EMCC’s Mike Farnell and Marcus Ragan chosen to MACJC All-State Baseball Team
East Mississippi Community College sophomores Mike Farnell and Marcus Ragan have been named to the 2017 MACJC All-State Baseball Team, as voted on by the respective head baseball coaches of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.
SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College sophomores Mike Farnell and Marcus Ragan have been named to the 2017 MACJC All-State Baseball Team, as voted on by the respective head baseball coaches of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.
A two-year starting catcher for Coach Chris Rose's EMCC Lions, Farnell ranked sixth among MACJC leaders with a team-high 10 home runs this season. Along with hitting .380, including 23 extra-base hits and 26 walks, Farnell topped EMCC in slugging percentage (.701) and on-base percentage (.476) as a sophomore. He ranked second on the club with 36 runs batted in, 52 hits and 12 doubles in helping lead the 25-20 Lions to a 15-13 conference mark and an appearance in the MACJC best-of-three playoff series against NJCAA Division II World Series entry Hinds Community College.
A native of Spanish Fort, Ala., Farnell batted .364 and slugged at a .628 clip during his two-year stint with the Lions. In addition to hitting 13 career home runs and 20 doubles, he drove home 62 runs in 76 career games played at East Mississippi.
Farnell has signed with Murray State University to continue his college baseball career.
Ragan put together a career year by hitting a club-high .395 with 27 extra-base hits as the Lions' leadoff batter. Along with a team-high 13 doubles and six home runs, his league-leading eight triples ranked tied for fourth nationally. The Warren Central High School product led this year's EMCC squad with 70 hits, 58 runs scored, 117 total bases and 25 stolen bases (in 28 attempts) while starting all 45 games. Ragan also ranked third on the team with 34 RBI along with posting on-base and slugging percentages of .446 and .661, respectively.
As a two-year starter in the outfield for the Lions, Ragan hit .370 with a .566 career slugging percentage. Among his 115 career hits at EMCC were 21 doubles, 11 triples and six homers. He also had 38 stolen bases and fielded at a .983 clip during his 84-game East Mississippi career.
Ragan has committed to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In addition, EMCC's Rose awarded second-team all-state recognition to seven other Lion players for their respective season-long efforts this past year. Along with dual-position players Whitt Davis (.286, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 5-2 record) and Alex Knight (.274, 16 RBI, 3-1 record, 1 save), pitchers Vijay Miller (5-0, 3.97 ERA), Bubba Stockstill (3-6, 2 saves) and Eli Leathers (6 saves, 2.20 ERA) as well as infielders Anthony Hickman (.323) and Ja'Coby Cole (3 HR, 23 RBI) all collected second-team honors.