Mississippi
Meridian lands $10 billion Compass Datacenters project, Gov. Tate announces
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Dallas-based Compass Datacenters, a multinational data center developer, is locating its next hyperscale data center campus in Meridian, according to Gov. Tate Reeves, who announced the project at the Mississippi Economic Council’s Capital Day Thursday.
The campus will consist of eight data centers that will be constructed over an eight-year period.Upon occupancy, Compass Datacenters’ campus will represent an investment of $10 billion, including future tenants’ information technology equipment. The campus also will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Compass Datacenters builds single-tenant, hyperscale data center campuses. The large-scale campuses built by Compass are designed to last for more than 100 years and create economies of scale to support local businesses and jobs.
Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for site preparation. MDA also will certify Compass Datacenters as a data center operator, which will provide the company with 10-year state income and franchise tax exemptions, as well as a sales and use tax exemption on construction materials, equipment and software and hardware replacements.
The city of Meridian, Lauderdale County, and electrical utility provider Mississippi Power Company also are assisting with the project. Mississippi Power will supply approximately 500 megawatts of power to the facility.
Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
NORMAN — The schedule for Sunday’s winner-take-all Game 3 in the Norman Super Regional is set.
Oklahoma will battle Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. at Love’s Field, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Bulldogs roared back in Friday’s series-opener to notch an 11-9 victory over 3-seeded OU to put Patty Gasso’s team on the brink of elimination.
But the Sooners responded emphatically on Saturday.
Oklahoma plated seven runs in the top of the third inning to get a foothold in the series, and Audrey Lowry was excellent in the circle to bring home a 7-1 win.
How to Watch Game 3 of the Norman Super Regional
- When: Sunday, May 24
- Where: Love’s Field
- Time: 1:30 p.m.
- Channel: ESPN
The winner of Sunday’s contest will advance to the 2026 Women’s College World Series, where they will play either 6-seeded Florida or 11-seeded Texas Tech next Thursday, as the Gators and the Red Raiders will also clash in a Game 3 in the Gainesville Super Regional on Sunday.
Friday’s defeat was Oklahoma’s first in a Super Regional since 2015, and it snapped a 31-game NCAA Tournament winning streak at home. It was also the first NCAA Tournament game that the Sooners had lost at Love’s Field.
A victory on Sunday would see OU get back to the WCWS in Oklahoma City for the 10th-straight tournament. The last time the Sooners were not in the WCWS field was 2015.
Friday was Mississippi State’s first Super Regional win in program history. The Bulldogs’ only other trip to a Super Regional came in 2022, where Mississippi State lost both games to Arizona.
Former OU star and current Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts is looking to take the Bulldogs to their first WCWS in program history with a win on Sunday.
Both coaching staffs will have big pitching decisions to make on Sunday.
Lowry only needed 87 pitches to notch the victory on Saturday, but Mississippi State did score five runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings of work by Lowry on Friday.
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The Bulldogs also saw OU right-hander Miali Guachino and senior Sydney Berzon on Friday.
Conversely, Oklahoma’s hitters have gotten good looks at each of Mississippi State’s key pitchers.
Alyssa Faircloth started on Friday for the Bulldogs, and she allowed five runs on five hits and issued three walks in 2 1/3 innings. Peja Goold, the other top starter for Mississippi State, gave up a monster home run to Kendall Wells on Friday and threw just 17 pitches.
Saturday was worse for Mississippi State.
Goold started and lasted 2 2/3 innings. She gave up most of the damage in the third, finishing with five runs and five walks allowed while OU posted three hits. Goold threw 66 pitches on Saturday before Ricketts went to Faircloth.
Faircloth pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and a walk on three hits, but she threw 72 pitches in the loss.
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Samantha Ricketts credits Mississippi State’s ‘grit’ for rally vs OU softball in Game 1
OU softball alum and Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts talks about the Bulldogs’ 11-9 comeback win Friday in Game 1 of the NCAA Norman Super Regional.
Considering Mississippi State softball was playing in just its third NCAA Tournament super regional game, few outside of Starkville were optimistic about the Bulldogs’ chances against national power Oklahoma.
However, despite facing the No. 3 seed Sooners (51-9), who have made the Women’s College World Series every time since 2016, the Bulldogs (42-18) managed to pick up their first super regional win. The Bulldogs took down the Sooners 11-9 at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma on May 22.
“Just really love the fight they showed,” said Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts, who was an All-American at Oklahoma. “It was just up and down the lineup. People who started in the lineup, who entered it later in the game, and that’s really been kind of the M.O. for this group all year long. They embrace their roles. They’re ready to come out and attack.”
Mississippi State had to fight back from several multi-run deficits to win. The Bulldogs trailed by four entering the sixth inning and by three entering the seventh. They scored nine runs in the final two innings to earn the win.
“A lot of times this season, our pitchers have had our back, and I thought this time, the offense did a really good job having the pitchers’ backs,” Ricketts said.
It’s the first time Mississippi State has beaten Oklahoma after being 0-11 against the Sooners entering the series. The victory also puts the Bulldogs just one win away from making it to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history.
“Just really proud of this team for the fight, the grit they showed, and just knowing that this is what we’ve really worked hard for, and they really, truly believed that we’d come out here to compete,” Ricketts said.
Unlike the previous three seasons, Mississippi State did not face Oklahoma in the regular season. This was the first time the two teams had met in the postseason.
Still, Ricketts believes that a tough SEC schedule that resulted in a 9-15 conference record and a 10th-place finish helped prepare the Bulldogs for the series.
“We talk all the time that in the SEC, in our conference, every weekend’s like a super regional,” Ricketts said. “So, we felt like our schedule this season had really prepared us for this weekend.”
Game 2 of the series will be played May 23 (noon CT, ESPN).
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
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