MCC baseball banquet to honor Berry

(MERIDIAN) – The Meridian Community College baseball program is set for their 2010 team banquet and will honor former MCC baseball coach Scotty Berry. In addition, special guest Corky Palmer, also a former MCC coach, who recently retired after leading Southern Mississippi to the College World Series, will speak at the banquet.

The banquet honoring Berry will be held on Sunday, January 24 at 5:00 p.m. in the Graham Gymnasium on MCC’s campus. The banquet will include a dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse, speeches from Scott Berry and Corky Palmer, introduction of the 2010 MCC baseball team, silent auction, and the retiring of Berry’s MCC jersey.

Tickets are $25 per person and are available by contacting MCC head baseball coach Chris Rose at 601-917-5291 or crose@meridiancc.edu.

Berry spent ten seasons at MCC during his coaching career. He was an assistant coach under Corky Palmer at Meridian from 1991-96 then he took over the program when Palmer left for Southern Miss in 1997.

Berry was the head coach at MCC for four seasons (1997-200) where he amassed a 186-57 mark. In his four years as the head coach at MCC, Berry guided the Eagles to the NJCAA World Series twice, won the Region 23 Championship three times and captured the Mississippi/Louisiana Championship all four years. He was named the Regional Coach of the Year three times (1997, 1998 and 2000), District Coach of the Year twice (1998 and 2000), while earning the Diamond Sports ABCA Region Coach of the Year in 1998 and the Louisville Slugger Coaching Award two times in 1997 and 1998.

At Meridian, he coached 30 players who signed to play Division I baseball and had 10 players selected in the major league draft, including 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, of the Cleveland Indians, who played for Berry in 1999 and 2000.

Former MCC head coach, Corky Palmer, asked Berry to rejoin him at Southern Miss before the start of the 2001 season.

Since he joined the staff, the Golden Eagles have garnered a 346-197 (.637) record while advancing to NCAA postseason play six times. The team also won the Conference USA Championship in 2003.

In his tenure at Southern Miss, Berry's main responsibility has been working with the pitching staff, mentoring four pitchers to seven All-American honors, including at least one All-American in four consecutive years from 2003-06. He also has coached three pitchers to freshmen All-American honors and saw 12 pitchers drafted into professional baseball.

On May 7, 2009 USM named Berry their next head baseball coach after Palmer announced his retirement. Similar to the situation at MCC when Palmer was named the head coach at Southern Miss and Berry took over at Meridian.