September 2001 Unofficial MSU Baseball and Softball News
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09/29/01 - Saturday's practice, which will include a scrimmage, begins at 10:45 a.m. I'm not sure the exact time the scrimmage will start. Here are stats and info from Friday's scrimmage. During the scrimmage, each batter started out with a 0-0, 2-2 or 3-1 count during different innings. That is why the stats are so distorted for both the hitters and pitchers.

  • Hitting stars: Junior Matthew Maniscalco 2-of-5, 2 BB, 2 RBI; redshirt freshman Reed Hawkins 2-of-4, 2 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI; redshirt freshman Winston Pearson 2-of-5, 1 BB, 2 RBI; redshirt freshman Jon Mungle 1-of-3, 4 BB, 1 RBI; senior Lee Parks 2-of-3, 3 BB 1 2B, 2 RBI; senior Enrico Jones 1-of-3, 3 BB, RBI; junior Cager Garner 3-of-4, 3 BB, 5 RBI.
  • Pitching stars: Junior Chris Young 5 IP, 3 H, 5 SO, 5 BB, 0 ER (best performance of the scrimmage); junior Joey Collums 5 IP, 5 H, 4 SO, 5 BB, 2 ER; sophomore Jonathan Papelbon 5 IP, 2 H, 5 SO, 7 BB, 1 ER
  • Each pitcher threw two innings with 3-1 counts on each batter, 2 innings with 2-2 counts on each batter and one inning with a 0-0 count on each batter. If you only take into consideration the 0-0 count inning, the top pitchers during that inning were Chris Young 1 IP, 0 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER; freshman Brett Cleveland 1 IP, 0 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER; junior Steven Dowe 1 IP, 0 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER; junior Joey Collums 1 IP, 0 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 0 ER; sophomore Todd Nicholas 1 IP, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER. Of Nicholas' 19 walks, 17 came during the two 3-1 count innings. He only walked 2 in the three other innings that he pitched. Of Cleveland's 13 walks, 12 came during his two 3-1 count innings.

    STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State University's 2001 baseball recruiting class has been ranked among the nation's best in the annual ranking compiled by Tucson, Ariz.-based Collegiate Baseball magazine.

    With 10 signees, nine from the high school ranks, Mississippi State's collection of newcomers was ranked 18th. For the second time in three years, Southern Cal's recruiting class was ranked college baseball's best.

    MSU's newcomers and veterans have entered the final half of their 2001 fall baseball practices at Dudy Noble Field. Fans will have an opportunity to preview coach Ron Polk's 2002 Baseball Bulldogs Friday, October 12 at the annual Maroon-White Game. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. and there will be no charge for admission to the Homecoming Weekend event.

    MSU returns 23 lettermen, 18 with experience as starters on last year's SEC Tournament championship club that posted a 39-24 record and for the second consecutive year advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals.

    Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Sports Media Relations Department

    09/24/01 - MSU will practice but not scrimmage today. Here are stats and info from Sunday's scrimmage. During the scrimmage, each batter started out with a 1-1 count on him when he came to the plate.

  • Hitting stars: Junior Matthew Maniscalco 5-of-9, 2B, 4 RBI; senior Michael Brown 2-of-6, 3 BB, RBI; senior Jason Burkley 3-of-5, 4 BB, RBI; redshirt freshman Reed Hawkins 4-of-7, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; redshirt freshman Winston Pearson 2-of-5, 3 BB, 3 RBI; redshirt freshman Jon Mungle 3-of-6, BB, 6 RBI; senior Chad Henry 2-of-2, 4 BB; redshirt freshman J.B. Tucker 2-of-5, HR, 2 RBI; senior Casey Long 1-of-3, 2B, RBI; sophomore Steve Gendron 1-of-3, BB, 2 RBI.
  • Pitching stars: Junior Steven Dowe 4 IP, 0 H, 3 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER (best performance of the scrimmage); freshman Les Dykes 3 IP, 0 H, 2 SO, 5 BB, 0 ER; junior Joey Collums 4 IP, 4 H, 5 SO, 2 BB, 0 ER.

    09/23/01 - MSU will scrimmage at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Here are stats and info from Saturday's scrimmage. During the scrimmage, each batter started out with a 1-1 count on him when he came to the plate.

