss State was a 7-3 victor in the Mayor's Trophy Game Wednesday night. There were many hitting heroes: Adam Piatt had three hits, including a massive home run; Richard Lee had 3 hits, including a home run, and 4 RBIs; Brad Freeman also had 3 hits; and Brooks Bryan had two hits, with an RBI. The Bulldogs played errorless baseball. Van Johnson continued to pitch extremely well, coming in in the 6th inning with two outs and finishing the game, not allowing a baserunner and striking out two.
The Diamond Dawgs, who are now 17-7, travel to Georgia for a 3 game SEC weekend.
03/26/97 - The Miss State and Jackson State game was postponed because of rain. It has been rescheduled for March 31st at 7:00 p.m.
03/24/97 - Miss State beat South Carolina 11-8 Sunday. Adam Piatt was one of the hitting stars with two 2-run singles. Freshman Travis Chapman had a 2-run double in the 7th, when the Bulldogs scored six times to put the game away. Freshman Kevin Donovan got the victory to go 2-0 for the season and Van Johnson came in to get the save. Van has really been pitching well this year, so well, in fact, that he is now considered our closer.
Miss State is now 16-7, 4-5 in the SEC. Miss State plays Jackson State Tuesday night in Jackson and Ole Miss Wednesday in the Mayor's Trophy Game.
03/24/97 - I just received the High School Baseball USA magazine. Miss State had four of their high school signees listed in the Top 150: #55 Aaron Capista - 6-2, 180, SS, Potential 2nd or 3rd round pick; #113 Phil Willingham - 3B, 6-0, 190, Oustanding speed, steady third baseman, above-average offensive player; #137 Jason Burkley - 6-2, 200, Third baseman who can flat-out hit for power (24 extra-base hits last year in 99 at-bats); #144 Josh West - RHP, 6-1, 185, A pitcher who has hit the magical 90 mph mark. He could be a top-10 round pick if he continues to improve.
Other players of note: #7 Donnie Bridges - RHP from Oak Grove HS, Hattiesburg, Miss., Has one of the highest ratings in the country by the Major League Scouting Bureau. Signed with Alabama. #39 Ronte Langs - Memphis, Tn., OF, 6-2, 180, Ole Miss Signee who has a shot at being a top three to five-round draft pick. #117 Blair Varnes - Pascagoula, Ms., RHP, 6-1, 180, Throws in the upper 80s. Signed with Florida State. #139 Tootie Myers - Petal, Ms., OF, 5-11, 165, Southern Miss football signee.
Based on past experience, anyone rated 100 or below usually winds up in college. Almost all of the players rated in the top 60 go pro. Players in the 61-99 range is anyone's guess. Of course, there are always exceptions, but that is what I remember from keeping up with the draft in the past.
03/23/97 - In extra innings Saturday, Miss State lost 8-5 to South Carolina. South Carolina hit two home runs off Chris Reinike in the top of the tenth to win the game. Chris had relieved Keith Dilgard, who had pitched very well until the 5th, when he ran into trouble by allowing a 2-run home run, then allowing two more runs after an error allowed the inning to continue. Chris also pitched well until the 10th. The hitting stars of the game were Barry Patton, Brooks Bryan and Richard Lee. Richard and Travis Chapman both made outstanding defensive plays during the game.
Miss State's Brian Wiese, who is a hard thrower, will have to locate his pitches Sunday against a very good fastball hitting South Carolina team. South Carolina's pitcher, who also plays football, doesn't have very good stats, so, hopefully, we will score more runs today. See you at the game.
03/22/97 - Miss State, in a thrilling come from behind victory, beat South Carolina 6-3 Friday night. Van Johnson pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs and 7 Ks. Van looked very good tonight. Travis Chapman continues to hit the ball, getting 2 hits. Richard Lee knocked in two more runs tonight. Eric DuBose didn't have his best stuff, throwing only 85-87 MPH on his fastball. He was also wild. This may have been due to a blister on his throwing hand, which caused him to leave after 6 1/3 innings.
There were 2,722 fans at the game tonight. It was a really great game: We came back from a deficit; played good defense, for the most part; got some clutch hits; the pitching was good; and the crowd was vocal (shades of past Dudy Noble crowds). All in all, it was a great win. Now, let's win two more. See you guys there tomorrow.
