SWAC rivals Jackson State, Southern set to collide at MGM Park
Division I college baseball arrives at MGM Park this week.
A match-up between SWAC rivals Jackson State and Southern University starts at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, marking the beginning of a seven-game series of D1 college games at the new stadium.
Southern Miss-South Alabama will serve as the second and final college game of the week at MGM Park when the two teams play at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in a long-running regional rivalry.
"This was, in my mind, one of the main reasons we built this stadium," Biloxi Shuckers minority owner Tim Bennett said. "A very close second to minor league baseball was college athletics."
There will also be a high school baseball game at MGM Park at 7 p.m. Thursday when Biloxi and D'Iberville face off.
Bennett's Overtime Sports company has a track record of attracting top college baseball programs to Trustmark Park in Pearl and MGM Park appears set to become another regional college baseball hub.
Jackson State enters Tuesday's game with a record of 4-3 under ninth-year head coach Omar Johnson.
The Tigers have a long history as one of the better baseball programs in the SWAC, but they've shown even more progress under the direction of Johnson.
One of the biggest moments in Jackson State baseball history happened in 2014 when it beat No. 1 Louisiana-Lafayette, 1-0, on the opening day of the Lafayette, La., Regional. The Tigers also pushed Mississippi State to the limit in a 3-1 loss the next day before falling one game short of the regional final in an 11-1 loss to ULL.
Jackson State went 32-25 last year, coming up just short of the postseason.
Southern University also has a strong tradition in baseball with MLB Hall of Famer Lou Brock and former National League All-Star Rickie Weeks both former Jaguars.
Southern enters Tuesday's game with a 1-5 record after losing two of three games at Auburn over the weekend.
Jackson State took two of three games from Florida A&M in its weekend series last week.
JSU catcher Carlos Diaz is batting .412 with a homer and nine RBIs and third baseman Jesus Santana is batting .364 with four homers and eight RBIs.
Outfielder Dondrayas Harris has been Southern's best batter early in the season, hitting 364 with a homer and 4 RBIs.
Tuesday's contest won't be the lone SWAC match-up this season at MGM Park. Alcorn State will play Jackson State on April 15 in the new Urban American Classic.
"Those guys are very excited to come down here and play," Bennett said of the SWAC squads. "Those teams are improving. They're getting a lot better than they used to be. We're calling it the 'Urban American Classic' to call attention to the fact that these teams are getting better and are more racially diverse."
General admission tickets for Tuesday's game are $10 and $8 for children ages 2-12.
Tickets for Wednesday's USM-USM game range from $10-25 and admission to Thursday's Biloxi-D'Iberville game is $10.
Tickets can be purchased at TicketMaster.com or at the MGM Park ticket office.
This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "SWAC rivals Jackson State, Southern set to collide at MGM Park ."