CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College baseball team opens the 2019 campaign on Friday, Feb. 1 as it travels to Searcy, Ark., to face Harding University in a three-game series this weekend. First pitch of the season opener is slated for 2 p.m. at Jerry Moore Field.
 
The series will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 2 with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.
 
THE SERIES
• Mississippi College opens the 2019 season on the road against Harding University. The three-game series against the Bisons marks the first time the Choctaws have opened the season on the road under head coach Jeremy Haworth.
• Friday's twinbill marks the first time the Choctaws and Bisons have met on the diamond since March 1996. The inaugural meeting between the two schools was March 1991.
• Despite Harding being a member of the Gulf South Conference for 10 years, the two teams have never met as conference foes. The Bisons were members of the GSC from 2001-11. The Choctaws joined the conference in 1973 and were members until 1996 when they made the move to Division III. The Navy and Gold returned to the GSC as full members in 2017.
 
HAWORTH VS. HARDING
• MC skipper Jeremy Haworth faces a familiar foe in Harding in the season-opening series. Prior to coming to Clinton, Miss., Haworth served as head coach at Ouachita Baptist University in the Great American Conference with HU. Haworth also played two seasons at OBU.
• Haworth and HU head man Patrick McGaha have stood on opposite baselines prior to this weekend's series. McGaha's club has won eight of the 15 meetings. Haworth was an unblemished 6-0 against McGaha's Bisons during his two seasons as a player at Ouachita Baptist.
 
SCOUTING THE BISONS
• Head Coach Patrick McGaha begins his 14th season at his alma mater. McGaha was a four-year letterwinner for the Bisons. Prior to his time at Harding, he was the head coach at College of the Ozarks. He also spent one season at Pepperdine. He headed up Central Arkansas Christian in North Little Rock from 1993-97 - where he led them to a pair of state championships in 1994 and 1995.
• Harding faces three teams from the Gulf South Conference this season. Along with Mississippi College, HU is set to face Christian Brothers twice during the season and host Union University in a midweek tilt.
• Harding returns 21 players from the 2018 season. P Matt Sherry and outfielders Jack Thomas and Ben Brauss are three-year letters for the Black and Gold. The Bisons have 21 players with one-plus year experience in Searcy.
• HU has nine freshmen on its 2019 ledger. 12 Bisons are looking for their first experience in the Black and Gold this season.
• All-Great American Conference Honorable Mention selections pitchers Tanner Smith and Nolan Fertig along with All-GAC Defensive Team INF Luke Van Dover are among the returners for the Black and Gold.
• Harding finished seventh in the Great American Conference earning a spot into the conference tournament. The Bisons topped the second seed Arkansas Tech before dropping a pair of contests against ATU being eliminated from the tournament.
 
CHOCTAWS TABBED GSC FAVORITE
• Mississippi College was selected as the top team in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Choctaws received nine of the 13 first place votes.
• Grant Barber, Billy Cameron and Blaine Crim were named to the Preseason All-GSC Team. The trio were all 2018 all-conference players for the Navy and Gold.
• Chauncey Callier and Garrett Hollinghead were placed on the top newcomers to watch list in the conference. The duo comes to Clinton from Lurleen B. Wallace Community College.
 
SEASONS CHANGE: 2019 PREVIEW
• Mississippi College returns 17 players from the 2018 campaign that saw the Choctaws win the Gulf South Conference and advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Regional. Among the returnees are eight position players and nine pitchers, including two of the three weekend starters.
• The Choctaws have 16 new faces joining the squad for the 2019 season. Among the new faces are seven freshmen and nine transfers.
• Three Choctaws that earned All-Gulf South Conference honors return for the 2019 season. infielders Billy Cameron, Blaine Crim and Grant Barber earned all-conference, second team laurels. Crim and Cameron each earned all-region accolades.
• Chris Crosby and Zack Ingram return for the Choctaws in 2019. The duo finished first and third on the staff in strikeouts while Crosby led the team in wins. MC also returns its two saves leaders from a season ago. Ryan Lane led the squad with seven saves followed by Tommy Taborda with five.
• Newcomers to watch include OF Chauncey Callier, pitchers Garrett Hollinghead and Brandon Nowak. Nowak comes to MC from Louisiana State University. Callier and Hollinghead transfer from Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Analusia, Ala.
 
