Mississippi RBI

Daniel Sweet, a senior at Northwest Rankin High School, recently signed his LOI to attend Youngstown State University.

Youngstown State has an incredible indoor facility and the Penguins play all their home games in Eastwood Field, home of the High-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the New York-Penn League. YSU head coach Rich Pasquale is thrilled to have the switch-hitting outfielder on his squad.

Sweet hit .450 in the leadoff for for the Warriors

“Daniel is a switch-hitting, lead-off type hitter with power from both sides of the plate,” Pasquale said. “He is a very good defensive outfielder and a tremendous athlete.”

Sweet earned Best Offensive Player accolades while leading his squad to a runner-up finish at the Mississippi 2A State Championship in 2010. He was an all-district honoree in 2011 and was a member of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Scholar-Athlete team.

The Cougars, who were 25-7 in 2011 on the season and made an impressive run in the playoffs that ended in the third round against Tupelo HS, hit Sweet all over the lineup, but a majority of his at-bats came at the top of the order.

Sweet picking up one of his two doubles in this game

Sweet (6-1, 195) made back-to-back spectacular catches in centerfield during the RBI Regional championship game in July. The switch-hitter launched one HR, two triples and two doubles, all from the left side.  A 6.7 runner in the 60 shows how his speed can be deceptive because he is a thick-bodied outfielder.

Sweet’s .281 average as a junior does not seem to reflect the contributions he made to the nationally ranked Cougars.  Sweet scored 31 runs, hit four homerun’s and even stole nine bases.  Skilled at getting on base, Sweet drew 18 bases-on-balls and led his team with seven hit-by-pitches.

Sweet hit the first pitch of the first game of the season from All-Metro First Team pitcher Nick Johnson, of Ridgeland HS, over the fence.

“Daniel is such a great athlete,” said RBI Warriors coach Brian Emory.  ”He should be mentioned not only with the best players in the Jackson-Metro area but also the state of Mississippi.  I expect he will put up monster numbers over his career in Ohio.”

The Jackson RBI Warriors faced the Houston RBI Astros Sunday in Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Regional tournament in Little Rock, Ark.  For the second consecutive years the Astros won the final game and advanced to the RBI World Series in Minnesota next month.

All photos below by Ed Gardner

2011 RBI Warriors - Front row from left: LaDerik Williams, Josh Townes, Davaughn Jackson, Kedryn "Peter Rabbit" Wright, Sanchez Cameron, Chris "Mook" Chandler, Vidal Cox, Carl Brice, Coach Dewitt Robinson. Back row from left: Coach Darryl McCoy, Coach Brandon Benton, Marcus Mangum, Tommie Brown, James Adams, Wallace Owens, ReMarcus Stalling, Deanzel Johnson, Daniel Sweet, Coach Brian Emory.

Pitcher Carl Brice threw nine total innings in three games in the tournament. Brice struck out 12 mixing in a mid-80's fastball and solid curveball. Brice also hit two homeruns, including a 400-foot shot out of Dickey-Stephens Park.

Deanzel Johnson hit two homers in the tournament including a grand slam on the swing pictured above. Johnson hit over .500 in five games and played error free at 1st.

Daniel Sweet hit .450 in the leadoff spot and made two back-to-back spectacular catches in centerfield during the championship game. The switch-hitter launched one HR, two triples and two doubles, all from the left side.

Catcher Sanchez Cameron went 6-9 and caught three games. "Toro" hit a triple, two doubles and three singles.

Tommie Brown went 9-15 with six RBIs. The undersized power hitter hammered one homerun and added two triples, two doubles, four singles and struck out twice.

MANY MORE PHOTOS HERE  -Brian

I spoke too soon last week when I listed the game sites for the 2011 RBI Regional tournament next week in Little Rock, Ark.  I should not have assumed it would be the same location as last year.

Championship game(s) will still be played at Dickey-Stephens Park

The championship game will still be played in Dickey-Stephens Park, the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, but the games Friday and Saturday will be played at two different locations.

Central is a huge 7A district public school with a quality baseball field

Friday ‘s games will be played at one of the most storied and historic locations from the Civil Rights era, Little Rock Central High School.  The school came into national prominence in 1957 when an incident involving nine African-American students, now famously known as “Little Rock Nine”, were denied entrance into the high school in defiance of the 1954 Supreme Court Ruling, Brown vs. the Board of Education, ordering racial integration in public schools.

Central became a national emblem of the often violent struggle over school desegregation. Army soldiers were sent to protect the "Little Rock Nine"

The institution’s refusal to let these students study challenged the then testy waters of American government’s policies on racial segregation. The iconic image of 101st Airborne Division soldiers escorting the nine students burned itself into the national consciousness. The school was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 20, 1982.

