April 1997 Mississippi State Baseball News

04/30/97 - Southern Miss defeated our Bulldogs 9 to 4. This stopped Miss State's five-game winning streak. Miss State is now 36-13 on the season.

Even though the Bulldogs lost, there is some very positive news to report: Keith Dilgard pitched five very strong innings against a good-hitting Southern Miss team. He allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.

The only hitting highlight was Adam Piatt's 2-run home run. Southern Miss' ace reliever Brandon Parker pitched eight very strong innings to completely shut down the Bulldogs. This is the second straight game that the Bulldogs did not hit the ball well. These last two games are very similar to the two games we played against UAB earlier in the season. As Jim Ellis said near the end of the game, after those two game the Bulldogs came on like gang-busters against Vanderbilt. Let's hope they do the same today against Southern Miss.

04/29/97 - Miss State is now 5th in the Collegiate Baseball poll and 9th in Baseball America's poll.

04/29/97 - On Bill Wahlbeg's Sports Talk Show, Coach Polk said Keith Dilgard will pitch against Southern Miss tonight.

04/28/97 - Miss State defeated Ole Miss, 6-4, Sunday. The Dawgs are now 36-12 overall, 16-9 in the SEC. With the win Sunday, the Bulldogs are now all alone in 2nd place in the Western Division of the SEC. This past week MSU won all 5 of it's games, which should move them up to 6th or 7th place in the college baseball polls.

Hitting heroes: Adam Piatt was 1 for 4 but the one hit was a three-run home run, Brooks Bryan was 2 for 2, both doubles, and one walk.

Chris Reinike pitched 6 strong innings, allowing 8 hits, 2 walks, 4 earned runs and struck out 9. Van Johnson pitched the final 3 innings, earning his 12th save of the year. He gave up 2 hits, 1 walk and stuck out 4.

04/28/97 - Things are looking up for Bulldog second baseman Rob Hauswald. According to The Clarion-Ledger, Baseball trainer Jay Logan said Hauswald was examined by a specialist in Memphis who told him he has normal vision for "an everyday, regular person," but is missing some of the timing necessary to play baseball at the SEC level. Hauswald is now doing daily eye exercises to increase his ability to focus. Since he has started doing these exercises, his playing time has increased and he has started playing better. According to Rob, playing better is "helping me get my confidence back".

04/27/97 - Miss State, behind the 7-hit pitching of Eric DuBose and Van Johnson, defeated Ole Miss Saturday, 5 to 2. Miss State is now 35-12, 15-8 in the SEC.

The hitting hero was Brad Freeman, who hit a two-run home run and knocked in another run with a single.

Van Johnson earned his SEC leading11th save of the year. Not sure how many of you saw this game on Sports South, but if you did you now know why Van is pitching so well this year. Although he doesn't throw hard, his pitches have a lot of movement on them. Plus, he throws strikes that barely hit the corner of the plate.

Coach Polk said during the post-game show that Chris Reinike would start tomorrow, weather permitting.

04/26/97 - Miss State defeated Ole Miss, 21-6, Friday night. MSU's record is now 34-12, 14-8 in the SEC.

Hitting heroes: Everybody! Folks, this team may be the best hitting team we have ever had at Miss State. As an example, our 2nd string catcher, Ryan McGrath, has 12 hits in 24 at bats. That is .500 for you non-accountants. Our part-time DH, Dustin Dabbs, is hitting .345 with 4 home runs. The hitting ability of this team is truly amazing. There are no sure outs on this team.

Jeremy Jackson once again pitched well, allowing 5 earned runs in 8 innings. He also allowed 12 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4. In the first 5 innings he only allowed 2 hits. His record now stands at 8-2.

Weather permitting, and it appears that is a big question mark at the moment, Miss State and Ole Miss will play today at 2:00 p.m.

04/26/97 - Miss State signee Rickey Lambert, of Tishomingo County HS, was the winning pitcher against Cleveland HS in the first round of the State 4A Playoffs, throwing a 2-hitter. He also hit a home run to help his cause.

