23 Diamond Dawgs Playing Summer Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With the 2014 season coming to an end last week, 23 Mississippi State baseball players have taken their talents across the country to play summer league baseball.
Highlighted by 2014 All-SEC Freshman catcher Gavin Collins (Bourne), four Diamond Dawgs are scheduled to play in the Cape Cod League this summer. Infielder Matthew Britton (Hyannis), right-hander Myles Gentry (Wareham) and lefty Lucas Laster (Bourne) will join Collins on the Cape, which since 1885 has been considered the premier amateur baseball summer league. Including Bulldog All-American southpaw Jacob Lindgren last year, 21 of the 74 players chosen on the first day of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft played in the league during their college career.
South of the Cape, three Bulldogs will be playing for the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League: outfielder Cody Brown, right-handed pitcher Jacob Billingsley and first baseman Wes Rea. On June 6th, Billingsley picked up the win for the Big Train against Vienna. The Big Train is the same team former Bulldog All-American Hunter Renfroe played on when he was named MVP of the league in 2012, the summer before his breakout season in Starkville.
West of the Cape, five MSU players will compete on two teams in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Righty Zac Houston and first baseman Brent Rooker will compete for the Plymouth Pilgrims, while the trio of lefty Glenn Irby, righty Levi Mintz and outfielder Joey Swinarski will play for the Danbury Westerners.
Heading to the Midwest, a quartet of Starkville’s own are playing for the Lima Locos in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League: right-handers Austin Sexton and Ben Hudspeth, first baseman Dylan Ingram and slugger Daniel Garner. Wasting no time after driving 11 hours to be there, Garner hit a home run in each of his first two games with the Locos.
In Minnesota, All-SEC defensive shortstop and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Seth Heck is competing for the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League.
On the West Coast, six Bulldogs are representing the Maroon and White in the California Collegiate League. Infielder Reid Humphreys along with lefty Vance Tatum and righties Avery Geyer and Dakota Hudson are playing for the San Luis Obispo Blues. Outfielder Jake Vickerson and catcher Cody Walker are donning the uniform of the Santa Barbara Foresters.
For weekly statistical updates on the 23 MSU players in summer ball, visit HailState.com/baseball. For more coverage of the group’s time in summer ball, search for “HailStateBB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All-Access coverage of the program can also be found on FanCred. All players on the list below are subject to change without notice. Any changes to this list will be reflected in the weekly updates.
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LEAGUE |
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RHP |
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INF |
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OF |
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C |
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C |
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RHP |
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RHP |
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INF |
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RHP |
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RHP |
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RHP |
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INF |
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1B |
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LHP |
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LHP |
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RHP |
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1B |
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1B/OF |
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RHP |
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OF |
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LHP |
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OF |
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C |