  • Hitting stars: Senior Casey Long 3-for-5, RBI; sophomore Matthew Brinson 2-for-3, BB, 2B; redshirt freshman Jon Mungle 3-for-5, 2B 2 RBI; freshman Brad Jones 2-for-4, BB, 2 RBI; redshirt freshman Josh Abraham 2-for-5; freshman Brett Cleveland 2-for-3, BB, 2 RBI; freshman Craig Tatum 1-for-2, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; senior Lee Parks 2-for-3, BB.
  • Pitching stars: Freshman Brett Cleveland 4 IP, 4 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER; senior Ryan Carroll 4 IP, 2 H, 5 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER; .

    09/22/01 - MSU will scrimmage at 10:45 a.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Here are stats and info from Friday's scrimmage. During the scrimmage, each batter started out with a 1-1 count on him when he came to the plate.

  • Hitting stars: Sophomore Matthew Brinson 1-for-3, 2B, BB; sophomore Brent Lewis 1-for-2, 2 BB's; senior Michael Brown 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; freshman Brian Silva 2-for-2, BB; redshirt freshman J.B. Tucker 3 BB's; freshman Brad Jones 1-for-4, 2 BB's, 2 RBI; sophomore Steve Gendron 2-for-3, 2 BB, RBI; redshirt freshman Reed Hawkins 2-for-4, HBP; senior Casey Long 2-for-4, BB, RBI; redshirt freshman Jon Mungle 2-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI.
  • Pitching stars: Junior Jacob Blakeney 4 IP, 4 H, 3 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER; sophomore Collins Hughes 4 IP, 1 H, 4 SO, 3 BB, 0 ER; freshman Jamie Gant 4 IP, 3 H, 8 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER.
  • Although he had a tough time with his control yesterday, sophomore RHP Robby Goodson hit 90 and 91 mph on my Stalker gun quite a few times.

    09/20/01
    BASEBALL
    STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State University's Baseball Bulldogs will hold the campus sports spotlight this weekend, with three scrimmage games scheduled at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium.

    Friday's scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m., while start times for the Saturday and Sunday games have not been set. All of the scrimmages and other practice sessions during MSU's six-week run of fall baseball practice are open to the public.

    Some 46 candidates for the 2002 MSU baseball team are engaged in MSU's off-season baseball program, including 23 letter-winners off of last year's SEC Tournament championship club that advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals.

    MSU will conduct its annual Maroon-White fall baseball game at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12 and conclude fall drills with the return of the "Banana Split Series" the following week.

    Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

    09/18/01 - For those of you who want to watch MSU baseball practice, their next practice is Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. It usually lasts about 4 hours. Their next scrimmages are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll post the scimmage dates later this week.

    09/10/01 - The baseball Bulldogs practiced yesterday but did not scrimmage. The roster has been reduced to 52 players with no more roster decisions to be made until after this week's games. The team will take off Monday and Tuesday but will be back on the field Wednesday for a full practice. There will be three baseball games (scrimmages, if you prefer) this week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). So you'll understand a little about what is going on if you attend any of the games, they will be played with a 2-1 count on each batter. In other words, when the batter steps up to the plate, he will have a 2-1 count on him. I will post the starting times in the next day or two.

    During yesterday's practice, the team went through a couple of drills, then had team batting practice. The hitters are put in groups of 8 or 9 players. Each group bats for about 15 minutes, then goes back out in the field while another group comes in to bat.

    Since hitting -- and hitting with power -- were the primary weaknesses of last year's team, I thought you would be interested in my unexpert observations.

  • Sophomore first baseman Matthew Brinson, taking off where he left off late last season, hit three home runs during batting practice. He also one-bounced another ball over the fence. Other players who hit home runs yesterday included senior second baseman Michael Brown and senior infielder Chad Henry.

    09/09/01 - I attended my first MSU baseball practice yesterday. The team practiced from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. MSU is down to 65 players from a high of 85. Although the team scrimmaged, I didn't keep stats since I didn't have names for most of the walk-on tryouts. However, I did keep notes. Here are a few observations. More observations have been posted on the premium page.

  • The most pleasant surprise of the day was the pitching of sophomore RHP Robby Goodson. During one span, he threw 16 pitches of which 10 were fastballs. I clocked the fastballs in the 90-92 mph range. He also exhibited good control. Robby will be a pitcher that I will really keep an eye on this fall.
  • Another pleasant surprise was true freshman LHP Jacob Ociesa (6-5, 205). Jacob, who chose MSU over Florida and Wake Forest, threw his fastball in the 84-86 mph range and topped out at 87. He also threw another pitch - not sure what it was (changeup?) - in the 76-78 mph range. Considering he is a tall, skinny youngster, Jacob really projects well as a hard thrower as he grows into his frame.