04/26/97 - Another Miss State signee Josh West, not to be outdone by fellow Bulldog signee Rickey Lambert, also threw a 2-hitter against Mantachie in the State 1A Playoffs. He also struck out 17 batters in the 7 inning game. It doesn't stop there: he collected two hits, including a home run.

04/25/97- Here's something to get you excited about what may be coming up for Miss State baseball in the month of May. I'll let some of the MSU baseball players' quotes say it all: Brad Freeman - "This was a pivotable game for us. Our goal is to win 40 games and we've got to win seven more. Our goal is to host a regional and we've got to keep winning to do that . Every game here on out is pivotable for us." Barry Patton - "Every game is crucial for regional consideration." Make plans to be at Miss State for our regional. There is nothing in college baseball that can compare to a regional at Dudy Noble Field (Polk-DeMent Stadium). Source for the quotes: The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus, MS.

04/25/97 - Two of Miss State signees were in action last night. Enrico Jones went 1-for-4 in Pascagoula's 7-1 win over Meridian and Brent Walker went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in Brandon's 6-2 win over Moss Point. He also had 3 RBIs for the 21-4 Bulldogs.

04/24/97 - Here's what Lewis Earnest, the Hamilton HS coach said about Josh West, the Miss State signee from Hamilton, MS., "Josh is a power pitcher. Depending on how good he's feeling, he throws anywhere from 86 to 92 mph. Last summer in the Team One Showcase at Clemson, he was clocked at 92. He's usually in the mid-to upper 80s. He's got a good arm and a good curveball. Most scouts look at Josh as a pitcher, but he signed with State to play infield and pitch, because he can swing the bat." Source: The Clarion-Ledger

04/24/97 - Miss State defeated Southern Miss, 4-2, Wednesday night. They are now 33-12 on the season.

A couple of freshmen pitchers, Matt Ginter and Kevin Donovan, pitched 8 innings, with Donovan getting the victory and the ever-present Van Johnson earning the save, his 10th of the season. Matt threw 6 innings, allowing 7 hits, no walks, 2 runs (1 earned) and struck out 8.

The Bulldogs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the eight to make the score 4-2, which was the final score. Barry Patton and Rusty Thoms got a couple of clutch hits during the inning.

One other note: Rob Hauswald came in to play second base, taking over for Matt Peeples, who took over for an injured Travis Chapman. Rob made a couple of very good plays. Maybe he is starting to recover from his fall accident. Back to Travis's injury: Based on what Polk said in the post-game show, Travis' injury is very minor and he should be back for the Ole Miss series.

04/23/97 - Here's an outstanding article about Miss State freshman pitcher Matt Ginter.

04/23/97 - Miss State defeated Southern Miss 16-12 Tuesday night.

Damian Scioneaux had three hits, including a grand slam home run, and six RBIs. Brooks Bryan also had three hits.

Van Johnson had to come in and save the game after Southern Miss scored 9 runs in the eight inning. He now has nine saves.

Miss State is now 32-12 for the season.

04/23/97 - Miss State is 9th and 12th in the latest baseball polls.

04/22/97 - I will have a LONG article about Matt Ginter Wednesday. Got home too late to post it today.

04/21/97 - Alabama defeated Miss State 6-3 Sunday. Miss State is now 31-12 overall and 13-8 in SEC play.

Chris Reinike started the game for Miss State and pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs and striking out 2 batters. Hank Thoms, Kevin Donovan and Brian Wiese also pitched for Miss State. Kevin was the most productive, throwing 1 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 run, while striking out 2.

No hitter stood out, although Adam Piatt did hit his ninth home run of the season.

The Miss State defense continues to play outstanding, playing errorless ball once again for the sixth straight SEC game. I thought it was nine straight but MSU committed an error in the last game at Vanderbilt.