03/21/97 - Miss State beat William Carey, 12-4, Thursday. Kevin Donovan was the winning pitcher, pitching 4 innings of no-hit ball. He walked 2 and struck out 7, allowing 1 unearned run. There were many hitting stars today: Rob Hauswald, Adam Piatt, Travis Chapman, Ryan McGrath, Damian Scioneaux, and Brooks Bryan all had multiple hit games. Piatt and Dabbs each hit a home run.
Miss State is now 14-6 going into this home SEC weekend series against South Carolina starting Firday night at 7:00 p.m. South Carolina is batting .378 as a team with 54 home runs. Coach Polk said they are bascially the same team as last year, and, if you remember, we won one of three at South Carolina last year. He said South Carolina has only played two road games and their coach said they haven't faced much quality pitching except for Auburn and Ole Miss, according to their coach. Rolk said DuBose, Dilgard and Wiese will start for the Bulldogs. See you guys at the game.
03/20/97 - Miss State won a double header against Northeast Louisiana Wednesday, 8-5 and 7-1. Jeremy Jackson won the first game and is now 3-1. Brian Wiese won the second game and now stands at 4-2 for the season. Freshman Travis Chapman, one of the best freshmen hitters I have ever seen, hit two home runs in the first game. His two dingers were into the wind. Richard Lee hit a two-run home run, his 6th, in the second game. Van Johnson got his first save this year in the first game.
The Bulldogs play William Carey Thursday beginning at 3:00 p.m.
03/19/97 - Hot off the presses: Next week's Mayor's Trophy Game will, more than likely, be televised by Fox SportsSouth.
03/19/97 - Due to the threat of rain Tuesday, Miss State re-scheduled their double header with Northeast Louisiana for today. The games will run consecutively beginning at 2:00 p.m. There will be a 9 inning game and a 7 inning game. The William Carey game that was scheduled for Wednesday has been moved to a 3:00 p.m. Thursday. If you are unsure of whether a game is going to be played, call the Miss State Sports Hotline at (601) 325-3861. I now have the hotline number listed at the top of each of my Miss State Skuttle-Butt pages as well as on the front page.
03/18/97 - If you want to read a nice article about our very own Eric DuBose go to Baseball Weekly Sports. If it won't download, go into http://www.usatoday.com and look in sports. It is in the Baseball Weekly Section of USA Today.
03/18/97 - I read this in the latest issue of Baseball America.They had a list of the top home run duos of all time and none other than Rafael Palmeiro was on the list in 10th place with Brady Anderson. They hit a combined total of 89 home runs, putting them 26 behind the leaders who were Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. They were only 4 home runs from being in 3rd place. Congrats Raffy, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
03/17/97 - If any of you have access to it, I would like the season to date stats for each of our baseball signees. If you forgot who our signees are, go to MSU Baseball Signees.
03/17/97 - Sunday, the Bulldogs lost 14-10 to Kentucky. There were some bright spots: Brad Freeman was back in the lineup and hit two 3-run home runs; Van Johnson pitched well in middle relief for about 4 innings before tiring. There were also some negative notes: The other pitchers, Jeremy Jackson, Chris Reinike and Brian Wiese did not have good days.
Overall, winning two out of three was as much as we could have hoped for, realistically. With the two victories on the road against Memphis and the two victories against Kentucky, Miss State won four of five games on the road this past week. Miss State now has a 4-3 road record and will be coming home for 3 mid-week games and a 3 game SEC series next weekend.
03/17/97 - The skuttle-butt is: Travis Chapman has been playing so well since taking over for the injured Brad Freeman, he may be moved to second base when Brad comes back and Rob Hauswald will be moved to the DH spot. Coach Polk, supposedly, hinted at this on his Saturday post-game show.
03/16/97 - Yesterday, Miss State won 14-4 over Kentucky. Richard Lee had two home runs, his 4th and 5th. Hank Thoms hit his 1st in the 9th. Other hitting stars were; Travis Chapman, 3 hits; Barry Patton, and Adam Piatt with 2 hits each.
Keith Dilgard, who is now 3-0, pitched 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 Ks, 1 walk and 3 unearned runs.
