1995

Bevill in season opener starters Hank Thomas of New– ton, Mitch Covington of Den– ham Springs , La. , and Willis Lally of Beaux Bridge, La.; short relievers Brandel Russell of Newton County and Mark Davis of Enterprise; long reliev– ers Ge rmaine Chambers of Noxapa ter and Craig Vowell of Philadelphia ; middle reliever Tony Per zo of Lake; and spot reliever Joey Ridgon of Newton County Clar k ::rud 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– 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 grea t arm"; fresh– man Greg McBride of Newton, who is expected to provide plen– ty of offensive power for the Warriors; fr eshman Tommy Bost of Neshob a Central , described a s an athlete with "outstanding talentand great power"; s ophomore Kenyon Gardner of South Leake and a transfer from Ja ck son State U ni versity who batted .330, blasted four home runs and will probably start as a designated hitter and also be used at first base and left field ; a nd fre sh – man Justin Schmidt of Carthage who will give E C another defen sive replacement for late-inning help in close games. ECCC Baseball Date Opponent Time Site Feb. 17 Bevill 10:30 a.m. Home Feb. 17 Jones 3:30-p.m. Home Feb. 18-19 ECCC Tournament Feb.22 East Miss.• 3p.m. Away Feb. 28 East Miss.* 3 p.m. Away March 3 Northeast• 3p.m. Home March 4 Itawamba 1 p.m. Home March 7 Gulf Coast 4 p.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 !.\larch 17 Three-Rivers 1 p.m. Hom e ~larch 18 Three-Rtvers"' 1 p.m Home March 22 Copiah-Lincoln 4 p.m. Home March 2~ Ja~.-l>..Son State 3 p.m. B orne :\larch 25 Southwe t 1 p .m. March 27 £ .......:. _,fi...... 6pm March 2~ Iowa We- tern 3 p.m. March 3 Iowa W -·-:c April l Hi.nds April - April .. Philadelp.:lia will also be count– ed on dur.!lg the pitching rota– tion. The ECCC head mentor said he s 'e:ry pleased" with the tal– ent fr om his infield, an area that re y needed depth." Two -ro;t basemen return tr• •m la.;t ::eason, Matt Smith of S1don l!;.j Kevin Nelson of Clin– ton. Srr • who batted .310, is comim: = ~boulder surgery and is :;till ru:: at full strength. Clar de5cribe s Nelson as the teao rr.l)-t improved play– cr. A _ httter last year, Nel– probably move to ~mon when Smith is _ for the starting job ba.:;e a r e al s o two -e , , Chns Ezelle of Chad Ardoin of Hur- nz at short stop is f . · ~hoba Central wnh thr ee home John will proba– d in thi sea::.on s 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-sea son knee surgery. Dusty Ivey, an All-South Division performer last season, is expected to have another ban– ner year and will probably start in right field. lvey, a graduate of Newton County High School, batted .325 and collected five home runs.