By Hudson Coombs
Mississippi State, Miss. (Take 30 News)--- On February 8th, 2020, Mississippi State University hosted its annual Baseball Fan Day at the Palmeiro Center on campus. Fans of Mississippi State’s baseball team were able to come out and meet the team prior to the opening of college baseball season.
Outside the Palmeiro Center, fans were lined up all the way to the parking lot as they were eager to get inside and meet head coach Chris Lemonis and his Diamond Dawgs. Fans were able to get autographs and interact with the team as well as take pictures with Jak the bulldog and the team’s NCAA trophies from the previous years.
While they were waiting to meet the team, I asked a couple of fans about what their opinions are for this upcoming season. Former MSU baseball player and MLB World Series Champion, Jay Powell, said he is excited about the possibility of a national championship this year.
“I love it, I love it,” Powell said. “I think baseball you know the last ten years, baseball and women’s basketball to me has been the closest thing to winning a national championship for the university and, you know, it’s the right time. You gotta play good at the right time, and this group’s got a good chance to do it.”
Mandie Dimarco, a current junior at Mississippi State University, is ready for the season to start, but is prepared for the team to face some struggles.
“This season, I'm really excited to see like the new talent on the team,” Dimarco said. “We had a lot of senior’s graduate, so to see who’s going to step up and take those leadership positions this year. I just feel like, with it being a new team, maybe some of those situations that like we pulled through last minute like last season, [we] might not pull through this season.”
As MSU’s basketball teams complete their seasons, local sports fans will be shifting their focus to the baseball team as they prepare to make another run to the NCAA College World Series.