HATTIESBURG — It takes a certain amount of hype around a sporting event to inspire area politicians to start making wagers.
The NCAA super regional between Southern Miss baseball and Ole Miss has officially reached that threshold. Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker, a Southern Miss graduate, accepted a hashtag challenge from Ole Miss alumnus and state auditor Shad White on Twitter.
The best-of-three series starts Saturday.
Here’s what is at stake.
“College baseball has always been big in the state of Mississippi, but I think it just got a lot bigger this weekend in all honesty,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. “We’re proud of it. We’re proud of how it’s moved forward. We’re extremely proud of our program and the investments that were made in it in facilities and everything else that enables you to get a chance to go to Omaha.”
Southern Miss is expecting a sellout at Pete Taylor Park after tickets were released to season ticket holders and Eagle Club members this week.
The cheapest ticket on the secondary market site StubHub is listed at $350, as of Wednesday evening.
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When the Rebels came to Hattiesburg earlier this season, Pete Taylor Park broke its all-time attendance record, playing host to 6,346 fans.
The stadium’s listed capacity of 4,300 didn’t stand a chance during the Hattiesburg Regional, either. At least 5,000 fans flocked to each of the five games the Golden Eagles played.
With enormous stakes attached to the in-state clash in the form of a trip to the College World Series and big-time crowds all but certain, the intensity of this all-Mississippi super regional should make for a thrilling series.
“I expect a lot of people to be here, I expect a lot of animosity, a lot of tension,” USM ace Tanner Hall said. “That’s expected. This is a big weekend for both of these teams. We’re 1-1 against each other this season. We’re going to be seeing who the bulldogs are.”
Reach Southern Miss writer David Eckert at [email protected] or on Twitter @davideckert98.