Miss State continues to improve as they get deeper into the season. The hitting has really come around and the pitching is also looking better. The defense is still lacking, but, hopefully, that will improve as the season progresses. We are now 11-5, 2-3 in the SEC.
03/15/97 - Miss State, in a comeback victory over Kentucky's ace, Scott Downs, won 6-5. Eric DuBose didn't have his best stuff, but he pitched well enough to win. His record now stands at 2-2 for this young season. Brian Wiese lead the comeback with a two run base hit in the eighth inning. Travis Chapman, starting for the injured Brad Freeman, had two hits, as did Rob Hauswald.. There was some great clutch hitting by the Bulldogs against one of the SEC's best.
03/15/97 - In the whatever happened to him category. For the last two years, Pete Young has been coaching at Starkville Academy.
03/14/97 - For those of you who didn't know it, Dustin Dabbs and Brad Freeman have minor injuries that kept them out of the lineup against Memphis Tuesday and Wednesday. They are both expected back for the Kentucky series.
Speaking of the Kentucky series; look for a tremendous pitchers' duel Friday night, with Miss State's Eric DuBose and Kentucky's Scott Downs on the mound.
03/12/97 - Miss State's Brian Wiese won his 3rd game today, defeating Memphis 5-4. He pitched 4 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 Ks and 1 unearned run. Getting Miss State first save of the year, Chris Reinike pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 4, and walking 1. Once Chris gets a little more game action under his belt, look for this guy to be the closer this year. After filling the bases in the ninth, he struck out the last two batters with a 90+ MPH fastball. This was only the third time for Chris to pitch this season because of a minor arm problem.
Since we only got 4 hits today, suffice it to say there weren't many hitting stars. Adam Piatt hit two doubles while Rob Hauswald and Richard Lee knocked in two of the runs. Rob's was on a ground ball out and Lee's was via a base hit. Memphis' pitcher, Chris Harvell, is a very good pitcher but we took advantage of early inning control problems to get enough runs to hold off Memphis' rally the last few innings.
The positives were the pitching of Wiese and Reinike and the hitting of Piatt and Lee, plus we only made one error. Let's hope we are about to start a long winning streak.
03/12/97 - Brandon HS's Brent Walker, a Miss State signee, had 2 hits, one a home run, in Brandon's 7-5 victory over Natchez yesterday. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
03/11/97 - Miss State beat Memphis 14-6 today. Jeremy Jackson, who won the game, advanced his record to 2-1 with a 2-hit, no-run, 4-inning performance. Freshmen Matt Ginter and Kevin Donovan pitched after Jeremy, but both got hit pretty hard. Eric DuBose came in and set the Memphis Tigers down for the last 2 2/3 innings, striking out 5 and allowing 1 hit.
The Bulldogs had 16 hits, stranded 7 runners and committed 1 error. There were many hitting heroes; Adam Piatt went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Mark Power went 4 for 4, Travis Chapman had a 2 for 4 day with 1 RBI, Will Clark's brother Scott Clark went 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run, Matt Peeples went 1 for 1 with a RBI and a walk, Richard Lee went 2 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBIs, Brooks Bryan had 1 hit but he continued to hit line drive outs.
Even though he got hit hard in his third inning of work, Polk said Matt Ginter was pitching well until he walked a couple of batters, causing him to lose a little of his confidence. In fact, he did have 3 Ks and had allowed only 2 hits in his first two innings. Coach Polk also said Travis Chapman is going to be a fine player at Miss State. He mentioned that Travis lead the team during fall drills in production hitting. I'm not sure how to explain it other than to say he was the best at putting the ball on the bat and making something happen once he hit it.
This was a good game for the Dawgs; plenty of clutch hitting, good fielding, and, for the most part, quality pitching. It sure was nice to see Jackson have a good game. We're going to need a confident Jeremy Jackson for the SEC weekends. Maybe, this will get the Bulldogs headed in the right direction. BTW, Brian Wiese, Van Johnson, Chris Reinike and Brett Wheeler will be the pitchers we will be using Wednesday, according to Coach Polk. Memphis will throw their ace, who tried out for the USA team but didn't quite make it. Polk said he throws in the 92-93 range. Sorry, I don't remember his name.
