Baseball | Pexels by Pixabay
Baseball | Pexels by Pixabay
Two Early Tournaments Part Of Road Heavy Calendar For Tigers
The Northeast Mississippi Community College baseball team will quickly learn to adjust to life on the road during the upcoming spring season.
The Tigers will hop on a bus and travel for 20 of their first 28 games as part of an expanded 2023 schedule that features 25 total doubleheaders.
"We can't wait to get started," said Northeast head coach Richy Harrelson. "This team is an older team so I think they're ready for it. It's going to be challenging, but we're going to be ready when conference play rolls around."
Two tournaments at the USA Stadium complex highlight the Tigers' early slate. Northeast begins the new year at the Saluqi Invitational from February 3-4 before returning to Millington, Tenn., two weeks later for the Flag City Classic.
The Tigers play several first-time opponents in these events such as Chattanooga State (Tenn.) Community College, East Central (Mo.) College, Iowa Central Community College and John A. Logan (Ill.) College.
"We've got some really good teams that we're playing," Harrelson said. "I felt like it was a good chance to compete against some quality teams and still not have to travel three-to-four hours."
Northeast welcomes Kaskaskia (Ill.) College for its inaugural home games from February 10-11. It is the third time in four years since The Plex opened that the Blue Devils have traveled south for a weekend series.
The Tigers will participate in three round robins featuring Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) members before the official start of league play in mid-March.
One of those dates will take place on the Booneville campus as the Tigers welcome Coahoma Community College and East Central Community College for a tripleheader on Tuesday, March 7.
Northeast jumps into the MACCC with six straight matchups away from its multi-million dollar facility against reigning national champion Pearl River Community College, Southwest Mississippi Community College and Coahoma.
The Tigers host both of their closest conference rivals as Itawamba Community College comes to town on Wednesday, March 29 while Northwest Mississippi Community College visits on Wednesday, April 12.
Ten of Northeast's final 12 MACCC contests are at home. That includes a playoff rematch from last year versus Jones College on Saturday, April 15 and the regular season finale with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on Friday, April 28.
The NJCAA Region 23 Tournament gets underway with a best-of-three series at various sites across the Magnolia State during the first weekend of May. It culminates with a six-team double elimination competition at Louisiana State University (LSU) at Eunice.
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