Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 47

Sunday, April 29, 1990 The Clarion-Ledger M7D MISSISSIPPIANS IN THE MINORS Stat college players Former Petal star Lott learns lessons come hard as a pro College Player Pos. Team CI. Org. Avj AB IB IB HP. RBI SB Mississippi College Busby, Wayne SS Sarasota A White Sox .200 18 55 11 tl 3 0 0 5 1 Jackson State Chamberlain, Wes OF Buffalo AAA Pirates .304 20 79 9 24 4 0 2 12 0 OleMiss Cole, Popeye OF Durham A Braves .290 II 31 9 1 0 I 6 1 Southern Mississippi Cooley, Fred OH Madison A Athletics .288 17 59 8 17 5 0 5 14 0 Southern Mississippi Cronk, Doug IB Charlotte A Rangers .234 20 64 4 15 3 2 0 7 0 Mississippi Delta JC Dukes, Willie OF Winter Havn A Red Sox .200 17 55 4 11 4 0 0 6 0 EastCentral JC Glenn.

Leon IB Beloit A Brewers .344 16 61 10 21 3 1 4 16 4 Southern Mississippi Graves, Kenny St. Lucie A Mets .214 5 14 13000 40 Mississippi State Grayum, Richie OF Charlotte AA Cubs .239 18 46 7 II 2 0 2 5 2 Mississippi State Hildreth, Brad 3B Frederick A Orioles .091 5 11 I 1 10 0 10 Mississippi State Hurst, Jody OF Lakeland A Tigers .279 11 43 0 12 2 0 0 6 2 OleMiss Kessinger, Keith SS Wausau A Orioles .193 17 66 9 13 4 0 0 5 1 DeltaState Kraft, Mike OF Springfield A Cardinals .282 19 71 5 20 4 0 1 II 1 Southern Mississippi Love, Sylvester OF Stockton A Brewers .250 20 52 10 13 4 3 0 2 3 Jackson State McDougal, Julius SS New Britain AA Red Sox .217 7 23 0 5 1 0 0 0 1 OleMiss Padget, Chris OF Rochester AAA Orioles .218 17 55 8 12 3 0 3 15 0 DeltaState Tucker, Eddie San Jose A Giants .297 20 64 11 19 3 0 2 13 3 Rust Williams, Jerrone OF Peoria A Cubs .246 18 69 10 17 4 1 1 2 7 Mississippi State Wintord, Barry Gastonia A Rangers .281 16 57 8 16 7 0 0 4 0 "People here told me that going from high school to here is a big change. If you're not doing good right now, don't worry about it." Bill Lott Other state player Hometown Player Pot Team ci! Org Avg AB 2B 3B HR RBI SB Meridian Davis, Russ 3B Pr William A Yankees .254 16 59 6 15 5 2 1 8 1 Jackson Hodge, Tim OF Dunedin A Blue Jays .156 9 32 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 Gulfport Lawton, Marcus OF Vancouver AAA White Sox .164 15 55 5 9 1 0 0 3 1 Petal Lott, Billy OF Bakersfield A Dodgers .138 15 58 5 8 0 0 1 2 0 Pontotoc Pegues, Steve OF London AA Tigers .140 15 57 6 8 1 1 0 6 2 Gulfport Weaver, Trent SS Chston-Sc A Athletics .375 2 8 2 3 0 0 0 31 Ocean Springs Weidie, Stuart OF New Britain AA Red Sox .111 8 18 22000 10 Columbus Williams, Ted OF Williamsprt AA Mariners .159 16 69 5 11 2 0 0 1 2 State college pitcher J'l' I i vv. College Pitcher Team CI. Org.

