Coca-Cola Revives Baseball Challenge

SUMMIT, Mississippi – The Coca-Cola Baseball Challenge presented by Powerade between Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Southwest Mississippi Community College has been revived. At a press conference at Southwest Mississippi Community College, Adam Northam of Southwest Broadcasting made the announcement on Thursday. The doubleheader between Co-Lin and Southwest is scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Summit. Southwest leads the three-game series 1-0 after defeating the Wolves 8-4 in 11 innings on February 28 at Hinds Community College.

The Challenge was originally started in 2005 by the crew of the "Chasing Foul Balls" radio show. The first 12 years featured the Co-Lin/Southwest baseball matchup with softball being added to the Challenge in 2016. But like many other events, COVID forced the cancellation of the baseball season in 2020.

The Challenge had three goals in mind-one, to expose more people to community college baseball (and now softball) with an emphasis on Southwest and Co-Lin; two, to provide a fun, family experience at the ballparks; and three, to donate money to the programs of each school.

The games are always a great day full of fun and excitement for both schools. In addition to the games, check presentations are made to the head coaches of both schools prior to each game.

Coca-Cola representative Barney Albritton said the Challenge is a great event and that the rivalry between Southwest and Co-Lin is a great one. He added that his company is proud to be a part of the community and a sponsor of the Challenge. Co-Lin President Dr. Dewayne Middleton, Southwest President Dr. Steve Bishop, Co-Lin Head Baseball Coach Adam Chamblee, and Southwest Head Baseball Coach Jack Edmonson thanked Coca-Cola for bringing back the Challenge and expressed excitement and the importance of the upcoming games since both teams are in the playoff hunt.