Buddy Coleman Field has undergone several renovations since 2003

The Central Tigers baseball field, Buddy Coleman Field, was built in 2003 and renovated in 2006 (bleachers), 2009 (press box, backstop improved), and a permanent fence was installed in 2011. Dimensions are 320′ in right field, 325′ in left field and 365′ in center field, although there is 15-foot wall in dead center.

Historic Lamar Porter Field

Lamar Porter Field was built in 1937 and now hosts all types of amateur baseball.  It appears to be well maintained, probably due to the fact that it is on the Register of Historical Places.  The most famous player to have ever played here is MLB Hall of Famer and Little Rock native, Brooks Robinson, a 3rd baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. Lamar Porter Field, located at 7th and Johnson near Stifft Station was a playground and melting pot for kids from all parts of the city.  The photos were taken in the winter so the grass is lush and green today.

It will be a honor to play in a historic ballpark like Porter Field.

Lamar Porter was the son of Mr. And Mrs. Q. L. Porter of Little Rock, born August 17, 1913.  He was educated in Little Rock’s public schools, attended Little Rock High School, and graduated from Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee in 1931. Porter was a junior at Washington and Lee University in Virginia when he was killed in 1934, in an automobile accident. The family of Lamar Porter, in attempt to memorialize his life, provided the land and money required to build the baseball field.

All of the quarterfinal and semifinal games for the Sr. Boys baseball division will be played on the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) campus, at Gary Hogan Field, home of the Trojans.

UALR - Gary Hogan Field

Upon entering the stadium you walk down stairs to the seats.  You immediately notice that the field is turf in the infield and grass in the outfield area. A first class indoor hitting facility is located beyond the first base side down the right field line.  There are three batting cages indoors and room for two pitchers to throw at the same time.

Indoor hitting facility and pitching area

It’s a great place to watch a game and there is plenty of shade for fans to take in the action.  Many of our players parents have let us know they will be traveling to watch the tournament.  Contact Beth Boyd at Crowne Plaza Hotel on South Shackleford Drive in Little Rock if you want to stay in the same hotel as your son.

Hogan Field is a great venue for baseball

The championship games will be played Dickey-Stephens Park, home of the Arkansas Travelers, AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.  It’s a beautiful downtown ballpark right on the river.  It is similar to our AA ballpark in Jackson, Miss, Trustmark Park. This is an unforgettable trip and the lucky 15 players that get to attend will never forget it, no matter the outcome.

View from the 3rd base dugout last July

The Jackson RBI Warriors, a Hinds County school system all-star team, fell one win short of the RBI World Series Sunday in a loss to Houston RBI in the RBI Regional Tournament in Little Rock, Ark. The Warriors beat St. Louis RBI and the host team, Little Rock RBI, while dropping both contests to Houston RBI.

Lanier HS star Wesley Bingham hit for the cycle (including a no-doubter to left center) in game one and starter Zach Bird threw a complete game (5 innings) allowing two runs in the 20-2 win. Several other Warriors had a big day at the plate.  Wayne Johnson (Terry HS), Wallace Owens (Lanier HS), Douglas Jones (Lanier HS) and others.

Just 45 minutes after the Warriors first win at noon they hit the field again at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock for a matchup with defending regional champion Houston RBI. Starter Wallace Owens (Lanier HS) and reliever Carl Brice (Jim Hill HS) kept the score close through 5 innings at 8-6, but Houston opened the lead up late and went on to win 13-6.

The Warriors had to get past the host team, Little Rock RBI, to earn a spot in Sunday’s championship game.  Lanier HS righty Christopher “Mook” Chandler threw a complete game six-hitter while allowing just two runs in the 12-2 win. Chandler recorded just two strikeouts while his defense committed zero errors behind him. Marcus Brumfield (Terry HS), Tim Rush (Jim Hill HS), Deanzel Johnson (Lanier HS) and Colby Michael (Jim Hill) had run scoring hits in the semifinal game.

The Warriors played hard in Sunday’s championship game, which was played at Dickey-Stephens Park, a Double-A ballpark in downtown Little Rock.  The Arkansas Travelers, and Angels affiliate, hosted the RBI teams Thursday night during the final game of their homestand against the North Arkansas Naturals.

Starter Zach Bird pitched and inning to start the game and Douglas Jones relieved him.  Houston’s starter cruised through the first five innings allowing no hits.  The 6th inning rally started with a walk of Tim Rush then a basehit by Marcus Brumfield put runners on first and third for Wyatt Sutton.  Sutton’s bloop single to right scored Rush. Then outfielder Wayne Johnson drove in Brumfield and pinch runner Colby Michael with a double to cut the lead to 8-3.

Houston starter Mike Hutchinson steadied the ship though and the Houston RBI team held on to win.  They will go on to play in the RBI World Series next week in Miami.

Mississippi RBI intends to enter the regional again next season in both the Jr. Boys (13-15) and Sr. Boys (16-18) division. We will select another all-star team of players consisting of participants who are enrolled in the RBI summer league which begins in June 2011.