With the 2022 season a mere 24 hours away, it’s time to get real. There’s only one thing on the minds of Bulldog fans everywhere, and it’s that now that it’s been done, wouldn’t it be sweet to do it all again? 

This team certainly seems to think so. 

“I think it’s the same goal,” said head coach Chris Lemonis in a recent media availability. “(We’re) trying to do something we haven’t done before, so now it’s about winning the second one … that’s the expectation in this program is to have a chance to play for it at the end. That’s our goal.”

While it’s been fun reminiscing over the magical year in Mississippi State University baseball that was 2021 and hinting at what 2022 could hold, there comes a time when we must stop looking in the rear view and look towards the future. Nobody appears to know that more than the current crop of Diamond Dawgs. Starting third baseman and reigning national champion Kamren James explained that the team has to take things one day at a time. 

“We know it’s a new year, and there’s a lot of work to put in,” James said. “The team’s not where we want it to be right now, so I think we just have to take it day-by-day and get better every day.”

James makes a great point, in that come tomorrow, when the team takes the field for the first time and Dudy Noble is filled to the brim yet again, the team that fans see before them will not be the same team that they see come whatever might happen down the line. 

There will be struggles. There will be ups and downs, but there must always be a goal – something that no matter what comes their way, the Diamond Dawgs can push towards, and although that goal is lofty, these guys know they can get it done.

So, buckle up Bulldog fans, because tomorrow is the day we’ve been awaiting for what feels like so long. Tomorrow starts the quest for one more. Tomorrow marks the start of one more year that we all get to enjoy America’s Pastime in the best venue of them all. Tomorrow we get to kick back with 14,000 of our closest friends and family, and watch the Cardiac Kids, the Diamond Dawgs, the Boys in Maroon and White do what they do best. There’s a baseball game tomorrow, folks. See y’all at The Dude.