1995

Bevill in season opener starter s H...nk Thomas of New– t on, Mn . Covington of Den– ham Sp; gs, La. , and Willis Lally o· Beaux Bridge, La. ; short reh e.rs Brandel Russell of Newt County and Mark Davis 01 E-.terprise; long reliev– ers Genraine Chambers of Noxapater and Craig Vowell of Philadelp ~1a; middle reliever Tony Perozo of Lake; and spot reliever J y Ridgon of Newton County. Clark -aid Brooks Bryan of Academy. McGee is coming off elbow problems that made him miss all of 1994. Clark said three returnees are vying for starting catcher, including Will McLeod of Louisville, Mike Hammack of Brusly, La., and Chris Bond of Newton County. Bond batted .313 last season. In the outfield, starting cen– ter fielder Brooks Bryan returns after hitting .325 last season. Clark called Bryan "one of the best outfielders in the league." The Philadelphia High School product will probably bat third. Clark said he is close to 100 per– cent following off-season knee surgery. Dusty lvey, an All-South Division performer last season, is expected to have another ban– ner year and will probably start in right field. Ivey, a graduate of Newton County High School, batted .325 and collected five home runs. Clark said left field is still "up for grabs" with seven play– ers battling for the starting position. Those vying for the starting berth include sopho– more Ron Cook of Carthage, described as having "great speed and a great arm"; fresh– man Greg McBride of Newton, who is expected to provide plen– ty of offen sive power for the Warriors; fr eshman Tommy Bost of Neshoba Cent ral , described as an athlete with · "outstanding t a len tand great power"; sophomor e Kenyon Gardner of South Leake and a transfer from Jackson State University who bat t ed .330, blasted four home runs and will probably start as a designated hitter and also be used at first base and left field ; and fre sh– man Justin Schmidt of Carthage who will give EC another defensive replacement for late-inning h e lp in close games. ECCC Baseball Date Opponent Time Site Feb. 17 Bevill 10:30 a.m. Home Feb. 17 Jones 3:30p.m. Home Feb. 18-19 ECCC Tournament Feb . 22 E ast Miss.* 3 p .m. Away Feb. 28 East Miss.* 3 p.m. Away March 3 Northeast * 3 p .m . Home March 4 Itawamba 1 p.m. Home March 7 Gulf Coast 4p.m. Away March 9 Bossier Parish 3 p.m. Home March 11 Pearl River 1 p.m. Away March 16 Three-Rivers* 5 p.m. Home March 17 Thr ee-River s 1 p.m. Home March 18 Three-Rivers* 1 p.m. Home March 22 Copiah·Lincoln 4p.m. Home March 24 Jackson State* 3 p.m. Home March 25 South west 1 p.m. Away March 27 East Miss.* 6 p.m. Home March 28 Iowa Western 3p.m. Home March 31 Iowa Western 3 pm Home Aprill Hinds 1 p.m. Home April5 Jone:; 1 p April S Gulf~t 4 Aprilll B l Pbiladelpba will also be count– ed on dur::ng the pitching rota– tion. The E CC head mentor said he's "ver. pleased" with the tal– ent from his infield, an area that realJ •. needed depth." Two firs t bas emen return from la~~ -eason, Matt Smith of Sidon ana Kevin Nelson of Clin– ton. Sm:· 'l who batted .310, is coming o!.: shoulder surgery and is still no· at full strength. Clar k describes Nelson as the team · most improved play– er." A .26'9 hitter last year, Nel– son wil. probably move to another position when Smith is healthy. Battling for the starting job at se cond base are also two sophomores, Chris Ezelle of Union and Chad Ardoin of Hur– ley and a transfer from Mary Holmes. Ezelle batted .269 last season and is expected to be the team's leadoff hitter. Returning at shortstop is Ricky J ohn of Neshoba Central who hit 300 with three home runs last year. John will proba– bly bat second in this season's lineup. Freshman Carey Lambert of Gonzales, La. , could challenge ror t h e s horts top po s ition, meani ng John may possibly move to third base. Clark said Raymond John– ::...m of Philadelphia is expected to return at third base afte r m1ssing most of 1994 due to a oroken ja,v. Johns n