04/21/97 - Here's some "where are you now information" about a former Miss State baseball player: Ed Self played both catcher and shortstop at Miss State from 1947 to 1949. He was one of nine players who were from the Jefferson County, Alabama area who played on those teams. In 1948 and 1949 Miss State was the SEC Champions.

After graduating from Miss State he married Barbara Stuart, a Miss State student from Birmingham. He was in business in Birmingham for seven years at which time he entered the ministry as a United Methodist Minister. He then spent 3 years at Emory University obtaining his Master of Divinity degree. He spent a total of 30 years as a minister serving churches in Ranburne, Wadley, Hanceville, Birmingham, Carbon Hill, Oneonta and ending his career as the District Superintendent of the Albertville District. He now lives in Oneonta, Alabama where he enjoys watching his grandson, and future Bulldog, play baseball.

04/20/97 - Miss State didn't have to have luck on it's side Saturday, they had Brad Freeman, Rusty Thoms and Barry Patton, who all had mutiple hits. Brad had three hits, two home runs and a single to go along with his three RBIs. Thoms had two hits, a home run, a single and one RBI. Patton had two singles and a RBI.

Jeremy Jackson started for the Bulldogs and lasted 7 1/3 innings, the same as last week against LSU. He wasn't quite as good this weekend as he was last, but he still claimed the victory and Van Johnson earned the save. Jackson allowed five earned runs, ten hits, one walk and struck out four.

Miss State is now in a three-way tie with Auburn and Arkansas, all with identical 13-7 SEC records. Miss State, 31-11 overall, is 24 and 6 in it's last 30 games. By the way, State did not commit an error Saturday, nor did they commit one Friday night. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Miss State has not committed an error in, at least, the last eight SEC games. It could even be longer than that.

04/19/97 - Sometimes you have to be lucky as well as good. Tonight, Miss State was a little luckier than Alabama. I thought I was going to have to say Alabama was the lucky team instead of Miss State.

Earlier in the game, one of Miss State's outfielders ran a long way to try and catch a high fly ball that was hit down the right field line. He got to the ball just as it was about to land but could not quite catch it. It was one of those fly balls you say he should have caught, or, if he caught it, you say great catch. Well, as luck would have it, in the bottom of the 11th inning Brad Freeman hit a smiliar fly ball which the Alabama outfielder got to but could not catch. At the time, Miss State had the bases loaded and were down by one run. This missed fly ball allowed the tying and winning runs to score, giving Miss State a dramatic come from behind victory.

The stars were many: Adam Piatt, getting two hits after being off for over a week and a half due to an injury; Barry Patton, getting three hits while playing an outstanding defensive game behind the plate; Brooks Bryan, collecting three hits; and Dustin Dabbs, hitting a home run, a double and a single. Hank Thoms, taking over for Eric DuBose, who didn't have a good outing, had a good outing before giving way to Van Johnson, who earned the victory.

Miss State, keeping pace with LSU, which beat Ole Miss 7-1, is now 30-11 overall and 12-7 in the SEC.

04/19/97 - I found this info in The Clarion-Ledger: Miss State signee Burney Hutchinson an outfielder from Tupelo HS (MS) is hitting .500 with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 26 RBIs and 37 runs scored. His coach, Larry Harmon, said this about Burney: "his greatest asset is his bat speed. He's probably one of the better high school hitters around. He's tremendous. He hits for average, he hits for power and he has great running speed. He's the total package. We hope he can stay hot and carry us the rest of the season."

04/18/97 - Thursday, Miss State defeated Miss Valley State, 23-3, behind the 20 strikeout pitching of Matt Ginter - 7 Ks in 3 innings, Kevin Donovan - 6 Ks in 3 innings, Barry Walters - 5 Ks in 2 innings, and Chris Reinike 2 Ks in 1 inning. Miss State is now 29-11 on the season.

04/18/97 - MSU signee Josh West of Hamilton HS, MS., is 10-0 with one save and an ERA of 0.96. He has struck out 135 batters in 61 innings. He is also an excellent hitter as shown by his .565 batting average and 10 home runs in 29 games. Hamilton, coached by Lewis Earnest, is 25-4 for the season.

By the way, Josh was voted the NE. MS. Daily Journal player of the week for his performance this past week.

04/17/97 - Wednesday night, Miss State defeated Belhaven 15-10. Miss State is now 28-11 for the season.

The hitting stars were too numerous to mention, but here are three that really stood out: Richard Lee - 4 hits (home run) 5 RBIs, Rusty Thoms - 4 hits, Damian Scioneaux - 3 hits (HR, 2B) and 3 RBIs.

Hank Thoms, the most effective Bulldog pitcher, claimed the victory, throwing 2 innings while allowing 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out 3 batters. Van Johnson earned his 8th save.

Coach Polk said during the postgame show Adam Piatt appears to be getting much better. He also said Rob Hauswald went to see an eye specialist in Memphis or Tupelo, can't remember which one he said, and he said Rob is not able to focus 100% because of his injury. He gave Rob some eye exercises to do with the hope that they will clear up the problem. Polk wasn't sure how soon the exercises would solve the problem. At least it now seems that they know what is wrong with Rob and they can get it corrected. Good luck Rob, we are all pulling for you.

04/17/97 - Miss State's Jeremy Jackson was one of four players named as national players of the week by Baseball America. He was the only pitcher in the group.

04/17/97 - Miss State signee Josh West helped Hamilton defeat Houlka 6-1, striking out 18 while allowing only 1 hit in 7 innings of work.

04/15/97 - Miss State is 10th in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll and 14th in the Baseball America poll. LSU is 2nd and 1st; Alabama 5th and 4th; Auburn 6th in both polls; Arkansas 16th and 23rd.

04/14/97 - Miss State defeated LSU 4-1 Sunday, in a pitcher's duel. Sophomore Jeremy Jackson, pitching perhaps his best game as a Bulldog, allowed 2 hits, 5 walks in 7 1/3 innings. He also struck out 15 LSU batters with a great changeup to go with his 86-87 mph fastball and curveball. This should be a tremendous confidence booster for Jeremy. This was the second straight solid start for him. He pitched 4 1/3 innings during a mid-week game, striking out 9 batters. Van Johnson pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out 1 batter. For the series, Van pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed 2 hits and no runs; picking up a save and a win.

Jeremy wasn't the only underclassman to have an outstanding game: True freshman Travis Chapman had 3 hits and 2 RBIs. The other hits MSU got were by Brooks Bryan and Brad Freeman.

Defensively, Miss State again played errorless ball. I have to mention Barry Patton's play behind the plate. He continously blocked balls in the dirt, preventing several runners from advancing into scoring position. Barry has made himself into an oustanding all-around great catcher.

Miss State is really playing well; improving their record to 27-11 overall and 11-7 in the SEC, 3 games behind LSU.

04/14/97 - Miss State's game with Mississippi Valley State has been moved from Tuesday to Thursday night. It will start at 7:00 p.m.

04/13/97 - Miss State and LSU fought to a draw Saturday; Miss State winning the first game 9-6 and LSU winning the second game 20-12.

In the first game, Eric DuBose and Van Johnson held LSU to 6 runs. And I say "held" them to 6 runs because LSU is the best home run hitting team I have ever seen from top to bottom, although they aren't the best hitting team I have ever seen. MSU is as good of an offensive team as LSU; just not as good at hitting home runs. Eric pitched into the 7th inning before Van Johnson came in and silenced the bats of LSU. Van pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and no runs, and striking out 4. Here's a quote from Johnson, which I found in The Commecial Dispatch: "You just try to block that stuff (LSU's home run hitting reputation) out of your mind. Whether it's the last team in the nation or the No. 1, it doesn't matter who you are pitching to. You've just got to pitch like you know you can."

