Jackson Free Press

Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi travel to Pearl’s Trustmark Park to play for the Governor’s Cup tonight. Both teams are ranked to varying degrees in every major college-baseball poll, with MSU reaching as high has third place and the Rebels as high as ninth.

The Bulldogs come into the game after taking two of three wins from Louisiana State University over the weekend to move to 27-13-1 overall and 10-8 in the SEC. UM just got a huge sweep of Auburn University, which moved the Rebels to 31-10 overall and 10-8 in SEC play.

Both teams are tied with LSU for second place in the SEC West and two games behind division leading Texas A&M University. In RPI, the Rebels are ranked fifth and MSU is ranked 13th.

These teams have been meeting in the Jackson area since 1980, when Dale Danks Jr., then mayor of Jackson, started the Mayor’s Trophy. The game moved to Trustmark Park in 2007 and was renamed the Governor's Cup.

This will be the 37th meeting in the Mayor’s Trophy/Governor’s Cup series, with both teams tied at 18-18 heading into the game tonight. MSU does have a 5-4 edge since the game was renamed to the Governor's Cup, though.

Last season, the Rebels pounded the Bulldogs 11-1 for UM’s largest victory in the series. MSU leads the all-time series 246-205-5 and is 31-27-1 in neutral-site games.

This season, MSU took two of three games in the SEC series when these teams played in Starkville. The Bulldogs will also be the home team tonight, as the team will probably hand the ball to freshman Ryan Cyr, and the Rebels are likely to counter with junior Chad Smith on the mound.

Besides the state bragging rights, this game also provides momentum for the final stretch of the regular season. Both teams only have four conference series left before the SEC Tournament kicks off in late May.

After this game, the Bulldogs travel to Alabama (9-9 in SEC play), and the Rebels host the aforementioned LSU Tigers in Oxford this weekend. UM might need the momentum more with SEC series against the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky and Texas A&M to end the season.

MSU’s schedule gets easier in the final weeks. The Bulldogs face the University of Missouri, last place in the SEC East, then Auburn, last place in the SEC West, and end the season at the University of Arkansas, second to last in the SEC West.

Currently only general-admission/standing-room-only tickets remain for tonight’s game. Gates open at 5 p.m., and the game starts at 6:30 p.m.

If you can’t catch tonight game in person, it will be broadcasted on the SEC Network starting at 6:30 p.m.

*UPDATE* This game is now sold out.

New York-based attorney Roberta Kaplan, who litigated and won the case to end Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, sent a letter to Mississippi leaders regarding House Bill 1523 on Monday, Slate reported, saying she and her legal team at Paul, Weiss LLC had "serious concerns" about the bill violating a permanent injunction issued last July in the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant case.

The letter states that "the July 2015 injunction requires that Mississippi, in accordance with the dictates of the United States Constitution, treat any gay or lesbian couple that seeks to marry the same as any straight couple that seeks to do so." The letter was addressed to Gov. Phil Bryant, Attorney General Jim Hood and Judy Moulder at the State Registrar for Vital Records. Kaplan asks that they ensure that the 2015 injunction is complied with and that those state officers provide them with:

• notices for any individual who has filed recusal notices pursuant to HB 1523
• a full and complete explanation of all steps that each individual seeking recusal (or any person acting on behalf of that individual, including in a supervisory capacity) will take to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are not impeded or delayed when seeking to marry in the relevant county
• whether the individual seeking recusal intends to continue issuing marriage licenses to straight couples, while at the same time refusing to participate in issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples

Kaplan also asks Mississippi leaders to "agree to provide us with this same information in connection with any clerks who seek to recuse themselves in the future within one week after such information becomes available."

In her letter, Kaplan sets a deadline of May 2, 2016, for state officers to comply with their request "either in whole or in part, so we can be in a position to evaluate whether we will need to seek further relief from the Court."