In the News...
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[] Former ICC All-American gets called up to The Show (9/2/2010)
Former ICC All-American gets called up to The Show
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
Former ICC Indian All-American Desmond Jennings was called up by the Tampa Bay and started at right field in the Rays 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. The victory keeps the Rays a game behind the first-place New York Yankees.
Jennings led the nation in receiving yards to earn consensus first-team All-American honors as a freshman. Despite missing half the baseball season due injuries, he finished one of the top three in the nation in stolen bases.
The 6'2, 200 lb outfielder was named the Southern League MVP last season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls and was selected to the 2010 Futures All-Star Game.
Jennings was originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, but came to ICC to play football and baseball. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays picked up the multi-sport standout in the 10th round of the 2006 Draft.
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[] Former All-Region 23 pitcher ties record in Brooklyn (8/27/2010)
Former ICC All-Region 23 pitcher ties franchise record in Brooklyn
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
Former ICC All-Region 23 pitcher Chris Hilliard is one win away from history after the Cyclones defeated the Aberdeen IronBirds 2-0 on Friday.
Hilliard (9-1) threw eight innings of shutout baseball, giving up two hits and issuing one walk while striking out four batters to earn his league-leading and record-tying ninth win of the season. His earn run average (ERA) now falls to 3.77 on the season.
The Ecru native will have another regular-season start and a chance to set the new franchise record for wins in a season before the McNamara Division Champions start postseason play next month.
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[] Hargett, Chism named to the 2010 All-CSBL Team (8/17/2010)
Hargett, Chism named to the 2010 All-CSBL Team
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
Current ICC Indian Luke Hargett and former Indian Josh Chism were named to the 2010 Cotton States Baseball League's All-CSBL Team on Monday.
Luke Hargett, a pitcher for the Tupelo Thunder, finished the season with a 3.09 ERA to earn a spot on the 19-member All-CSBL Team. The Fulton native will return to ICC next season after finishing 4-4 with a 3.25 ERA for the North Division Champion Indians last season.
Josh Chism, an outfielder and pitcher for the Tippah County Tribe, had a 3.19 ERA and led the league with 18 stolen bases and had a league-leading 18 RBI. The Tupelo native signed with Lipscomb University after his playing days in Fulton.
Former Indians Sam Summerford, Lige Mitchell, and BJ Johnson were named to the honorable mention list for their efforts over the summer.
The team was selected by the Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches of the five teams and represents a cross section of the league and the colleges that the players represent.
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[] ICC All-State slugger signs with UNA (8/13/2010)
ICC All-State slugger signs with UNA
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
ICC head baseball coach Rick Collier announced on Friday that All-State third baseman and pitcher Jake Sloan signed a Nation Letter of Intent to play baseball for the University of North Alabama next season.
"It's a good feeling knowing I will be continuing my baseball career at UNA next season," said Sloan. "I had two good years here at ICC, it was great and I loved it. We were able to win state and get a (championship) ring. I hope to be able to contribute at UNA and hopefully win conference over there."
As a freshman, Sloan batted .361 driving in 38 runs on 35 hits. He saw action at third base and as a pitcher where he finished with 2-1 record and a 2.61 ERA for the 2009 MACJC State Champion Indians.
In his final season with the Indians, he batted .369 connecting on 58 hits with 16 going for extra bases and seven home runs. He drove in 26 runs, scored 45, walked 21 times, and finished the season with an on-base-percentage of .450 to earn MACJC All-State second team honors.
"ICC means a lot to me. It got me going in my college career," reflected Sloan. "Coach Collier and the team helped me grow as a player, pushed me hit the weights, and was able to get me bigger, stronger, and faster."
"Jake was a solid player and an asset to us on the mound and on the field," said Collier. "He was one of the leaders in batting average and home runs for two years and just was a great ball player for Itawamba Community College."