W-L ERA GS SV IP BB SO Jackson State Farmer, Howard Indianapols AAA Expos 1-2 8 50 4 4 0 18 0 25 12 11 OleMiss Fassero, Jeff Canton-Akrn AA Indians 1-1 .96 7 0 2 9 1 8 1 7 JacksonState Freeman, Marvin ScrWil-Bar AAA Phillies 0-3 7 00 4 4 0 18 0 24 9 17 DeltaState Hosteller, Tom Shreveport AA Giants 0-0 1.42 3 3 0 19.0 14 3 19 DeltaState King, Doug Chston-Wv A Reds 0-0 4.91 9 0 1 7 1 10 5 8 Mississippi State King, Steve Quad City A Angels 1-1 1.42 6 0 0 19.0 12 4 17 Southern Mississippi Lindsey, Darrell Clearwater A Phillies 3-1 3.42 4 4 0 26.1 24 5 13 OleMiss Miller, David Okla City AAA Rangers 2-2 3.28 4 4 0 24.2 23 12 13 Mississippi State Mullino, Ray Charlotte AA Cubs 0-0 4 41 7 0 0 16.1 13 8 9 OleMiss Musselwhite, Darren Kenosha A Twins 0-0 .00 2 0 0 3.0 2 0 1 JacksonState Pettiford, Cecil Reno A Indians 2-1 2 93 3 3 0 15.1 9 11 12 Southern Mississippi Rapp, Pat Clinton A Giants 0-3 5.27 3 3 0 13.2 18 9 10 DeltaState Ray, John Chston-Wv A Reds 1-1 5.17 7 0 0 15 2 18 10 9 OleMiss Renfroe, Laddie Iowa AAA Cubs 2-0 1 54 9 0 3 11.2 14 1 6 DeltaState Rogers, Kevin Sanjose A Giants 2-0 2.22 4 4 0 24.1 19 8 33 JacksonState Sanders, Earl Knoxville AA Blue Jays 1-0 3.29 10 0 1 13.2 14 13 10 Mississippi College Watkins, Tim Denver AAA Brewers 0-0 2.25 2 1 0 4.0 5 4 1 OleMiss Wright, Skipper Durham A Braves 0-0 1.23 5 0 0 7.1 8 3 7 Mississippi State Young, Pete Wst Pirn Bch A Expos 3-0 1.59 4 4 0 28 I 20 4 16 Other state pitcher Hometown Pitcher Team CL Org! W-L Ira GS SV IP BB SO Liberty Coleman, Dale San Antonio AA Dodgers 1-1 3.45 6 0 2 15.2 15 4 9 Starkville Sanford, Meredith Cedar Rapds A Reds 3-0 2.87 3 3 0 15.2 9 8 23 Madison Stancel, Mark Huntsville AA Athletics 1-0 1.40 8 0 2 19 1 12 8 8 Copyright By Howe Sportsdata International, Complete Through 42790 By Donald Dodd Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Bill Lott took his final warm-up swing and headed to the plate. He gave little thought to the fact that this was the first at-bat of his first professional baseball road trip. Then, it happened. His statistics were flashed on the message center: Average .128, Hits 6, Strikeouts 18 A crowd of about 3,000 minor-league baseball fans hooted and hollered, while a wide-eyed Lott slapped a harmless, lazy fly ball to center field. "Up until then, it was just like any other at-bat," Lott said.

"I wasn't thinking much about playing on the road. Then they got all over me. You come to bat and they put a bad average up there, you better look out. It seemed like everybody there was hollering something." Lott, 19, is learning a lot of lessons these days. Hard lessons.

Through 15 games at Class A Bakersfield, he is hitting .138 with eight hits, 22 strikeouts and one walk. Last year as a rookie league outfielder in Kissimmee, he hit .193 with 29 hits and 48 strikeouts So he won't. And he won't talk about what might have been had he gone on to Ole Miss and accepted a scholarship to play baseball and football. A high school quarterback, he signed with the Rebels last spring but elected to go pro. "Everybody asks me about that," he said.

"I don't wonder about it. I made the right decision for me. "This is what I want my profession to be." I didn't. Going to the wooden bat was a big change. And I'm facing pitchers that are 23, 24, and I'm 19.

"You learn a lot about yourself going through this. Gary Hust (a teammate last year at Petal) told me a couple weeks ago he wasn't hitting the ball real well this year. I told him to let me know when he went 100 at-bats without a home run, like I did. "People here told me that going from high school to here is a big change. If you're not doing good right now, don't worry about it." in 46 games.