CHOCTAWS IN SEASON OPENERS
• Mississippi College is 2-1 under head coach Jeremy Haworth in his three seasons in Clinton. The Choctaws defeated Tougaloo College in Haworth's first season in 2016 and knocked off nationally-ranked Lindenwood to start the 2018 season. The setback in season lidlifters came in 2017 as the Choctaws fell to Florida Tech.
• Mississippi College opens the 2019 on the road for the first time under Haworth. The last time MC opened the season on the road was 2014 when the Navy and Gold traveled to nearby Jackson, Miss., to face Belhaven University.

Choctaws Last Five Season Openers

Year	Opponent	Result
2018	Lindenwood	W, 12-11
2017	Florida Tech	L, 6-4
2016	Tougaloo College	W, 12-8
2015	Tougaloo College	W, 11-7
2014	Belhaven	L, 11-1

CHOCTAWS VS. GREAT AMERICAN
• Mississippi College enters this weekend's series against Harding University with a 39-25 record all-time against Great American Conference schools.
• The Choctaws last meeting against a GAC school was on April 24, 2018 at Southern Arkansas University. The Muleriders held off MC for a 5-2 victory.
• The last win for the Navy and Gold over a GAC foe was on March 20 last when MC won 7-3 against Henderson State to move to 12-2 against the Reddies in the series.

Choctaws Against the GAC 

Opponent	Series
Arkansas Tech	ATU leads 2-1
Arkansas-Monticello	MC leads 22-16
Harding	MC leads 3-0
Henderson State	MC leads 12-2
Southern Arkansas	SAU leads 2-1

STARTED AS A FRESHMAN, NOW WE'RE HERE
• Senior Blaine Crim returns to the Choctaws. The Mobile, Ala., native has started 144 games entering the 2019 campaign. Crim has been a constant in the MC lineup since arriving on campus in 2016 from St. Episcopal School. Crim has started all, but three games during his three seasons in Clinton.
• Fellow senior Tommy Taborda has drawn nine starts on the mound during his career. The Popano Beach, Fla., product was a starter on the mound for the Choctaws as a true freshman. Taborda has seen success in a closer role for the Choctaws and ranks fourth in the program in saves with six.
• Junior Grant Barber has started all, but three games since arriving in Clinton as a freshman in 2017. Barber has started 98 games entering his junior season, including all 48 contests during his freshman campaign.
 
RECAPPING 2018 SEASON
• The Choctaws claimed the programs first ever Gulf South Conference title by running through the conference tournament undefeated and culminating in a 7-6 win over Lee University to take the title.
• Earning the 2018 GSC Championship, MC earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II South Regional in Lakeland, Fla. After falling in the opening game of the regional, the Choctaws eliminated Albany State and nationally-ranked Nova Southeastern and in-state foe Delta State. MC was elminated in the semifinals as it fell to nationally ranked Tampa.
 
CHOCTAW BLUE RUNS IN THE FAMILY
• Assistant coaches Josh Perez and Grady Turman, Jr., are invested in the success of the Mississippi College baseball team. Perez (2013) and Turman (2016) each played for the Choctaws before joining the coaching staff.
• Perez, who heads up recruiting for the program, was an All-American Southwest Conference selection during his time in Clinton. The Baton Rouge, La., native served as a volunteer assistant during the 2017 campaign.
• Turman played for the Choctaws during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Clinton, Miss., native posted a 5-4 record on the bump with two saves in 25 appearances after transferring from Hinds Community College.
 
TRAVELING SHOES
• Mississippi College will travel 5,320 miles this season in 23 games away from Frierson Field at Dickins-Scoper Stadium.
• The season-opening series in Searcy, Ark., is 604 miles round trip for the Choctaws. The longest road trip of the season is 854 miles roundtrip to Lee University.
 
ON DECK FOR MC
• Following the roadtrip to Searcy, Ark., the Choctaws have seven consecutive contests at Frierson Field at Dickins-Scoper Stadium.
• MC opens its home slate with a four-game series against Lindenwood University. The series with the Lions starts on Friday, Feb. 8 and closes with a single contest on Sunday, Feb. 10. Sandwiched between is a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 9 with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
• After the home-opening series with LU, the Choctaws host a three-game series against Quincy (Ill.). The series against the Hawks is slated for a twinbill on Saturday, Feb. 16 with the series closing out on Sunday, Feb. 17.

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.
 
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.