Braves infielder, former MCC Eagle Van Pope, hopes to get career back on track

Mississippi Braves third baseman and former Meridian Community College standout Van Pope, shown signing autographs before Tuesday's game against Birmingham, is trying to get back to top-prospect status this season after a disappointing 2007.

PEARL — Van Pope commanded attention, for many reasons, when he arrived here in the spring of 2007.

He was about to play his first Double-A season just a few miles from where he starred at Terry High. He was a top 10 prospect in the Atlanta Braves' organization, a power-hitting third baseman with a rocket arm who was being widely mentioned as the heir apparent to Chipper Jones.

The only question seemed to be, how long would he stay?

Roughly 14 months later, the 24-year-old Pope is still here - and there is reason to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Pope hit just .223 last season with six home runs, down from .263 and 15 the year before at Class A Myrtle Beach. He fell off the prospect charts. The "heir apparent" talk stopped.

"I was all set up last year - a top five prospect," Pope said prior to Tuesday's game, which he missed with a minor hand injury. "I guess I slipped off that radar a little bit."

He entered this season needing to reestablish himself, started hot and then - curse the luck - suffered a hamstring injury nine games in. He tried to come back - too quickly, perhaps - a week later and was reinjured, going on the shelf for almost a month.

Pope got back on the field on May 17. In 41 games, he is hitting .265 with two homers and 23 RBIs. He has made eight errors.

"Every year is a big year when you're in the minor leagues," he said. "I had a rough year last year. I didn't concentrate on some things as well as I should have."

There is a unique pressure on Pope, playing so close to his own backyard. There is a group at every game that cheers anytime his name is mentioned on the p.a. He is a popular target for autograph seekers before and after every game.

"That might have taken away from my concentration a little bit," Pope said. "But you can't blame it on that. ...

"I put a lot of pressure on myself. I've never not had success playing baseball, at any level. Last year was a learning experience."

Of course, that's all water under the bridge now. Pope's got 63 games left in 2008, almost an entire second half, to get his career back on track.

"His numbers are better," said M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman. "He's still playing a pretty good third base, and he's swinging the bat better. ... But he's got work to do.

"He's not driving in enough runs. He's not taking advantage of RBI opportunities. For a guy with his power, he's only got two home runs. He's making progress, but there's more to do."

Pope's defense is solid. He has what scouts call a "plus, plus arm." (Yes, he was an outstanding pitcher at Terry and Meridian CC.)

Wellman has been hitting Pope in the cleanup spot, enhancing his chances to be a run producer for a team that has struggled to score much of the season.

"There are adjustments he needs to make, mechanical and mental both," Wellman said. "He wastes some at-bats chasing bad pitches. But he is walking more. That's a good sign that he's starting to grasp the strike zone a little better."

The adjustment to Double-A pitching can be daunting. Jeff Francoeur, for instance, hit just .275 in his 84 games here in 2005 - and the majority of his 13 home runs were hit on the road. Trustmark Park is not a homer-friendly place.

"At the Double-A level, for any hitter, you have to be able to handle a lot of different pitches in the strike zone," said Kurt Kemp, the Atlanta Braves' director of player development. "Double-A pitchers can do more things in the strike zone. Hitters have to be more complete to succeed at that level. ...

"You need to be able to take an outside pitch the other way, and you need to be able to do some damage on a mistake in the zone."

Pope has yet to demonstrate an ability to do those things consistently, though, he says, it's not from a lack of effort.

"I work as hard as anybody," he said. "It's a job. You can't get to the big leagues without doing the work."

And, Kemp said, the organization hasn't given up on him making it.

"We never give up on anybody off of one bad year," Kemp said.

He cites the example of pitcher Charlie Morton, who labored for several years in the low minors before finally blossoming here late last season. He recently cracked Atlanta's starting rotation.

"People have asked me, 'How does a guy come from off the radar like that to make it to the big leagues?' " Kemp said. "Well, he wasn't off of our radar. We knew what he was capable of.

"We feel like Van had things to gain by going back to Double-A this year. I know he wasn't satisfied with last year, either. He needs to progress at his own pace. When you repeat a level, you should make progress, and I think Van has. Hopefully, he'll propel himself to the next level."

Former MCC Eagle Lane Burroughs Joins Mississippi State Baseball Coaching Staff

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University head baseball coach John Cohen announced Tuesday the hiring of Lane Burroughs as assistant baseball coach. The staff addition is pending the approval of the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.

Burroughs, a native of Meridian, Miss., joins the MSU staff after serving as an assistant coach for the Kansas State Wildcats in 2008. He previously served a nine-year stint as an assistant coach at Southern Miss.

"Lane is a hard worker and a native Mississippian who has a deep appreciation for Mississippi State baseball," said Cohen. "He has a proven track record as an energetic recruiter and as one of college baseball’s top hitting coaches. Six of USM’s nine NCAA tournament appearances came while Lane was their recruiting coordinator. He has gravitated toward my style of offensive baseball during his career and made it work at Southern Miss. I’m excited about Lane joining the coaching team at Mississippi State."

At Mississippi State Burroughs will be serving on a John Cohen-led baseball staff for the second time in his 15-year coaching career. Prior to his nine-year term as an assistant coach on Corky Palmer’s USM staff (1999-2007), Burroughs served as an assistant coach under Cohen at Northwestern (La.) State for two seasons, helping the Demons capture the Southland Conference title in 1998.

Burroughs played high school baseball at West Lauderdale High School in Collinsville, Miss., where he was coached by Jerry Boatner, one of the all-time winningest coaches in Mississippi high school history, and was a teammate of Mississippi State All-American and Major League pitching standout Jay Powell. He continued his baseball career at Meridian Community College and later at Mississippi College, where he earned All-Gulf South Conference honors.

He launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, Mississippi College, then served for one year as an assistant coach at East Mississippi Community College before joining Cohen’s staff at Northwestern State.

Burroughs and his wife, the former Susan Parker of Meridian, are the parents of two daughters, Parker Grace, 6, and Camryn Laine, 4, and a son, Thomas Jackson, born last September.

MCC golf adds four players

(MERIDIAN) – The Meridian Community College golf program added four players to team on Tuesday afternoon during Summer Orientation events on campus.

Tyler Rainer and Matthew Stevens of West Lauderdale High School joined Mark Drube of Covington, LA and Tanner Sparks of Belmont, MS in signing their national letters of intent to join MCC head golf coach Sean Covich and his program beginning in the 2008-09 academic year.

“I am extremely pleased to have these players join the Meridian tradition,” Covich said. “I fully expect them to excel in their academics and athletics. They are also great young men and will be great additions to our program.”

Both Rainer and Stevens played high school golf for Coach Jody Hurst at West Lauderdale High School in Collinsville.

“It’s always a pleasure to sign local players,” said Covich.

“We have two returning Meridian boys, with Clay Bounds and John Everett, and now adding two more local players truly makes this a Meridian team.”

Drube comes to MCC by way of Covington High School in Louisiana. He is the protégée of the Money Hill Golf Academy in Abita Springs, LA. He qualified for the Louisiana High School State Championships and has also shined on the junior tour circuits in his home state.

“Mark is a hard worker who is dedicated to being an outstanding person, student and golfer,” said Covich.

“I look forward to having him on the team as he is a young man of character and leadership.”

Sparks is the cousin of former MCC golfer, Curt Sparks, and his brother, Tyler Sparks, is a current Southern Miss golfer.

He helped guide Belmont to back-to-back MHSAA 2A State Championships in golf. He was named second team All State and first team All County two years in a row. As a junior, he was named the Most Valuable Golfer for Belmont High School after winning the Five County District Tournament shooting even par, 72.

In 2007, he played in eight junior tour events across the Southeast, placing in the top-15 in six of those events. At the Callaway Golf/PGA Junior Series event at Old Waverly, he placed 8th out of 64 golfers shooting rounds of 79-77. Later that summer he placed 25th at the Future Tour Championship in Greenville, MS shooting rounds of 76-76.

In 2006, he placed 5th at the Mississippi Big "I" Junior Classic shooing rounds of 74-74 at the MSU Golf Course in Starkville, MS. He qualified for the Mississippi Golf Association’s State Match Play Championship and was the 5th seed after a qualifying score of even-par 72.

“Tanner comes from a golfing family,” said Covich. “His two cousins both played college golf and his brother is playing for USM now. He is starting to find his swing and certainly is capable of being in our top five by the end of next season.”

MCC soccer pitch to be named C.D. Smith Field

MCC’s soccer pitch has been the site of a lot of victories for the Eagles and Lady Eagles over the years, but it never had an official name. Now it does – C.D. Smith Field.

MCC’s Board recently named the facility in honor of Smith’s 17 years of service as a trustee of the college. The announcement was made by MCC President Dr. Scott Elliott at a recent dinner honoring Smith, who will retire from the MCC Board on July 1. Smith has been appointed by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Board, necessitating his retirement as a MCC trustee.

“Our Board of Trustees tried to think of an appropriate way to honor C.D.,” Elliott said, “and we decided naming the soccer pitch after him was a good idea because soccer has been a big part of C.D.’s life. Two of his children played intercollegiate soccer, including his daughter, Danielle, who started for Mississippi State University in the Southeastern Conference. That’s soccer at the highest intercollegiate level. Also, soccer is one of our many student activities at MCC, and C.D. has always been a strong advocate for students in his role as a MCC trustee.”

Elliott said the soccer pitch’s scoreboard will be adorned with the lettering “C.D. Smith Field” as well as the new press box and concession facility, which is being built by the college’s Construction Trades program and should be ready for the 2008 fall season.

“MCC has enjoyed an outstanding tradition in soccer,” Elliott said. “I believe MCC is the only junior college in Mississippi to ever win a national title in men’s soccer, and our women won their first-ever state championship last fall under Coach Alex George. Having C.D.’s name officially associated with the program adds to its esteem. We’re really looking forward to the upcoming fall season at MCC at C.D. Smith Field.”

MCC tennis players receive ITA awards

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has announced that Meridian Community College sophomore tennis player, Blake Sherman (Laurel), was the regional recipient of the Community and Junior Colleges 2008 Arthur Ashe, Jr Collegiate Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.

As the regional award winner, Sherman is now eligible for the National Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Sportsmanship & Leadership.

Each regional winner received a special awards certificate from the ITA and was mentioned on the ITA website. The National Arthur Ashe Jr. Award winner (for Sportsmanship & Leadership) will be honored by the USTA and the ITA at a special awards luncheon held in the USTA President’s Dining Room during the 2008 US Open on Arthur Ashe Kids Day. Courtesy of the USTA & the ITA, the national winner will be flown to New York City for a weekend of festivities including a Friday evening “Team Dinner”, the ITA Collegiate Team Awards Luncheon on Saturday and the chance to watch the Center Court Show during Arthur Ashe Kids Day from the Presidents Box (or another special luxury suite). Sunday events are also set with the NJTL Arthur Ashe Essay Contest winners. Each national winner will also receive a framed certificate.

Nicholas Zabrodiac, also a sophomore tennis player for MCC, was named the ITA Region III Junior College Player of the Year.

Zabrodiac, who posted a 30-6 career record at MCC, led the Eagles to the 2008 MACJC State/Region 23 Championship and an overall record of 15-6.