For the second consecutive year, Overtime Sports and Conference USA came together to host another successful Conference USA baseball tournament at Biloxi’s MGM Park. The 8-team double elimination tourney ended with the Southern Mississippi Eagles dominating Florida Atlantic University 12-3 in the championship game.
Southern Mississippi earned an automatic spot into the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
Overtime Sports is headed by Tim Bennett, the sports and entertainment promoting guru responsible for getting MGM Park built in Biloxi four years ago and bringing in the Biloxi Shuckers minor league baseball team. This year was the second of a three-year agreement with Conference USA.
Leading the way for Conference USA was Senior Associate Commission Merton Hanks, a former NFL defensive back with the San Francisco 49ers and a recent inductee into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame.
Threats of rain and lightning during the early stages of the tournament forced some game postponements. While strong organizing helped get the rest of the tournament rescheduled and complete, it affected the total crowd attendance, which, while substantial, did not beat last year’s record-setting achievements.
The tournament is slated to return to Biloxi in 2019.
