JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 121 Financial Ballpark welcomes fans from all over the country as the Jumbo Shrimp, in collaboration with Peak Events LLC, host the Inaugural Jax College Baseball Classic.
The three-day event features 14th-ranked Virginia, 18th-ranked Iowa, Auburn, and Wichita State.
From Friday, Feb. 23, to Sunday, Feb. 25, two games are played each day with a round-robin format.
For some fans, this event is an opportunity to watch the sport and team they love with their young ones.
"We just moved here last summer from the Virginia area, so it's great to see our regular team come down here and play in our new hometown," said Michael McCarthy, a UVA fan. "It's great because it's hard to get up and see the games in Virginia. So, it's good to get my kids to root for the right team when they're down here."
For other fans, it's a nice getaway trip.
"Not exactly warm in Virginia right now. It's nice down here, so, me and a couple of other buddies decided why don't we go on down for the tournament," said Ben Barnett, a UVA fan and Charlottesville, VA resident. "I just decided to take some vacation time and come on down here because having the consecutive games in a row makes it fun."
Some fans even compared the Jax Baseball Classic's level to that of the College World Series.
"We've been to Omaha with the University of Virginia, and I'd say it's up to that caliber of play," said longtime UVA fan Dave Schauer. "The experience, the community, the quality of play, the support has been really outstanding."
The three-day event has lived up to the hype as it featured a 10th-inning walk-off victory, Auburn upsetting #18 Iowa, 19 runs scored by one team in a game, and a six-run comeback victory by Virginia over Iowa in a ranked showdown.