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Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference Athletics

NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament Begins Monday

NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament Begins Monday

Photo courtesy of Pearl River Sports Information

 

EUNICE, La. (BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL) - Fans might just get an early glimpse of the 2023 NJCAA Division II baseball champions this week when the NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament begins in Eunice, La., hosted by the No. 1 LSU-Eunice Bengals. Region 23 is home to five of the NJCAA's top-20 division II baseball teams, and the winner of the Region 23 will emerge as the clear favorite to win the NJCAA's top prize during the national tournament, held May 27-June 3 in Enid, Okla.

The six team, double elimination Region 23 tournament begins Monday, May 15 at 12:00 p.m. with Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) rivals Meridian (38-10, 22-6 MACCC) taking on defending NJCAA Division II Champions Pearl River (43-11, 20-8 MACCC). Meridian won their last seven games to secure a spot in the MACCC playoffs, eliminating East Mississippi (24-26, 12-16 MACCC) to advance to the regional. During the regular season, Pearl River seemed to have lost some of their mojo following their national championship, but came alive in the playoffs, going undefeated to head to Eunice as the number four seed.

LSU-Eunice enters the regional tournament as the number one seed after a stellar season that saw the Bengals finish with a 49-3 record. This year's tournament is an opportunity for the Bengals--who seemed undefeatable in 2022--to avenge their Region 23 loss to the Wildcats in the regional final, crushing their hopes of earning back-to-back national championships. To get to that rematch, they will take on Northeast Mississippi (33-19, 18-10 MACCC). The Tigers will arrive in Eunice fresh off of winning their last 10 ouf of 14 regular season games and sweeping Jones in the MACCC postseason tournament. With LSU-Eunice ranked No. 1 in the nation and Pearl River, Meridian, East Central and Itawamba nationally ranked No. 3, 4,  8 and 14, Northeast Mississippi is the sole unranked team in the tournament, though they did receive votes in the latest NJCAA Division II Baseball Rankings. The "Big Cat Battle" will take place in the 3:30 p.m. slot.

Rounding out the opening day action is Itawamba (35-11, 20-8 MACCC) taking on the reigning MACCC champion East Central (33-16, 23-5). The Warriors bypassed the MACCC "best-of-three" playoffs as the regular season champion, getting some much-needed rest after narrowly winning the regular season championship. Itawamba took down conference rival Hinds to earn their spot at the regional tournament.

The NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament will run May 15-18, with an "If Necessary" game on Friday, May 19. The winner of the tournament will advance to the NJCAA Division II National Championship. All games will be streamed live at www.lsuebengals.net/DigitalNetwork.

NJCAA Region 23 is comprised of member schools representing the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) and the Louisiana Community College Athletic Conference (LCCAC).

About the MACCC

The Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC)  is one of the premier community college conferences in the country and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni on professional sports teams. 

Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer and tennis.  

Women's competition is offered in the sports of basketball, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. 

 

Follow the MACCC

For complete coverage of the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference, please follow the MACCC on social media at @MACCCAthletics (Twitter), @MACCCAthletics (Facebook), and @MACCCAthletics (Instagram) or visit the official website,  www.MACCCAthletics.com.