This is the same prospect who hit .426 his senior season at Petal High School and was the second-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in last summer's major league draft? Yes. At least Lott thinks so. Lott, 6 feet 4, 205 pounds, says his confidence hasn't slipped. He wants to make Class Double A next season and the major leagues in three or four years. "I've always been able to hit the ball good," he said.

"Then last year, The Clarion-Ledger Bill Lott, hitting .138 at Class A Bakersfield, has had trouble adjusting to wooden bats and mature pitchers. Driller pitchers close door in sweep of Mets nnnrr rnryn ri oj mm wiimmims i msmis i All Radial Types! All Radial Sizes! Hernandez in the seventh to preserve Tulsa's first-game victory. Rosenthal, who gained his second save, took over for starter Eric McCray, 1-0, with runners on first and second. Alex Jimenez and Kevin Baez had singled with one out. Tulsa scored in the first on a throwing error by Jimenez.

The Mets' first baseman threw the ball past third baseman Donnels when Darrin Garner advanced from second on Peltier's ground out. The Drillers took a 3-0 lead in the second on shortstop Monty Fariss' two-run homer. It followed Rob Maurer's bloop single. The Mets answered in the fourth on solo homers by Freiling and Donnels. It was Freiling's second of the year and Donnels' first.

Mets starter Rocky Elli, 1-2, took the loss and recorded the Mets' first complete game. Each team had four hits. Mets right fielder Terry McDaniel went 0-for-2 to lose a 14-game hitting streak. The Clarion-Ledger TULSA, Okla. Relief pitcher Chris Shiflett struck out Howie Freiling with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh inning Saturday night to close out Tulsa's 2-1 Texas League victory over Jackson and a doubleheader sweep.

The Drillers used a similar script to win the first game 3-2. The Mets, 8-8, were knocked out of first place in the Eastern Division. Shiflett gained his second save. Starter Mitch Thomas, 2-0, worked the first six innings. He allowed only Chris Donnels' fifth-inning, run-scoring single but walked six batters.

Mets starter Doug Kline, 2-2, allowed two hits, struck out eight and walked one. The Drillers scored in the fourth on Dan Peltier's RBI single and in the sixth on Kevin Belcher's home run, his fourth of the season. The Mets stranded nine runners. Right-hander Wayne Rosenthal struck out Crucito Lara and Rudy TEXAS LEAGUE MOTES Wrangler ST Engineered For All Season Highway Performance Wrangler LT Engineered For A Long, Smooth, Quiet Ride Wrangler P-Metric All Terrain. Season.

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It gives them back-to-back seven-game series on a 12-day road trip June 2-13. They play a doubleheader at Shreveport June 9. Arkansas: Right-hander Mark Grater (4 saves, 1.20 ERA) was bumped to Triple-A Louisville last week. Gabriel Ozuna, another right-hander who hasn't allowed a run in his first 10 innings, assumes the bullpen closer's role. He had 28 saves last year at Class A Savannah.

Right-hander John Ericks, St. Louis' No. 1 pick in the 1988 June free agent draft, was promoted to Arkansas from Class A St. Petersburg, where he was 2-1 with 25 strikeouts. Midland: The Angels showed signs of climbing back into the Texas League West race with home runs fronvunex- Hist hit the second homer of his four-year pro career in a 12-1 1 win over El Paso.

And second baseman Scott Cerny hit his first pro homer after four-plus seasons and 1,224 at-bats in a 9-8 victory over Wichita. San Antonio: Dan Opperman, the Los Angeles Dodgers' No. 1 choice in the 1987 draft, won his first game as a pro last Sunday. He got credit for the victory in an 8-1 mauling of Wichita. In six innings, he gave up six hits and allowed two other baserunners.

Opperman entered the game with a 5.79 ERA in two previous starts. Shreveport: After a fast start, center fielder Jamie Cooper has gone into a 2-for-31 tailspin. "He's just pressing too much," manager Bill Evers said. He has turned to right fielder Ted Wood for a leadoff hitter, and he is batting .350. Tulsa: Third baseman Dean Palmer, the league's home-run champion last season with 25, was called up to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

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