The former Hatley Tiger came to ICC after a highly-decorated high school career where he was selected to the Crossroads Diamond Club and Northeast MS Coaches Association for Better Baseball (NEMCABB) All-Star games as a senior after being named All-State, All-Division, and the MHSAA Class 2A Player of the Year. He earned MVP honors in the NEMCABB All-Star game and was named All-Division 2-2A for three-straight seasons.
Jake is the son of Robin and Jennifer Sloan of Hatley.
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[] Former ICC All-Region ace eyeing history in New York (8/6/2010)
Former ICC All-Region pitcher looks to make history in Brooklyn
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
Former ICC All-Region 23 pitcher Chris Hilliard is one step closer to making history in Brooklyn.
The Cyclones, Class A affiliate of the New York Mets, defeated the Batavia Muckdogs (27-19) 14-4 on Thursday to give Hilliard his New York-Pennsylvania league-leading seventh win of the season. The win moved the former North Pontotoc Viking two games away from the Cyclone's win record.
Hilliard (7-1) has a 4.50 earned run average (ERA) with a walk to hit per inning pitched ratio (WHIP) of 1.33 in 54.0 innings pitched in 10 starts. He has allowed 34 runs, 27 earned, while striking out 34 and issuing 11 walks to 239 batters faced this season.
In 2008, the Ecru native was a unanimous first team All-Region 23 selection after posting an 11-2 record with six complete games and a 4.41 ERA. Later that June, he was drafted by the Mets in the 38th round of the MLB Amateur Draft.
The southpaw made his professional debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League where he finished with 17 strikeouts and only two walks in 15.2 innings of work, including a run of seven-straight scoreless appearances.
In 2009, he earned Pitcher of the Year honors for the Kingsport Mets, a Rookie League affiliate of the New York Mets. He led the staff with a 2.83 ERA, 1.09 WHIP average, and finished the year with 3-3 while allowing just 38 hits and seven walks in 41 innings pitched.
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[] Former ICC slugger making waves at Lipscomb (7/29/2010)
NEMS360: Exception to the rule
John Wilbert/Northeast MS Daily Journal
Jeff Forehand says the Wilson brothers are the exception.
"I just feel that they both are a story that a walk-on dreams about," the Lipscomb University baseball coach said about his two players from Wheeler, Tyler and Lee Wilson. "They're the exception to the rule. They both came to our school as players walking on, and they definitely have a storybook ending."
Around this same time two years ago, Tyler Wilson sent an e-mail to Forehand expressing his interest in attending a Christian university and playing college baseball. He had just played two seasons at Itawamba Community College and had played in a summer league in Nashville.
"We gave him a shot, and sure enough he's starting," said Forehand, who has coached Wilson the past two years.
Wanting to play with his brother for one more season, Lee Wilson turned down offers from Freed-Hardeman University and the University of North Alabama. Instead, he opted to try to walk on at Lipscomb.
"He had come to camps and we had seen him a little bit," Forehand said. "We didn't see how he would fit in on our team. His brother said he kept wanting to come to school here.
"Lo and behold, he kept making an impact everyday at practice. As a walk-on, he showed up and won his job."
But it wasn't easy in the early going for the younger Wilson, who will be a sophomore in the fall.
"I went up there and kind of struggled in the fall," Lee said of his freshman year. "I didn't have many hits or show out.
"But something clicked over the Christmas holidays, after the fall, and I went back in the spring and it seemed like no one could get me out. I pretty much lucked out, and the rest was history."
Despite his coaches possibly having some doubts, Tyler said he didn't have any concerns that his brother would make it at Lipscomb.
"I had been up there and saw the caliber of players. I had already played three seasons of college baseball," said Tyler, who played his final collegiate season this past spring. "I knew Lee would be fine. It helped that he had the confidence as well.
"We didn't worry too much. We got him there and he did the rest."
Out of the Bisons' everyday starters, the Wilson brothers ranked 1-2 in batting average this past season &45; Lee hit .339, while Tyler batted .331. They also happened to hit 1-2 in the lineup, with Tyler batting leadoff, while patrolling the outfield together on defense, Tyler in center and Lee in right.
