Fans, Businesses Ready for USM Baseball Season

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Deborah Collins and Gwen Breakfield are Southern Miss baseball season ticket holders who showed up early to Pete Taylor Park Friday.

By Charles Herrington

They wanted to get great parking for the first Golden Eagles baseball game of the year.

The team played Liberty University in the first of a three-game series.

Collins and Breakfield said they were excited about the new baseball season.

“I’m excited, I’ve been ready,” Collins said. “New players, just the atmosphere is going to be so much more.”

Collins and Breakfield are certainly ready for the Golden Eagles to play ball.

“Oh, my gosh, I’ve been excited for a while now,” Breakfield said. “Everybody is in it. Everybody’s yelling, screaming, stomping, whatever.”

So are lots of Hub City businesses, hoping to see plenty of fans in local hotels, stores and restaurants.

“We’re picking up business every day so, hopefully, (the baseball season) will pick us up even more,” said Kye McMullan, manager of Nannie Mac’s, a sandwich and ice cream shop located just a block away from Pete Taylor Park.

All the people who’ll be attending this weekend’s games, or coming into town for the Caerus Mardi Gras parade, will put some much-needed cash into the Hattiesburg economy, according to VisitHATTIESBURG.

“We’re looking at $5-$6 million in economic impact, just for everything we have going on in town this weekend,” said Marlo Dorsey, executive director of VisitHATTIESBURG.

“It’s a really good time for us, because we’re coming off of a little bit of a lull coming out of the holidays.”

Southern Miss defeated Liberty University Friday by a score of 3-0.

USM will have 31 home baseball games this season.

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