Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but familiarity turns it the other way.
Which is why the Southwest Mississippi Cardiovascular Institute sponsors the Heart Challenge between Copiah-Lincoln and Southwest Mississippi Community Colleges.
The two baseball teams both recruit southwest Mississippi, so they have players who have seen each other almost their entire baseball lives.
The two schools also provide the institute and Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center with staff from their nursing and other medical programs.
Everyone knows everyone else, which is why the two teams care a little bit more about who wins come Tuesday in Wesson.
“We’ve always grown up playing against a few players from Co-Lin,” Southwest’s Bubba Boggs said.
“Now we see them in college and we’re still rivals.”
The Bears, who finally got their home opener out of the way on Saturday, will travel to Wesson to take on the Wolves in a doubleheader that starts at 4 p.m.
This is the third year the Institute has sponsored the four-game series, with Southwest winning the first year and Co-Lin winning last year.
Both schools will also have benefit events during the games. A blood drive will be held at both schools. Southwest will hold a fish fry the Saturday of its home game on April 12. There will be giveaways and prizes along with several of the doctors at the Institute throwing out first pitches at the games.
With attendance higher for the contests, the atmosphere changes and adds that much more to the games, ones that would be circled on the calendar anyway.
“Its like a playoff atmosphere,” Southwest head coach Butch Holmes said.
Co-Lin head coach Keith Case added, “The conference (games), the Institute, everything adds to that excitement.”