03/11/97 - Here's the lastest on MSU signee Ricky Lambert. Ricky pitched a no-hitter against New Albany Saturday night. He is also hitting over .400 for the year. Along with his outstanding teammate, Blake Holly, Tishomingo County HS. has two of the best players in the state. Look for this team to go a long way this year. They are 6-0 as of now. Ricky has won 3 games and Blake 2.
03/10/97 - Miss State signee Enrico Jones, of Pascagoula, had 2 hits in a 7-1 victory over Forrest Co. AHS.
03/10/97 - Ryan Carroll, a Miss State signee from Picayune, threw a 1-hitter against Bay St. Louis. He also had 3 of Picayune's 7 hits. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
03/09/97 - Miss State lost once again, 15-10, to Florida. The negatives I saw were poor fielding and, for the most part, pitching. I know for a fact, Keith Dilgard has good stuff, so I have to chalk his performance up to not having his good stuff. It happens. Van Johnson was good for a few outs, which is what I expect from him. He is the type guy that should only have to pitch an inning or two and then you bring in your closer. Chris Reinike, with a few more innings under his belt, will be a very good pitcher for us. He is just now coming back from a minor injury so he was rusty today. Miss State did show today the hitting potential this team has. Adam Piatt went 5-5, with 2 homers and 4 RBIs; Mark Power went 2-5; and Richard Lee hit a homer. Rob Hauswald continues to come back from his fall accident, by continuing to hit the ball hard. They don't always fall in, but he is making good contact. Barry Patton is a very good defensive catcher with an outstanding college arm and is a very solid hitter. Mark my words, this guy has a chance to be an All-SEC catcher if the selecting committee considers defense as well as hitting. He can be one of the best catchers Miss State has ever had, defensively.
If I disappointed we lost? Sure I am. Do I believe this team can still be an outstanding team? Sure I do. Once they win a few games against quality opponents, and build up their confidence, they will be on their way to having a great season and, hopefully, hosting an NCAA Regional Tournament. How I enjoyed those days when we hosted one every year. There's nothing like a baseball tournament at DNF.
I continued to meet more of the Bulldog family, literally, today. I met Brian Terry's mother, Jackie, and Matt Peeples' dad, Mike. Our baseball players sure have some nice people as parents. It goes to show you, Ron Polk knows how to recruit boys from good families. He always has and always will.
03/09/97 - In one of the poorest performances I have seen in a while, Miss State lost, 14-2, to Florida Saturday. It seemed like the entire team played bad. There was no clutch hitting, fielding or pitching. Brian Wiese started and pitched OK at times, but didn't get much help in the field or at bat. Freshman pitcher Matt Ginter, who is going to be an outstanding pitcher for Miss State, got roughed up in his first SEC appearance, allowing 5 runs in one inning. He also recorded 2 Ks.
Hopefully, Keith Dilgard can salvage one game for Miss State Sunday.
All is not bad though. Florida coach Andy Lopez told coach Ron Polk after the game, he was happy his team played Miss State early in the season because he believes we will be much better with a few more games under our belts. He said his team was playing much like us early in the season but got untracked recently.
As a side note, I met several of our Diamond Dawgs' parents: Rob Hauswald's parents, Adam Piatt's mother and Travis Chapman's father. If their sons are as nice as they are, we have got some great kids on our team. I hope, if any of you other Bulldog fans got to meet any of these wonderful people, you gave them a big Bulldog welcome. They were nice enough to put their sons in our coaches hands, so we need to show them we support their boys 100% and that we are proud their boys chose Miss State.
03/08/97 - I talked with a major league baseball scout Friday night while at the game. Here are a few of his comments about some of our baseball signees and other college items:
03/08/97 - There were at least 10 -12 scouts at the game Friday night. Most of them had their guns on Eric DuBose, who was clocked at 88-92.
03/08/97 - Miss State lost to Florida Friday night 4-2. Eric DuBose, who pitched a very good game, 12 Ks in 6 innings, 2 earned runs, was the loser. Our defense and lack of clutch hitting did us in. Even though we got 12 hits, the clutch hits weren't there. Florida got those hits and made some great defensive plays. We'll just have to come out and play better Saturday. BTW, we had a nice Friday night crowd, 2,943.
