As the Mississippi and Alabama legislatures prepare to square off in the first-ever Battle of the Tombigbee charity softball game, each state’s governors are putting skin in the game.
The pair of legislatures will battle it out on the diamond on Saturday at Trustmark Park in Pearl, with all proceeds benefitting Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson. To publicize the event, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama took to social media to place some good-natured bets.
“I’m not sure if these Alabama folks know what they’re getting themselves into,” Reeves said in the social media video. “They must have forgotten that Mississippi teams have won two of the last three NCAA baseball championships. We’re just a state filled with winners and we know how to play ball.”
The Mississippi Legislature is taking on the Alabama Legislature in a softball game for charity in the first annual Battle of Tombigbee on June 22nd.
I’m so confident Mississippi’s going to win, that I’m challenging @GovernorKayIvey to a bet!
What do you say, governor? pic.twitter.com/8KKW3zbNU9
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) June 17, 2024
Reeves doubled down on his confidence that his state’s lawmakers would come away winners, committing to send “a bunch of the world’s best catfish” from Mississippi to Ivey should the Alabama legislature team win. Governor Ivey responded in kind with her own bet.
“Just go ahead and put that Mississippi catfish on ice and send it my way, because the Alabama legislature is going to win this game,” Ivey said.
She also boasted that baseball greats Hank Aaron and Willie Mays hailed from Alabama, as well as NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan playing his professional baseball in the state.
Ivey then committed to send Reeves some Sessions Peanuts from Enterprise, Alabama should Mississippi be the victors in the contest. She also promised to keep the bet “above board and across the state line,” as sports gambling is still illegal in the state of Alabama.
Challenge accepted, @tatereeves! You already know that I’ve got a wager of my own.
I think that you’re forgetting with legends like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, Alabama is a baseball state.
The Alabama Legislature is going to win this game. #alpolitics https://t.co/RvtB9r0IlY pic.twitter.com/Sq03yrsDnz
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) June 17, 2024
“Alabama legislators, let’s win this game, and let’s play ball,” Ivey concluded.
The events will kick off on Friday, June 21 with a banquet, a tour of the capitol building in Jackson, and a chance for the legislators to meet and have a roundtable discussion. The game will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 22 with proceeds from ticket sales and merchandise going to Batson Children’s Hospital.
