NEMCC'S DIAMOND SPORTS TO BENEFIT FROM EXPANDED FALL EXHIBITION SCHEDULES

The Plex will host 8 dates this fall between the baseball & softball teams, including two D1 softball visitors in North Alabama & MS Valley.
The Plex will host 8 dates this fall between the baseball & softball teams, including two D1 softball visitors in North Alabama & MS Valley.
Posted: Aug 24, 2023

COMPLETE BASEBALL/SOFTBALL FALL SCHEDULES

BOONEVILLE, Miss. - Falls are about to get a whole lot busier in the future for the Northeast Mississippi Community College baseball and softball programs.

 

Both teams will play expanded exhibition schedules beginning with the 2023-24 academic year following rule changes by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC). 

 

Previous legislation limited MACCC members to just four tune ups prior to the regular season. The conference has increased that number to match the national regulation of 14 dates. 

 

However, neither group of Tigers will approach that many dates this autumn. Baseball will participate in nine doubleheaders while softball has 20 total contests on the docket. 

 

One byproduct of these alterations is that Northeast will host more fall games than ever before. The two diamond sports have a combined eight dates to kick off their fifth year at The Plex.

 

Baseball will compete solely versus fellow two-year institutions while softball tests itself against predominately senior colleges. That includes matchups with four different NCAA Division I opponents. 

 

Two of those D1 teams are coming to Northeast. The Tigers entertain Mississippi Valley State University on Saturday, September 23 and the University of North Alabama some five days later. 

 

Among the highlights this fall for softball is welcoming alumni Lindsey Coffey (Delta State University), Cassidy Duskin (UNA), India Ivy (MVSU) and Harley Mullins (Blue Mountain Christian University) back to campus with their new programs. 

 

"I think the kids will enjoy it," said Northeast softball headman Jody Long. "We can take things from these games and hopefully teach it and use it as a positive to get better. It's going to make us evaluate things quickly." 

 

Baseball's exhibition slate features a home-and-home series with both of its two local rivals in Itawamba Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College. 

 

The Rangers come to town on Friday, September 15 as part of a round-robin tripleheader with Northwest-Shoals (Ala.) Community College. The Tigers and Indians will meet in the City of Hospitality for a twinbill on Tuesday, October 17. 

 

"It's going to be a fun fall for us," Northeast head baseball coach Richy Harrelson said. "We've got a lot of freshmen coming in this year so it'll really help those guys grow. There's no rep like a game rep." 

 

Baseball wraps up the autumn on Tuesday, October 24 by travelling to Dyersburg State (Tenn.) Community College while softball's final games are on Friday, November 3 against visiting Delta State. 

 

Northeast is coming off a historic spring in which both baseball and softball either tied or broke the school record for most wins in a single season. Each team advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament as well.