Canton High to participate in Hank Aaron Tribute Week

The Hank Aaron Sports Academy has released the six teams that will participate in the event to be known as the inaugural Hank Aaron “Sunday Showcase”, an event that will take place on Sunday, April 2nd as part of the Hank Aaron Tribute Week.  

The six teams that will participate in the Sunday Showcase are all Mississippi teams that are from areas regional to the Capital City of Jackson and represent communities that are rich in their history and enthusiasm for baseball.

“This series of games was critical for us to include as part of the Hank Aaron Tribute Week as we endeavor to carry on the Legacy of Mr. Hank Aaron and that of making the game of baseball available to all communities regardless of social, economic, or racial status.  We wanted to be sure to include other youth and communities in this event so that we could not only expand the development of baseball and softball to these young men and women but also spark interest in the game to those future generations who have not been given the opportunity to participate.”

– Clint Johnson (Dir. Player Dev., Hank Aaron Sports)
 

The participating teams and times of play are as follows:

April 2nd

• 12:00 Raymond vs. Yazoo City
• 3:00 Ridgeland vs. Port Gibson
• 6:00 Canton vs. Vicksburg

“While Mississippi’s Capital City of Jackson is unfortunately known for having 7 High Schools without one of them having an on-campus baseball field to play on, we wanted to take a global approach to solve some of the underserved issues that plague our youth,” stated Clint Johnson

These games will be played at Smith Wills Stadium, the former home of the New York Mets and Houston Astros (AA) teams.  Smith Wills Stadium is now home to the Hank Aaron Sports Academy, Tougaloo College baseball (HBCU), Hope Credit Union GCAC Baseball Championships (HBCU), and also home for Jackson Public Schools (High School) baseball with all such institutions playing at the facility at no cost.

“The Hank Aaron Tribute Week will conclude with an exhibition game matching up the Jackson State Tigers vs. the Mississippi Braves (Atlanta Braves-AA) on Wednesday, April 5th at 6:30 with the net of all gate proceeds being donated to charity to improve city-owned sports facilities in Jackson with a goal of raising over $125,000.00”, said Tim Bennett who is the CEO of the Hank Aaron Sports Academy and Co-Owner of the Milwaukee Brewers (AA) Biloxi Shuckers playing at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi.