| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jan | Feb | Mar | April |
05/31/97 - Here's a very good article by the Kansas City Star's staff writer Blair Kerkhoff, about the growth of baseball in the Southeastern Conference.
05/31/97 - Received this info about MSU signee Josh West from a Cathedral high school fan.
Cathedral was 28-1 and played Hamilton for the Class A Championship. West struck out 15 and shut down Cathedral who came into the game batting .381. What was really impressive was that he struck out Cathedral's top hitter three times. Our top hitter had only 4 Ks in 86 at bats coming into the game. Josh did not hit very well going hitless in the two games. To his credit though, Cathedral did pitch around him. This was my only opportunity to see him play - but I was very impressed with his pitching because no one had been able to shut down Cathedral the whole year and he did it.
05/29/97 - A source of mine emailed me that while he was listening to the Alabama game Saturday, he heard both Bama announcers say MSU simply did not have enough pitching to win their regional coming out of the loser's brackets. Ummm, Bulletin Board material, maybe?
05/29/97 - According to Baseball America, MSU shortstop Adam Piatt is projected to be drafted in the first 10 rounds of next week's MLB Draft. The draft is June 3-5.
05/28/97 - The MLB Draft Preview issue of Baseball America just came out. Here are some tidbits of Bulldog info in it:
MSU baseball signee Aaron Capista, a switchhitting 6-2, 180-lb shortstop from Joliet, Illinois, is rated the 52nd best player in the country. When I say best player, I mean in high school, junior college and major college. Here's what BA says about him: "SS Aaron Capista was Illinois' top-rated player entering the season but didn't improve enough to become a first-rounder. He's not quite fast enough to be a middle infielder and may not have the power for third base."
MSU LHP Eric DuBose is rated the 10th best player overall. Here's what they say about him: He "was the top-rated college pitching prospect heading into the season. He had uneven performances early in the year when he didn't throw hard and his command was off, but he pitched much better late in the season and reasserted himself as a mid-first round pick. His curveball is a knee-buckler.
05/24/97 - I was told that MSU signee right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt wouldn't sign for less than $500,000. As all of you who read my page know, he signed this past week. We really can't blame him for signing for that kind of money. I'm sure all of you, as I also do, wish him only the best during his professional career.
05/23/97 - I talked to MSU pitcher Brett Wheeler at the regional Thursday and he told me he would be receiving a medical redshirt this year and would be back next year. That's great news for the baseball team.
05/23/97 - I talked to a friend of mine who had a conversation with a former SEC baseball official recently. The official had several things to say about coach Ron Polk. One of the things he said was if you made a call against one of Polk's teams and you saw Polk come out of the dugout and head your way, then you knew you had made a bad call because Ron was always right. His knowledge of the game is so great you had to be on your toes to argue a play or rule with him.
05/22/97 - Miss State will be facing Ohio State's ace pitcher Justin Fry. According to Clay Hall, a reporter who covered MSU baseball for years, Fry is "tough. He throws hard, real hard. The game I saw him, he struck out 16. He's a gamer, too. He won his game in the Big Ten Tournament pitching with strep throat." Here's other comments by Hall: Big Ten Player of the Year, first baseman Dan Seimetz, who led the Buckeyes with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs, "will remind you of a left-handed hitting Bruce Castoria (who hit 58 home runs for State, 1979-82)." The Buckeyes, Hall says, eagerly await their trip to Starkville. Hall said "I was going to tell them all about Dudy Noble and the Left Field Lounge. But news travels fast. They already knew about it." Source: The Clarion-Ledger
05/22/97 - Tuesday, at 2:00 p.m., MSU added a new signee, Tishomingo County baseball star Blake Holly. Blake, the brother of former MSU star pitcher Chuck Holly, makes a great recruiting class an outstanding class. How good can Blake be? A major league scout said he is the best shortstop in Mississippi this year. This kid has a very good arm, great hands and great hitting ability. Plus, people have told me he is a great person. I know I speak for all the Bulldog family in telling Blake we look forward to watching him play at DNF. Thanks for choosing MSU, Blake.
05/22/97 - I read in The Commercial Dispatch that Miss State pitcher Brett Wheeler may get a medical redshirt and be allowed to return next year. I'll keep you posted as I hear additonal details.
05/20/97 - Miss State juco signee Roy Oswalt has signed with the Houston Astros. For all of you that don't know how the signing of juco draftees work, the team that drafts a freshman junior college player has the right to sign that player from the time they draft him until the next draft even after he is back in junior college for his sophomore year. That is what happended in this case. The Astros made Roy an offer prior to the upcoming June 3rd-5th MLB Draft and he accepted it. This was not unexpected, since he consistently throws in the 92-94 range.
05/20/97 Mississippi State Places Four on Academic Team:
Mississippi State placed a team-high four players on the 1997 District VI GTE CoSIDA Academic All-America Baseball team. Mississippi State was the only school with multiple selections on the team announced Monday by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Sophomore pitcher Jeremy Jackson is joined on the 11-man academic squad by Bulldog junior infielders Adam Piatt and Richard Lee, along with junior outfielder Brooks Bryan. A two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Jackson leads the State quartet with a cumulative 4.00 grade point average in microbiology. He has an 8-4 pitching record. Piatt, also a two-time recipient of the league's academic honor, has a 3.56 GPA in banking and finance. he is hitting .379 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs. Lee, who leads the Bulldogs with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs, has a 3.52 GPA in accounting. Bryan, a .363 hitter, has a 3.41 GPA in banking and finance. No other school placed more than one player on this year's District VI academic team, which is comprised of universities in the states of Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
A big THANK YOU goes to MSU Baseball Academic Advisor, Linda Buehler, for helping our baseball players achieve this great accomplishment.
0517/97 - Miss State lost a close one to Auburn, 5 to 4, Friday. After being behind 5 to 0, MSU came back to score 4 runs. In the ninth, MSU had men on 1st and 3rd with one out and hit a hard grounder that was turned into a game ending double play. At least the Bulldogs didn't quit.
Chris Reinike and Hank Thoms both pitched well. Hank continues to pitch quality innings. Look for him to contribute heavily during the upcoming regional as a setup man for Van Johnson.
Well, it's time for the regional at MSU. Even though MSU didn't perform well at the SEC Tournament, they, at least, got to play three games, which was a good tuneup for the regional. Hope to see all of you at the DNF Regional.
05/17/97 - Miss State signee Josh West pitched Hamilton HS to a 10-4 victory over Natchez Cathedral, allowing only 5 hits while striking out 15 in 7 innings.
05/16/97 - All I can say is ouch! Miss State was defeated by Alabama Thursday, 16 to 3. The only highlight was the hitting of Adam Piatt and Brad Freeman, who both had 2 hits each. Adam had a homerun and all 3 RBIs.
MSU's three pitchers all were hit pretty hard. Jeremy Jackson allowed 5 runs in 1 inning, Keith Dilgard allowed 6 runs in 6 innings, although only 2 in his last 5 innings and Brian Wiese allowed 5 runs in 1 inning. Oh well, it was just one of those days.
Miss State is now 41 -17 overall and will play Auburn, Firday morning at 10:30.
05/16/97 - Here's the final High School stats for two future Bulldogs:
Blake Holly - Hitting: BA - .438, HR - 2, RBI - 36, SB - 26
Pitching: 9-3, 3 No-Hitters, IP - 68, H - 48, SO - 97, BB - 19
Ricky Lambert - Hitting: BA - .465, HR - 12, RBI - 57, SB - 10
Pitching: 11-2, 1 No-Hitter, IP - 75, H - 56, SO - 99, BB - 40
Both are qualified and ready to be MSU Bulldogs. And might I add, we look forward to watching these two outstanding young men for the next 3 or 4 years.
05/15/97 - Miss State defeated South Carolina 12-9 Wednesday night behind the pitching of Bulldog ace Eric DuBose. Eric threw 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks and 9 strikouts. Let's hope Eric keeps it going. Van Johnson had his worst outing of the year, allowing 7 runs in 2 innings.
Miss State now plays Alabama at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
05/15/97 - How well is Miss State signee Aaron Capista of Cathoic HS, Joliet, IL. doing you ask? Here's some info. I found in Baseball America:
Aaron, along with 14 other players, are candidates for the Louisville Slugger High School Baseball America Player-of-the Year.
05/15/97 - Here's some Blake Holly info. According to someone who has seen him play quite a bit this year, Blake is a super fielder and just an all-around smart player, sort of like a coach on the field. My source expects him to do very well at State. I'm not sure when he will sign with State, but it should be soon. He also said MSU signee Ricky Lambert can really crush the ball.
05/15/97 - Here's a list of MSU signees, and soon-to-be signees, who earned Mississippi All-Star honors in their divisions: Source: The Clarion-Ledger
05/14/97 - Although Pascagoula was defeated twice by Hattiesburg, MSU signee Enrico Jones went a combined 2-for-5.
05/14/97 - Here's a Sun Herald article about a game-saving play by MSU signee Enrico Jones.
05/13/97 - As you all know by now, Miss State will host the NCAA Mideast Baseball Regional, beginning a week from this Thursday. If the regional is like past ones, Miss State will play the 8:00 p.m. Thursday game. The other games will be at 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. This is subject to change, but it is how they have done it in the past. As I hear specific details, I will let you know.
05/13/97 Here's more Enrico Jones. According to someone who saw him play last weekend, Enrico reminded him of former Bulldog Ron Brown, because he can fly and has a gun for an arm. My source also feels Enrico would be a great leadoff man. If any of you have any information on any other MSU baseball recruits, email it to me. I would love to post it.
05/12/97 - Miss State defeated Arkansas 17 to 10.
MSU had 24 hits in Sunday's game. The hitting stars were many: Rusty Thoms had 5 hits, Brooks Bryan and Barry Patton both had 4 hits. Richard Lee knocked in his 80th run.
Chris Reinike, Keith Dilgard, Hank Thoms and Van Johnson pitched Sunday. Chris gave up 8 runs, 5 of which were unearned. Keith pitched pretty good, considering how little he has pitched for the past month. Look for him to help out at tournament time. Hank and Van both pitched very well.
05/12/97 - Miss State will play Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m. CST, Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament. Don't expect MSU to lay down just because they will be hosting a regional. Coach Polk said MSU needs to play as many games as possible for a tune-up for the NCAA Regionals. Don't let anybody tell you any of the teams in the SEC Tournament who will he hosting a regional will be taking these games lightly. That's only an excuse, not reality. They all need to play as many games as possible to keep from getting rusty. Plus, they all will be playing for a number 1 seed.
05/12/97 Look for MSU to be one of the eight host sites for the NCAA baseball regionals, which will be annouced today at 2:00 p.m. Sorry, but I will not be home until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. Hopefully, the Official MSU Department Site will have the latest word on the regionals.
05/11/97 Miss State defeated Arkansas 13 to 5. The Diamond Dawgs are still 1/2 game ahead of Auburn in the SEC West. This was the 39th win for the Bulldogs.
Richard Lee had a tremendous night at the plate, knocking in 7 runs. Van Johnson earned the victory, throwing 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run.
In my opinion, there is no question that MSU is a second seed in whatever regional they play. If we win today, there is no question we host a regional. Regional host sites will be announced Monday. As soon as I get home from work Monday, I'll post whether Miss State will host a regional.
05/11/97 - This past Tuesday, Miss State signee Enrico Jones went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader against Forest Hill. In the first game, he was 3-for-3 with a two-run triple and scored one run. In the second game, he was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run. BTW, Miss State Assistant Baseball Coach Tim Parenton was at both games. Sure hope Enrico plays as well in front of Tim the next four years.
05/11/97 - Excellent academic news for the Miss State baseball team. Go to Collegesports News to read all about it.
05/11/97 - This is non-baseball related info, but considering the importance of it I thought it would be of great interest to most of you. Andy Jackson's men's tennis team will be playing in the national championship tournament in L.A. beginning May 17th. Greg Martin's men's golf team, who just wrapped up back-to-back SEC Championships, will be playing in a regional in Blacksburg, Va. the same weekend. Good luck, Dawgs!
05/10/97 - Miss State lost to Arkansas Friday night, 8-5. The good news is Ole Miss defeated Auburn, keeping Miss State 1/2 game ahead of Auburn in the SEC West standings.
The big blow for Miss State was Richard Lee's home run. Eric DuBose lost the game, giving him a record of 6-3 on the season.
05/09/97 - Here's an outstanding article about Van Johnson found in The Clairon-Ledger.
05/08/97 - Miss State signee Josh West threw a complete game against Weir HS, allowing 2 hits while striking out 11. He also hit his 12th home run of the season in the second game. Hamilton advanced to the next round of the playoffs.
05/08/97 - Look for Miss State to sign Tishomingo star baseball player Blake Holly in the next few days.
05/06/97 - Here's the latest I have heard about Miss State chances of hosting a regional. According to a source in the know, if Miss State wins two of three against Arkansas this coming weekend, Miss State WILL have a very good chance of hosting a regional, even if Auburn and Alabama win their series. BTW, according to this same source, having big crowds once again at Dudy Noble Field is a big factor in Miss State's favor.
05/06/97 - Here's some great info on Miss State's baseball signee from Pascagoula, Enrico Jones: "While he is not posting as good numbers this year as last year, he is still having a good season. This guy has a ton of potential, along with good speed and size. Perhaps the most important thing about Enrico, though, is the fact that he is a winner, and he possesses tremendous character. He has been a key ingredient on several summer league state championship teams from the time he was 10 years old. He also played a huge role for the Panthers last year, serving as the starting center fielder and lead-off hitter, as they won the 5A state championship. Enrico's coach is extremely high on Enrico and he feels like Enrico should contribute almost immediately, due to the intense competition he has faced over the past few years. Pascagoula has played some nationally ranked teams this spring in Miami in a tournament that was sponsored by Starter Athletic. And everyone Pascagoula has faced over the past few years has thrown their big dog at them. There is no doubt the Enrico has faced the toughest pitching our state, and top programs from other states, has to offer. One last thing: since Enrico's class made the Pascagoula High School baseball team as freshmen, they have been undefeated in division play. That is 24-0 over the past four years against teams like Moss Point, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs. That is just another example of what I mean by Enrico is a winner."
05/06/97 - Baseball America's latest poll:
01. LSU 43- 9
02. Stanford 37-13
03. Miami 39-14
04. Texas Tech 42- 8
05. Alabama 42-10
06. UCLA 38-15
07. Auburn 41-10
08. Florida State 38-15
09. Mississippi State 38-15
10. Oklahoma State 39-14
11. Tennessee 40-13
12. Southern California 37-18
13. Arizona State 34-20
14. N. Carolina St. 38-12
15. SW Louisiana 39-13
16. Rice 36-13
17. Georgia Tech 39-10
18. Long Beach State 33-19
19. Florida 33-18
20. Wichita State 44-12
21. Oklahoma 34-15
22. Texas A&M 36-17
23. Santa Clara 33-17
24. CS Fullerton 32-20
25. CS Northridge 40-18
05/05/97 - Miss State defeated Auburn, 8-6, behind the pitching of Chris Reinike and Van Johnson.
Chris pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing 8 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8. He is now 3-2 on the season. Van pitched the last 1 1/3 inning, picking us his 13th save of the season.
Barry Patton and Brian Wiese both had 2 RBIs in the game.
The Bulldogs are now 38-15 on the season and play their last three games on the road against Arkansas next week. This is only my opinion, but I believe Miss State will have to win at least 2 of 3 next weekend to host a regional. At the same time Auburn and Alabama will have to lose 2 of 3.
05/04/97 - Saturday, Miss State lost a double header to Auburn, 12-4 and 6-4. Their record is now 37-15 overall.
The hitting heroes were: Richard Lee who was 4 for 8 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs and Rusty Thoms who was 3 for 7 with 1 home run and 1 RBI.
Pitching hero: Hank Thoms, who took over for starter Jeremy Jackson, pitched 4 1/3 innings of 3-hit ball, while allowing 1 run, 0 walks and striking out 6. Jeremy had a bad outing, allowing 8 hits and 7 earned runs. In the second game Eric DuBose and Van Johnson were both hit pretty hard while allowing 6 earned runs on 14 hits.
I have to admit, Auburn is the best overall hitting team of all that I have seen at Miss State this year, even better than LSU. While LSU can hit the home runs, Auburn's lineup can burn you from top to bottom. Plus, they have much better pitching than LSU. It wouldn't surprise me if Auburn wins the SEC Tournament.
05/04/97 - Although Eric DuBose did not figure in the decision Saturday, he did set a record. He is the only Miss State pitcher to have struck out at least 100 batters in three consecutive seasons.
05/02/97 - How important is this weekend's series between Miss State and Auburn? I'll let the coaches tell all of you.
Ron Polk: "This will be a war and should be a fun series for the fans. This will be a great opportunity to hopefully do well and wrap up our home season against a quality ballclub. We expect great crowds this weekend as long as the weather is good. They (Aubrurn) haven't lost a non-conference game. Auburn probably has the best pitching on our side. Offensively, they were very average last year, but have got several players back and have made some adjustments. They've had a great season and have won many of their games at home and have been OK on the road. This is a road trip for them and I'm glad we're playing them here."
Hal Baird: "This is such a different Mississippi State team than we've played in my 13 years here at Auburn. They mirror and are very close to our team. They're hitting well and haven't struck out very much recently. They've improved with their defensive play and they have a nice mix with their pitching staff. They have a starter in Eric DuBose who can dominate a team at any time and a reliever in Van Johnson who has done some remarkable things. It's unbelievable that he has as many innings pitched as a reliever than most of the starters do. I believe the winner of this series will get a chance to host. We've got to win at Mississippi State to have a chance to host. That's just an opinion based on what I've seen in past years, but I think that's what will have to happen."
05/02/97 - Miss State's Van Johnson is leading the nation in saves with 12.
05/02/97 - Miss State signee Roy Oswalt, a pitcher from Holmes CC, is fifth in the nation with a ERA of 1.15 and second in the nation with 100 strikeouts. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
05/01/97 - The Miss State Diamond Dawgs started the month of May off with a bang, defeating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 20-2, behind the 4-hit pitching of Matt Ginter, Eric DuBose, Brian Wiese and Van Johnson. Matt had another good outing against Southern Miss, throwing 5 innings of 4-hit ball while striking out 3 and allowing only 2 runs.
The hitting stars were too numerous to post everybody, but the primary stars were: Adam Piatt - 4 hits, Richard Lee - 4 hits, Dustin Dabbs - 3 hits, Damian Scioneaux - 3 hits, Brad Freeman - 3 hits. Travis Chapman appeared to break out of his slump in Wednesday's game, going 2 for 3, with one of the hits being a double.
The Bulldogs are now 37-13, going into this weekend's SEC series against an outstanding Auburn team. Guys, Auburn is a fantastic team so make as many of the games as you possibly can. We need to make DNF a rocking place this weekend. Let's be that 10th man. As an added incentive, baseball recruit Blake Holly will be at the game. If you see him at the game give him a big Bulldog welcome. This guy is a player, big-time.