MCC Baseball Lands Six Players on MACJC All-State Team

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team announced on Tuesday that six players have been named to the 2015 MACJC All-State team for their achievements during the season. Bryant Johnston and Dalton Thomas were named 1^st Team All-State, while four other members of the MCC baseball team were named 2^nd Team All-State.

Johnston was named to the MACJC 1^st Team All-State squad after a marvelous season on the mound for the Eagles. Johnston finished the season with a 9-1 record on the mound and complied a 3.23 in 21 appearances during the 2015 season. Johnston is a native of Gulfport, MS and will continue his baseball career next season in the Gulf South Conference with Delta State University.

The second member representing MCC on the 1^st Team was sophomore Dalton Thomas of Grenada, MS. Thomas finished the season with a .323 batting average and led the squad in three different offensive categories. Thomas led the team in home runs (8), doubles (15), and RBI’s (43). Thomas will continue his baseball career in 2016 by playing for former MCC head coach Chris Curry at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Goose Yates, Matt Berler, Austin Harrison, and Dustin Smith also received recognition on Tuesday by being named members of the 2015 MACJC 2^nd Team. Yates is a native of Gulfport, MS and played most of his games at third base during the regular season for the Eagles. Yates finished the season with a .338 batting average, five home runs, and 15 doubles. Yates also saw some time on the mound for the Eagles as well by collecting a pair of saves out of the bullpen. Yates will play college baseball next season at the University of New Orleans after helping lead MCC to a postseason appearance in 2015.

Matt Berler finished his freshman season for the Eagles with very impressive offensive numbers to earn him a spot on the 2^nd Team. Berler hit .364 in 2015 with 52 hits, and finished the season with a spectacular .981 fielding percentage at second base. Berler is a native of Birmingham, AL and played his high school baseball at Spain Park.

Austin Harrison also had a solid first season in an MCC uniform by totaling some impressive numbers on the mound. The former Neshoba Central star went 5-2 for the season with a 2.68 ERA. Harrison also tossed two complete games and one of those came in the postseason against East Central Community College.

Dustin Smith was the final member of the 2^nd Team representing Meridian that was named by the league on Tuesday. Smith is a native of Richland, MS and completed the year by hitting .339 with 12 doubles, and three home runs. Smith also finished the season with a .989 fielding percentage at first base and also saw some action on the mound for the Eagles.

MCC finished the 2015 season with a 33-17 overall record and made an appearance in postseason play after finishing in the top four among all of the junior colleges in the state of Mississippi. The Eagles also finished the season on high marks in the classroom by compiling a team GPA of 3.56 and four of the players finished with High Honors. Dustin Smith, Chance McDonald, Bryant Johnston, and Jared Savell each finished the year with High Honors and all four were induced into the Circle of Excellence. Savell was also recognized by graduating from the prestigious MCC Honor’s College at the 2015 MCC Spring Graduation last Friday night.