CLINTON, Miss. – The Mississippi College baseball team returns to postseason play on Thursday, May 17 as it faces the third-seeded Delta State University at Henley Field on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. The sixth-seeded Choctaws and Statesmen open the first day of the NCAA South Regional.
Tickets for the regional are $8 for adults, $5 for students with ID and seniors and $2 for children (12 and under). All tickets are cash only at the gate.
NEWS AND NOTES
• After winning the program's first-ever Gulf South Conference Championship and earning an automatic bid into the NCAA South Regional, the Mississippi College baseball team was named the #6 seed and will travel to Lakeland, Fla., for the double-elimination tournament. The Choctaws will open the regional on Thursday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m. against the #3 seed Delta State University.
• The Choctaws and Delta State meet for the fifth time this season. The season series is split at two games each. MC took a game from the Statesmen in the three-game, Gulf South Conference series and knocked off its in-state foe in the GSC Championship.
• The Choctaws last regional appearance came in the 2010 when the squad traveled to McMinnville, Ore., for the Division III West Regional.
• Mississippi College ran 4-0 through the GSC Championship, including wins over the University of North Alabama (8-4), the University of West Alabama (11-1) and in-state and nationally-ranked Delta State (9-8) to advance to the championship game against Lee University (7-6). MC, which was the fourth-seed in the conference tournament, opened the season 10-2 and finished the regular season 29-15 and 18-10 in the GSC.
• Four Choctaws were named to the All-GSC Team with
Grant Barber,
Billy Cameron,
Blaine Crim and
Kyle Smith earning second team laurels. Barber and Smith are two-time all-conference recipients with both named to the team last season. Crim and Cameron, who are first time honorees, were named to the GSC All-Tournament Team with Crim being named the Most Outstanding Player.
• Mississippi College has never faced the three members from the Sunshine State Conference. The Choctaws last met Albany State on March 21, 1996 and claimed a 5-4 win in Clinton - the lone meeting between the two schools. MC is 2-4 against Montevallo all-time with the two teams meeting three times this season.
• The Choctaws and Statesmen are the first game of the South Regional. The second-seeded University of Tampa meets the seventh seed Albany State at 2 p.m. with fourth-seeded Nova Southeastern facing fifth-seeded Montevallo at 6 p.m. central. The top seed Florida Southern meets the winner of the Nova Southeastern-Montevallo game at 2 p.m. on Friday.
• With 33 wins this season, the 2018 Choctaws have the fourth-most wins in a single season. Only seven MC squads have recorded 30-plus wins in a single season with the 2010 team leading the way with 39 wins. Below is a lists of the 30-plus win seasons in Clinton.
| 1. |
39 |
2010 |
American Southwest Conference (Division III) |
| 2. |
35 |
1981 |
Gulf South Conference (Division II) |
| 3. |
34 |
2003 |
American Southwest Conference (Division III) |
| 4. |
33 |
2018 |
Gulf South Conference (Division II) |
| 5. |
31 |
1984 |
Gulf South Conference (Division II) |
|
31 |
2004 |
American Southwest Conference (Division III) |
| 7. |
30 |
2009 |
American Southwest Division III) |
• Mississippi College went 17-30 in 2016 - its first season under head coach
Jeremy Haworth. The Choctaws went 20-28 in in 2017 and earned a berth in the Gulf South Conference Tournament after starting the season 2-17. MC started the 2018 campaign winning 15 of its first 18 games.
• The toughest region in Division II, the South Regional field consists of 18 national championships. Florida Southern (9), Tampa (7), Delta State (1) and Nova Southeastern (1) have combined for 18 national titles. The quartet have a total of 27 national championship game appearances (national runner: FSC - 4; UT - 2; DSU - 3).
• Florida Southern makes its 43rd postseason appearance with Tampa is making 33rd while Delta State, last year's regional champion, is making its 31st appearance postseason appearance. Nova Southeastern makes its sixth postseason appearance followed by Albany State making its fifth and first since 2015, Montevallo makes its third postseason tournament.
