BOONEVILLE, Miss. - A rigorous fall schedule helped the Northeast Mississippi Community College diamond sports prepare for one of their best combined regular seasons in school history earlier this year.
The two programs are replicating that plan in the hopes of producing another record setting spring. Both sets of Tigers will venture across the Mid-South to get better against quality opponents.
The baseball team will play 20 total exhibitions. They open against fellow conference foes East Central Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on September 8th at the University of Southern Mississippi's Pete Taylor Park.
The Tigers also visit the facilities of NCAA Division II affiliates Union (Tenn.) University and the University of West Alabama on back-to-back Fridays beginning September 12th.
Northeast hosts rival Itawamba Community College for the third consecutive autumn on Friday, September 26. It is the first of four home dates over a span of four weeks for the Tigers.
The Tigers welcome Wallace State (Ala.) Community College at Hanceville (September 29th) and Jackson State (Tenn.) Community College (October 15th) along with a round-robin tripleheader on October 12th.
Northeast also journeys to the USA Stadium complex in Millington, Tenn., on Friday, October 3 for matchups with Missouri institutions Mineral Area College and St. Charles Community College.
"I'm very excited and looking forward to it," said Tigers head coach Richy Harrelson. "The fall is all about playing the game and messing up a little bit. They're going to figure out what to expect and how this game is played at our level."
The softball team once again primarily faces four-year universities, including four contests against NCAA Division I members. They start with a road trip to the University of Tennessee at Martin on Saturday, September 13.
Northeast also goes to the University of North Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in October. The Tigers wrap up their preseason slate for the second straight year by traveling to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) on Friday, November 7.
"We're playing up to better competition," Northeast headman Jody Long said. "It's an advantage that those programs will play us. It gives our kids an opportunity to compete at that level. I think there's going to be a lot of positive learning lessons in the fall."
Local fans have one chance to catch a sneak peak of the Tigers before the 2026 campaign gets underway in February. Northeast takes on Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University in a twinbill at The Plex in late October.