03/07/97 - I hope all of you are at the ballpark tonight. The Bulldogs of old are back, now let's get the Bulldog fans of old back. We're supposed to be the best fans in college baseball, so let's prove it!
03/06/97 - Miss State beat Alcorn State 16-1. Miss State is now 7-2 on the season. Keith Dilgard won his second game this year. He worked 4 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. Barry Walters came in and struck out 4 in two innings, then Kevin Donovan 5 Ks in 2 innings and finally Matt Ginter 3 Ks in 1 inning. Matt allowed the lone run. The pitching definitely looked good tonight. There were too many hitting stars to name just one. Scioneaux, Patton, Sparkman, Chapman and Lee all had multiple hits. Brooks Bryan went 0-2, with 1 walk. He was hitting .607 coming into the game. The defense continues to look very good. All in all, this team appears to be coming together. The best thing I have seen so far, is like the Bulldogs of old, this team is beating up on the teams they are supposed to beat up on, and it allows us to play some of the younger players.
03/06/97 - Miss State has a 6 game winning streak and in every victory this year has scored at least 10 runs. They are averaging over 12 runs a game, while allowing just over 3. We are also 7-0 at home.
03/06/97 - According to coach Polk, Eric DuBose will pitch Friday and Keith Dilgard Sunday. He wasn't sure who would pitch Saturday, maybe Jeremy Jackson. Get out to the ballpark this weekend and support the Diamond Dawgs as they face 10th ranked Florida.
03/05/97 - Went to the second game of the day-night doubleheader. Miss State won the first game 20-0 over Jackson State. Brian Terry continues to shine in limited play. In one inning, he hit a two-run homerun and a single. His homerun was a frozen rope. According to Bulldog announcer Jim Ellis, Brian looks like a very good young lefthanded hitter. Jim also mentioned that Travis Chapman is going to be an outstanding hitter and fielder at shortstop. Coach Ron Polk mentioned that he can mature into a pro prospect before his playing days are over at Miss State.
Other happenings in the first game: Rob Hauswald, Dustin Dabbs and Damian Scioneaux all hit homeruns. Brooks Bryan continued to shine at the plate, getting on base all four time. At the end of the game, he had his batting average up to .560. Pitcher Jeremy Jackson had one of his best outings as a Bulldog, pitching 5 innings striking out 6 with 2 walks and no runs. I was also told Chris Reinike pitched well in his 2 innings. Really need him for the Florida series. Miss State had 20 hits and Jackson State 2.
In the second game, Miss State won 19-1. Miss State pitcher Brian Wiese pitched a good game, throwing 5 innings with 6 Ks. He was throwing 86 MPH in the first inning, although Jim Ellis said he appeared to be throwing harder in the 5th inning. And once again, Brooks Bryan had a great game. He went 3 for 3 with one walk. I believe his average is now .607. Yes, .607, you didn't read it wrong. I have never seen a hitter in as good of a hitting streak as Bryan is at the moment. Dustin Dabbs hit another home run; this time a mammoth shot into the trees in right field.
A special note: our defense has sure come on of late. I was worried about it early in the season, but it appears once our guys got the rust out, they started to play better defense. Overall, the team seems to be coming around. Sure hope they keep it up.
03/04/97 - And they said let's play two. Miss State and Jackson State play a day-night doubleheader Tuesday. The first game starts at 3:00 p.m. and the nightcap, which was just added to Miss State's schedule, starts at 7:00 p.m. Miss State has also added a game with William Carey at 7:00 p.m. on March 18. These two additional games replace the two that were rained out this past weekend at Louisiana Tech.
03/03/97 - According to The Clarion-Ledger's Sunday edition, Miss State baseball may be adding 750 to 1,000 more chairback seats and new luxury skyboxes to the soon to be named Polk-DeMent Stadium. The skyboxes will be built atop the existing grandstand at pressbox level down both sides of the grandstand to the end of the concrete. Assistant AD/baseball coach Ron Polk said this would be one of the projects he will be working on. AD Larry Templeton, not wanting to comment at this time, said he would have an announcement in mid-April. The best only gets better.
03/02/97 - The double header with Louisiana Tech has been called off due to rain. Not sure at this time when they will be rescheduled.
03/02/97 - The Miss State - Louisiana Tech game was rained out Saturday. They will try and play a double header Sunday.