In high school, the two brothers were a double-play combo. Tyler played shortstop and Lee was at second.
"Unfortunately, we only had Tyler for two years," Forehand said. "Fortunately, we have Lee for four years.
"They earned that (starting jobs). You come in at the bottom of the totem pole and you start earning a spot. They both did that and they both earned that."
Driven brothers
When Wheeler High baseball coach James Shaw would arrive at the high school at 7 a.m. in the summer to begin his work day, he would see Tyler and Lee Wilson near the baseball field, pulling tires and hitting off tees.
The Wilsons lived &45; and still do &45; right across the street from the Wheeler school, and older brother Zack can be labeled as the primary instigator in their workout habits. But, if it wasn't for their father, Wayne Wilson, then Zack probably wouldn't have picked up those habits in the first place.
After working out with his father for so many years, Zack would push Tyler to work hard and keep striving to get better. Then, it was Tyler's turn to do the same for Lee.
"It was mostly my older brother's intentions to get me up and get me out there to drag tires and run sprints &45; try to do whatever we could to get ourselves better," Lee said.
It's no wonder why Lee was a starter on the varsity in the eighth grade and a two-time all-state selection in Class 1A.
"They were never satisfied with being some of the better (Class) 1A ball players," Shaw said. "They're proud to be from Wheeler, but they weren't satisfied with being a good 1A player."
Stellar seasons
This past season, Tyler broke the Lipscomb record for most stolen bases in a season with 40.
Meanwhile, Lee was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team and has gone on to tear up the American Legion Baseball circuit.
For the Pontotoc Red Sox, he had been batting above .650 for most of this summer, and has had 20-for-24 and 11-for-16 hitting performances in the Brooks Robinson Twin Lakes Classic and the state tournament, respectively.
"I don't think I had a kid hit over .650," said Nickey Browning, who has coached the Red Sox for 38 seasons. "Not that I can remember.
"Normally, if you have a player hitting in the .400s, he's doing really good because you face good pitching. It's very unusual for a (Legion) player to hit in the .400s or .500s &45; very unusual especially in the .500s."
Both Tyler and Lee believe they can have success against the country's best players. All they need is a chance.
"I think I can play at the bigger schools at the SEC level," Lee said. "Lipscomb played Vanderbilt and Tennessee this season. I looked across the field at the other dugout and didn't see any reason why I couldn't play with that team.
"I didn't see any reason why I couldn't play with any school I wanted to if they'd give me a chance."
Contact John Wilbert at 678-1572 or john.wilbert@djournal.com
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[] Cruse transfers to Blue Mountain (7/16/2010)
Sam Cruse, a standout pitcher for South Pontotoc High School, has transferred to Blue Mountain College from Itawamba Community College.
Cruse appeared in only three games for ICC, but was 10-3 with a 2.1 earned run average for South Pontotoc during the Cougars' 2009 run to the Class 3A state championship. He was named first team all-division and second team all-state.
"Sam had an outstanding career at South Pontotoc for Coach (Bryan) Butler," BMC coach Curt Fowler said. "He's got outstanding control and we're looking for Sam to come in and make a difference for us early on."
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[] Former Indian scores 3 runs for USA Futures (7/12/2010)
Jennings uses his speed in US Future's victory
Northeast MS Daily Journal
Former ICC two-sport standout Desmond Jennings was hitless in Sunday's All-Star Futures game, yet played a big role in the USA's 9-1 win in Anaheim.
The speedy outfielder was hitless in three official at-bats against the World Futures, but scored three runs from his leadoff spot.
He was hit by a pitch and eventually scored in the first inning. He walked with two outs in the sixth, stole second and scored on a single, then reached on an eight-inning error, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout.
Jennings, who's hitting .297 at Triple-A Durham, is regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball.
