Diamond Dogs Enjoy Championship Summer

STARKVILLE, Miss. - After helping Mississippi State win the 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament title, a handful of Diamond Dogs stayed in championship mode during a successful stint in summer collegiate baseball league competition in 2012.

Bulldog pitching standouts Kendall Graveman and Jonathan Holder played key roles in guiding the Wareham Gatemen to the championship in the prestigious Cape Cod Collegiate League. In eight appearances, six as a starter, Graveman (3-1, 2.61) tallied 31 strikeouts in 38 innings while Holder (5-1, 2 saves, 1.75) totaled 38 strikeouts in 25-2/3 innings during his 14 relief appearances. Two other MSU hurlers competed in the oldest of the summer "wood bat " leagues --- Evan Mitchell (0-0, 5.79) and Brandon Woodruff (4-2, 3.38) with the Harwich (Mass.) Mariners.

Four Bulldog veterans, infielders Nick Flair (.295) and Trey Porter (.314) and pitchers Chad Girodo (1-0, 1 save, 0.99 ERA) and Will Cox (4-2, 2.56 ERA) competed this summer for the San Luis Obispo Blues in the California Collegiate League. The Blues shared the CCL championship with eventual NBC World Series national champion Santa Barbara, a team they bested in five of six regular season meetings. MSU signee Alex Detz (.276) was a fifth MSU player on the San Luis Obispo club.

Sophomore pitcher Jacob Lindgren (3-5, 3.38) helped lead the East Texas Pump Jacks to q 41-22 record and the club's first Texas Collegiate League title. Lindgren, in his first appearance in relief, earned a win for East Texas in the deciding third game of TCL championship series.

Infielder Demarcus Henderson (.255, 9 SB) competed for the Amsterdam (N.Y.) Mohawks, who posted a 35-12 record and captured the New York Collegiate Baseball League crown.

Junior outfielder Hunter Renfroe (.364, 19 home runs, 57 RBI) starred for the Bethesda (Md.) Big Train in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. He set league marks for home runs and RBI and became the first position player in the league to have his number retired.

Junior shortstop Adam Frazier played for the USA Collegiate National Team that claimed the bronze medal in the Honkbal Week international tournament held in the Netherlands. Earlier this summer the USA team posted a 2-3 worksheet against highly-regarded Cuba during a competitive five-game series in Havana.

Mississippi State was well-represented again this summer in the Prospect League with three Bulldogs playing for the Danville (Ill.) Dans --- infielder Matthew Britton (.235) and outfielder Tyler Fullerton (.299, 4 home runs, 23 RBI) and pitcher Aaron Fitts (2-4, 48 Ks, 4.85 ERA).

Senior infielder Sam Frost (.303, 3 home runs, 17 RB) enjoyed a productive summer playing for the Westhampton (N.Y.) Aviators in the Atlantic League, while sophomore hurler Ross Mitchell (4-2, 5.09 ERA) pitched for the Alaska League's Matsu Miners in Palmer, Alaska. Closer to home catcher Nick Ammirati (.246, 17 RBI) played for the Wisconsin Rapid Rafters in the Northwoods League while pitcher Tanner Gaines (2-1, 4.42 ERA) averaged nearly a strikeout per inning pitched with the Thomasville (N.C.) Hi-Toms in the Coastal Plain League.

Two other Diamond Dog newcomers from Ontario, Canada, outfielder Jacob Robson and infielder Kevin Hann, are members of Team Canada and will be in international competition in the coming weekends, culminating in the 2012 World Junior Baseball Championships Aug. 30-Sept. 8 in Seoul, South Korea.

Mississippi State begins formal fall baseball practice September 21 at Dudy Noble Field.