September, 2003 Unofficial MSU Baseball News
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09/27/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • I watched the first 14 innings of yesterday's scrimmage before heading out to watch Corinth HS play at Noxubee County HS. Each batter had a 1-1 count on him to start his at-bat. There will be no scrimmage Saturday or Sunday, although the team will practice Sunday.
  • The top pitcher on the day was redshirt freshman Michael Valentine. Michael threw 5 innings, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 9.
  • The top hitter was redshirt freshman 1B Ryan Harbuck. Ryan was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored, 1 double, 1 HBP and 2 RBI.

    • 09/26/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • Yesterday's scrimmage was 14 innings. Each batter started off with a 1-1 count. Today's scrimmage will start at 2:30 p.m. and will be 16 innings. Due to attending football practice, I missed a couple of innings of yesterday's scrimmage.
  • The top hitter on the day was senior INF Ben Grisham who went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
  • The top pitcher was juco transfer Eric Ebers who threw 5 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks. Eric struck out 8.

    • 09/25/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • Yesterday's scrimmage was 14 innings. Each batter started off with a 1-1 count. Today's scrimmage will start at 2:55 p.m.
  • The top hitter on the day was junior 2B/SS Josh Thomas who was 3-for-5 with a 2B and 2 RBI.
  • It was a tough choice to make because there were three pitchers that pitched extremely well yesterday but the top pitcher was juco transfer Todd Doolittle who threw 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 7.

    • 09/24/03 - No baseball scrimmage yesterday, but they do scrimmage today, Thursday and Friday. Gametimes are expected to be 2:50 each day.

    09/19/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • Although I left after the top of the 16th inning to go watch football practice, yesterday's scrimmage lasted 18 innings. Each batter had a 2-1 count on him when he came to the plate. There will be a practice today, but no scrimmage. Tentatively, there will be scrimmages Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. All of the scrimmages have started at approximately 3 p.m., so I assume that will be the time next week's scrimmages start.
  • The top hitter on the day was sophomore INF Jo Jo Haney, who was 3-for-5 with 1 run scored, 1 walk and 2 RBI.
  • The top pitcher was freshman Josh Johnson. Josh threw 6 innings, allowing 0 run on 4 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts.

    • 09/18/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • Yesterday's scrimmage lasted 18 innings. Each batter had a 2-1 count on him when he came to the plate. There will be a scrimmage today starting at 2:55. Today's scrimmage will be the last one this week.
  • The Maroon and White game is scheduled for Friday, October 3rd, at 4 p.m.
  • The top hitter on the day was redshirt freshman OF Tyler Jones. Tyler was 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored, 1 triple, 2 walks and 3 RBI.
  • The top pitcher was junior Saunders Ramsey. Saunders threw 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, 4 walks and 3 strikeouts.

    • 09/17/03 - Baseball scrimmage update.

  • The scrimmage was scheduled to last 16 innings but I was only able to watch 14 innings. The count on each batter when they came to the plate was 2-1, hence the large number of walks by the pitchers.
  • Sophomore OF/P Brad Corley had the best day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with 6 RRI and 1 walk.
  • True freshmen pitcher Jeremiah Boling had the best day on the mound, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in 5 innings.

    • 09/16/03
    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A former Mississippi State baseball player has been appointed as the first intern in the Southeastern Conference's inaugural Minority Internship Program.

    Enrico Jones, a four-year letter winner as an outfielder for MSU's Baseball Bulldogs from 1999 to 2002, will work primarily in the compliance office, but will also gain experience working with league championships, sport administration and public relations.

    "We are pleased to have Enrico join our office staff as the first member of our minority internship program," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "Through this internship program, we hope to give Enrico and others the benefit of working in a league office and being a part of intercollegiate athletics administration."

    Jones is a native of Moss Point, Miss. He joined the SEC staff this month after earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Fitness Management at Mississippi State in 2002. He is currently working on his Master of Science degree in physical education at MSU. He has also worked as a graduate assistant in strength and conditioning and worked as an instructor at MSU's baseball camps. At Mississippi State he was a member of the Student-Athlete Academic Committee and worked in the areas of event and facility management at State.

    The SEC's Minority Internship Program was developed in 2003 as part of a multi-faceted initiative to raise the numbers of minorities interested in a career in intercollegiate athletics.

    More baseball (mostly)...

    Mississippi State's Department of Athletics announced Monday that Will Clark, Jeff Brantley and Jack Cristil will be inducted as the 2003 class in the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame. The induction will take place during halftime of the MSU-Vanderbilt football game on October 4th at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

    Clark lettered for State in baseball three seasons (1983-85) and helped lead the Diamond Dogs to its best showing ever (tied for third) at the College World Series in 1985. The Golden Spikes Award winner in 1985, Clark also took home the Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year award, the first baseball player ever to receive that honor. Clark led the SEC in four hitting categories during his final season in Starkville.

    Clark was the second overall selection in the 1985 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. A veteran of 15 seasons in MLB, Clark was a six-time all-star first basemen who won a Gold Glove in 1991. The career .303 hitter also made one appearance in the World Series, in 1989 with the San Francisco Giants. He also played for Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis during his career. The 1984 Olympian still holds MSU's career batting average mark, hitting .391 over three seasons. He ranks second in career home runs with 61 and is in State's top 10 list in total bases, walks and runs batted in.

    Brantley lettered four years (1982-85) in baseball for head coach Ron Polk. A pitcher for the Diamond Dogs, he was named an all-American after his senior season and won the MVP award for the 1985 NCAA South 1 Regional. Brantley took home two different SEC awards during his tenure at State, being named to the all-tournament team in 1984-85 and winning the SEC's Pitcher of the Week twice in 1985.

