On the heels of an ice storm, the Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans Baseball team took to the field to start the 2023 season. Trojan bats were thawed and hot but the pitching was still icy. An opening weekend on the road to Millington, Tennessee saw the Trojans fall to Chattanooga State 12-6 and then an 11-7 loss to Southwest Tennessee State. That was followed by a trip to Jackson to take on the Millsaps Majors in a double-header this past Monday. The Trojans fought hard but came up short, 9-8 in game one then tied 9-9 in game two as the teams ran out of pitchers.
Head Coach Luke Stanley knows his freshman pitches will get it going but needs it sooner rather than later.
"Our offense did pretty well but we're still working on the pitching," Coach Stanley said. "We're not in a groove yet. We fell behind too much and walked too many guys. Had that pretty consistently through both games. When we did fill it up, they hit it."
On the trip to Jackson, "we were winning both of those games late but had the same situation where we walked guys late and getting into bad situations. It was a good learning experience for our guys as well. We lost in a walk-off and we tied. We had to end it as we were out of pitching."
On the positive side, several Trojan players were swinging the bat well.
"(Sophomore) Chett McDaniel had a great weekend. He had a couple of home runs and hit a home run against Millsaps. (Sophomore) Brennan Duhe played really well and he hit two home runs and had a couple of base hits as well. We had several guys offensively who did well," Coach Stanley said.
In looking at his pitching, he noted they were "nervous on their first trip out and were a little all over the place. There were a few bright spots. (Sophomore) G.W. (Pigott) threw well and (Freshman) Tate (Anderson) did ok," he said.
The next action is tentatively a home double-header against Hinds but Coach Stanley believes the game may be moved to Hinds due to impending weather.
In the Chattanooga State loss, the game was tied at six in the sixth but Chattanooga picked up a run. MDCC's Jacob Brooks was tagged with the loss as he gave up five runs on seven hits over just two innings. Tate Anderson was the starter and went three innings giving up four runs and three hits but struck out two. McDaniel led at the plate going 2-for-3. The Trojans had six hits overall but gave up 13 to Chattanooga State.
In game two against Southwest Tennessee, the Trojans fell behind early when Southwest scored in the first and then put five across home plate in the second. The Trojans collected nine hits but gave up 14 to the Saluqis. Brennan Duhe took the loss for the Trojans lasting three inning and giving up seven hits and six runs while striking out one. Sophomores Tyrell Burnett and Darren Johnson were both 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Trojans.
The trip to Jackson to face the Majors showed some spark for the Trojans. The Trojans outhit the Majors 15 to nine. McDaniel and Mason Morgan were both 3-for-4 in game one. Morgan hit a home run.
In game two, the teams played to a seventh inning tie, 9-9. Duhe and McDaniel both had a home run as the Trojans collected 10 hits in the game. Millsaps had only five. To follow along all season, check out MDCCTrojans.com.