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[] Former ICC standout earns Triple-A honors (6/15/2010)
One of the top prospects in baseball, former two-sport ICC standout Desmond Jennings, was named the International League hitter of the week on Monday.
Jennings, a 23-year-old outfielder for the Triple-A Durham Bulls, hit .538 (14 for 26) over the past seven days, with 11 RBIs and nine runs scored.
The Birmingham native, the Southern League MVP last season, was in a mild slump as he began his first Triple-A season but is hitting .370 in June. That's boosted his batting average to .286.
Jennings was a 10th-round draft pick out of ICC by Tampa Bay in 2006.
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[] Ladarrius Cole named Rawlings Gold Glove winner (6/10/2010)
Cole earns Gold Glove honors at ICC
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department
ICC sophomore centerfielder Ladarrius Cole was selected as one of nine NJCAA Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners on Thursday.
"It feels good to be recognized with such a great honor," said Cole. "Defense wins games, so I take a lot of pride in my defense. I just wanted to go out every day to work hard and all that hard work really paid off during the season."
Cole, a 2009 All-American, had a fielding percentage of .987 with only one throwing error and was amongst the nation's leaders with five assists from the outfield this season and his home run-robbing catch against Northeast was considered for ESPN's Sportscenter Top 10 Plays.
"Ladarrius was a big asset to our team," said ICC head baseball coach Rick Collier. "He took a lot of easy base hits away and could run down anything hit to the outfield. He has great instincts and his work ethic is second to none whether it be practice or in game."
The Nettleton native had a .392 batting average with 11 doubles, four triples, and six home runs to go along with his .503 on-base percentage. He also stole a team-high 18 bases out of 20 attempts in his final season with the Indians.
Cole has signed to play for the University of West Alabama Tigers' baseball team next season.
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[] Windham signs with the Indians baseball program (6/1/2010)
Coach Rick Collier introduced Phillip Windham of Shreveport, Louisiana as the newest member of the ICC family on Tuesday.
Windham, a third baseman, comes to Fulton after a highly-decorated career at Calvary Baptist Academy.
The five-time letterman earned All-District honors as an eighth grader in 2006 then again in the 07, 08, 09, and 2010 seasons. He was an All-City runner-up in 2008 and 2009 before earning All-City honors during his final season as a Cavalier.
"I feel good," Windham said about signing with the Indians. "I really like the campus and I really like Coach Collier. My family and I toured the campus, talked with coach, and we are really happy to be at ICC."
Calvary Baptist won the Louisiana High School Activities Association Class 1A State Championship in 2007, the Class 2A State Championship in 2008, and finished 24-4-1 last season where he batted .516 with eight home runs, 56 RBI, and 16 doubles for Coach Rodney Traweek.
"Phillip is a big hitter and put up big numbers down in Shreveport," said Collier. "We're looking for him to do the same in Fulton and lock down the corner spot for us at third."
"I am going to work on my fielding to get more consistent," said Windham. "I am going to work on my hitting to stay back and not get so out in front… just work on everything so I can contribute to the team next season."
Windham also played football for Coach Doug Pederson during his high school athletic career.
He is the son of Jimmy and Kirita Windham of Shreveport.
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[] Former ICC star pitches against the Yankees (5/8/2010)
When Saturday started, the Red Sox had hopeful visions of being able to send out ace closer Jonathan Papelbon for the ninth inning. But after eight innings of harsh reality -- prolonged by a rain delay of more than an hour -- it was reserve outfielder Jonathan Van Every, a former all-Region 23 selection at Itawamba Community College, who was enlisted to work that final frame for Boston.
In other words, Saturday went nothing like manager Terry Francona hoped, and the Red Sox were upended, 14-3, by the Yankees.
Van Every gave up two hits and two runs while notching a strikeout.
"I thought it was necessary," Francona said. "I thought it would help us win tomorrow. That was the idea."
After losing the first two games of this three-game set against their rivals, the Sox will try to ride Jon Lester and a somewhat rested bullpen to victory on Sunday night.