There were many hitting stars: Matt Peeples, Damian Scioneaux, Brooks Bryan and Brad Freeman all with 2 hits each. Rusty Thoms hit a two-run home run and knocked in a total of 3 runs. Richard Lee also hit a home run. And we did this against the best LSU had to offer, pitcher Googan, who had a 16-game winning coming into the game. According to Polk, he is expected to be a 2-3 round draft pick.

In the second game, LSU had their hitting shoes on, collecting 20 hits. By the time Miss State batted in the bottom of the 3rd, they were behind 13-0, but they never gave up, which I am very proud of. From then on, they outscored LSU 12-7.

Here are a few of the players that had multiple hits in the second game: Travis Chapman, Brad Freeman, Richard Lee and Brian Wiese.

Although the pitching got hit pretty hard -- Keith Dilgard 8 runs, Hank Thoms 4 runs, Barry Walters 4 runs and Matt Ginter 4 runs -- I was impressed with Ginter striking out 7 LSU hitters in 4 innings. Once this kid gets some experience and learns to change speeds, he could develop into something special before he leaves Miss State.

For the 4th and 5th straight games, Miss State played errorless ball, although there was one fly ball that was allowed to drop in the outfield because of a miscommunication between our players. All in all, I thought our team held it's own against a very good LSU team, showing that we belong in the top five in the country. We are hitting the ball extremely well (Skip Bertman said MSU is the best 2-strike hitting team he has seen in a long time), playing good defense and pitching decently considering how good the SEC teams are hitting this year. I look for big things from this team by the end of the year.

In case any of you are wondering, Adam Piatt did not play because of an injury. And he also will not be able to play today. Polk did not say when he expected him back. It amazes me how well our team has played considering all the injuries we have had throughout the season: Piatt, Hauswald, Polk, Chapman, Jackson, Reinike and even DuBose for one start and part of another game. I really can't complain, since most teams have injuries. Thanks to our tremendous depth, which very, very few other teams have, the injuries are not as noticeable.

04/13/97 - At the game Saturday, I heard a couple of things about a couple of freshmen Miss State is redshirting. Jon Knott, a 6-3, 206-lb. first baseman/ pitcher, from Venice HS in Florida, has been hitting the ball very well in practice. Mark Freed, a 6-4, 188-lb. pitcher from Pennsville HS in New Jersey, has been pitching very well in practice. Look for these two players to contribute next year.

04/10/97 - In another low scoring game, Miss State defeated UNO 5-1, behind the pitching of six MSU pitchers; Reinike, Dilgard, Walters, Thoms, Donovan and Johnson.

The hitting stars were: Brooks Bryan 3 hits, 1 RBI and Adam Piatt 2 hits, 2 RBIs. Chapman, Scioneaux and Patton all had hits also. The only sad news to report was Richard Lee's hitting streak was stopped at 19.

The Bulldogs, who get back into SEC play this weekend, play LSU starting Friday at 7:00 p.m.

04/09/97 - Miss State defeated New Orleans 4-2 Tuesday night. For the second straight game, Miss State committed no errors. Travis Chapman made a couple of good plays at second base, proving he is back. He, along with Dustin Dabbs and Brooks Bryan, had two hits each. Richard Lee got a hit to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.

The Bulldog pitching was excellent. For the first 4 innings, Jeremy Jackson looked as good as any of our pitchers have looked this year. Not only was he consistently throwing 86-87 mph, he was also getting ahead on the count. Then, in the 5th, he ran into a little trouble and was taken out of the game. Hank Thoms, Eric DuBose and Van Johnson also pitched. Jeremy was the winner, improving his record to 5-2 for the season.

The Bulldogs are now 24-10.

04/08/97 - I was incorrect about Chris Reinike in my post yesterday. He is not draft eligible, since you have to be a junior or at least 21 years old during the baseball season. He meets neither criteria. Sorry for the error, but more than happy to correct myself.

04/08/97 - As promised, here are some MSU tidbits from Nashville by none other than NashDawg. Thank you my friend.