    During Brantley's career, he set three MSU and SEC career records (wins, strikeouts and innings pitched). His 18 wins in 1985 set an SEC and school record for a single season that still stands on both charts. Forty-five career victories also is still a conference record that was recently tied in 2002.

    Brantley went on to success at the major league level, playing with Clark on the 1989 Giants World Series squad. A successful starter and reliever during his 13-year career, Brantley earned the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1996 when he tied for the major league lead in saves with 44 with the Cincinnati Reds. Brantley was also selected to the All-Star game in 1990. He now works in private business in Clinton, Miss., and serves as a baseball analyst for ESPN.

    Cristil has served as MSU's football radio voice since the 1953 season. A native of Memphis, Tenn., he studied broadcast journalism at the University of Minnesota before returning home. He started broadcasting minor league baseball in 1948 in Jackson, Tenn., and held that position for three other teams during the next four seasons, closed by a two-year stint with the AA Memphis Chicks. Cristil broadcast high school football and basketball for WROX in Clarksdale, Miss., next, before being hired by C.R. "Dudy" Noble in August, 1953.

    From 1955-1985, Cristil worked for WELO in Tupelo as an advertising salesman and a play-by-play announcer for Tupelo High School and Itawamba Junior College. Cristil has also worked as the Bulldogs' main basketball announcer since the 1957-58 season.

    A resident of Tupelo, Cristil was honored in 1992 with the Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the first non-coach or non-athlete to receive that honor. He also received the Chris Schenkel Award in 1997 for excellence in college broadcasting and has won the Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year a record 21 times. Cristil is the second non-coach/non-athlete in the MSU Sports Hall of Fame, following in longtime sports information director Bob Hartley. He is just one of seven broadcasters in collegiate history to be on the job for 50 years.

    The class of 2003 adds the 148th, 149th and 150th members to be inducted into the MSU Sports Hall of Fame, which was established in 1970.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    09/12/03 - Baseball scrimmage update. There will not be any scrimmages the rest of the week.

  • Once again the scrimmage lasted 14 innings with 7 pitchers throwing 2 innings each.
  • Freshman left-hander Andy Wilson had the best day on the mound, striking out 3 while allowing no runs, hits or walks.
  • Senior walk-on catcher Kip Watkins had the best day at the plate going 3-of-5 with a double, triple and 4 RBI.

    • 09/11/03 - Baseball scrimmage update. Thursday's scrimmage should be at the same time, 3 p.m.

  • The scrimmage lasted 14 innings. Each team used 7 pitchers. Each pitcher threw 2 innings.
  • Redshirt freshman right-fielder/first baseman Brian LaNinfa had the best day at the plate, hitting a three-run home run and a single. He knocked in three runs and scored two. He also hit a home run this past Monday during batting practice. When you have a chance to see him, I can tell you you will think he looks like a ball player.
  • Left-hander Les Dykes, who underwent Tommy John surgery last fall, threw two innings, allowing no runs on 2 hits and a walk. I was impressed with his control. He struck out 2. I clocked his fastball in the 81 to 84 range. Look for that to rise as he continues to pitch during the fall.
  • Sophomore right-hander Jamie Gant looked the best of all the pitchers, striking out 4 in his 2 innings. He didn't allow a run, hit or walk. His fastball topped out at 90 miles per hour.
  • Overall, the defense looked good, committing just 3 errors during the scrimmage. Two were committed at second base and one at shortstop.

    • 09/10/03 - MSU's first baseball scrimmage is today at 3 p.m.

    09/08/03
    STARKVILLE, Miss. - Thirty veteran players, 17 of them returning lettermen, are among 62 athletes set to gather at Dudy Noble Field Monday for the start of fall baseball practice at Mississippi State University. The squad will be divided into two workout groups for Monday's initial day of practice, with sessions set to begin at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

    "The coaching staff is excited about getting fall practice under way and I know the boys are eager to get started too," said Ron Polk, beginning his 25th fall practice as Mississippi State head baseball coach. "We've got a solid corps of experienced veterans back from last year's team and more than 30 newcomers. Player evaluation will be one of our top priorities as it is with fall practice every year."

    MSU's returning position player starters include sophomore second baseman Thomas Berkery, senior third baseman Steve Gendron, sophomore catcher Craig Tatum, and outfielders Jeff Butts, Brad Corley, Joseph Hunter and Jon Mungle. Eight of the 16 pitchers that took the hill for MSU in 2003 return, including senior right-hander Jeff Lacher, junior righties Alan Johnson and Saunders Ramsey, and sophomores Brett Cleveland, Brad Corley, Brooks Dunn, Jamie Gant and Jacob Ociesa.

    Twelve signees, nine from the prep ranks, are among the 32 newcomers set to begin fall baseball practice at MSU. The practices will continue through the third week in October and are open to the public.

    Mississippi State notched its 16th 40-win baseball season in 2003, finishing with a 42-20-1 record while advancing to the championship game of the NCAA Starkville Regional at Dudy Noble Field.

    The Diamond Dogs open their 2004 campaign and Ron Polk's 25th season as State skipper Feb. 27-29 at Dudy Noble Field, taking on Western Kentucky and Illinois in the MSU Challenge.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    09/01/03 - Baseball News:

  • MSU baseball player Brent Lewis has transferred to Pepperdine.
  • Sophomore rightfielder Brad Corley is now up to 212 pounds. With his new muscle has come more home runs in batting practice. Another youngster, redshirt freshman outfielder Tyler Jones, has added close to 20 pounds, going from 173 to 190 pounds. The first official day of practice is a week from today.