As for Van Every, this marked the second time since high school he got to moonlight as a pitcher. The first occasion was also for Boston, and it occurred on April 30, 2009, at Tropicana Field in a 13-0 loss to the Rays.
"The more experience, obviously the better," Van Every said. "Unfortunately, that's a situation you never want your team in. But if they need me to bail them out, I'm there every time. I'll do whatever it takes to help the team get through a bad game or help the team win."
Last time, Van Every, who throws a fastball in the high 70s to low 80s, pitched two-thirds of an inning and didn't allow a run. He wasn't so lucky this time.
The lefty gave up a double to Derek Jeter and with one out, Mark Teixeira unloaded for a two-run blast off the light stanchion in left field. It was Teixeira's third homer of the day.
"From a personal standpoint, it's a pretty cool experience," Van Every said. "But from a team standpoint, you never want that to be the situation. You always want Pap to be on the mound at the end of the game. If I could have two guys score, I don't think Jeter and Teixeira are two bad guys to have on your record. But we'd much rather be on the team with 14 runs."
"I really [bore] down that at-bat," said Teixeira. "I told myself, 'This isn't a position player. It's a pitcher trying to get me out.' I just laid back waiting for him to give me a good pitch, and that's what happened. It was fastball down the middle."
The "good pitch" Teixeira hoped for was a fastball right down the middle of the plate. He avoided the indignity of teammate Brett Gardner, who struck out looking.
"He's never going to live that down," quipped Teixeira. "I'm going to see him at Old-Timers Day in 40 years and we're going to be talking about that at-bat -- don't you guys worry."
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[] Red Sox acquire Ex-ICC standout from Pirates (4/24/2010)
Van Every happy to be back in Boston
Jonathan Van Every didn't need directions to Fenway Park, and no introduction was necessary with manager Terry Francona or many of the players on his new team. The former all-Region 23 outfielder from Itawamba Community College, who was acquired on Saturday from the Pirates for a player to be named, spent time with the Red Sox in each of the past two seasons.
In fact, Van Every had the thrill of belting a game-winning homer for the Sox in the 10th inning on April 30, 2009, in Cleveland. For the 30-year-old Van Every, a Minor League veteran, that is his only Major League homer. He hopes to add more.
"It's definitely still at the top of my career, hitting a home run to help a team like the Red Sox win a game in a big series against the Indians, a team I had played with for so long," Van Every said. "It's tough to top that. Hopefully I'll find a way to do that. We'll see. Time will tell."
With lefty Brian Matusz starting for the Orioles on Saturday, Van Every was not in the lineup. He could play on Sunday against right-hander David Hernandez. All 18 games he's played in the Majors have been for the Red Sox. Van Every had been playing for Triple-A Indianapolis before being informed he was coming back to Boston. When did Van Every get the call?
"My goodness, it was probably close to midnight," Van Every said. "They said, 'Pack your stuff, you're out of here.' I was on a 10:30 flight this morning, nonstop from Indy."
The Red Sox currently have two starting outfielders on the disabled list in Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury. The main reason they went out and got Van Every is so prospect Josh Reddick can go back to Triple-A Pawtucket and get steady at-bats. Van Every and Reddick are both left-handed hitters who can play all three outfield spots.
"I think the thought was, he and Reddick essentially kind of do the same thing, but we really didn't want Reddick sitting here not playing," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "When we brought him back, we had even told him that. There's no way we wanted him sitting here. So again, you get a guy with a little more experience who does a lot of the same things, but if he's in and out, it's not [impacting him]. We don't want anything to get in the way of Reddick's development. He really needs consistent at-bats."
Even with the Red Sox down two outfielders, Van Every, who was back at ICC this past January speaking at the annual baseball leadoff banquet, wasn't expecting a return stint with Boston.
"I had to assume my time [in Boston] was over, maybe," Van Every said. "Like I said, it's great to be back. I'm glad to be surprised every now and then."
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