Bulldogs Thankful For A Super-Charged Nusz Park
May 28, 2022 | Softball, Joel Coleman
MSU sets attendance records during both days of the Starkville Super Regional.
STARKVILLE – It was a Super weekend in StarkVegas, indeed.
The Starkville Super Regional wrapped up on Saturday as Mississippi State fell to Arizona. And while the end result wasn't what the Bulldogs had hoped, there's no denying it was a remarkable couple of days at Nusz Park.
Why, you ask? Well in sports, numbers almost always tell a story. So, how about these?
2,209. And also 2,299. Those figures, respectively, were the Friday and Saturday attendance numbers. In just two days' time, MSU now holds the Magnolia State's top two spots in the record book for the most people to attend a college softball game in the state of Mississippi.
It truly was a sight to behold, and an atmosphere the Bulldogs and head coach Samantha Ricketts were so thankful for.
"It was really beyond anything we could've imagined," Ricketts said. "To see what was done in the outfield – first class, top-notch effort by everybody in our administration. The video boards. The second decks. Standing room only everywhere. So much hard work went into making this happen the last few days. So thankful for that and the support we received to make it happen. Then also, for the Bulldog faithful to show up and show out and be loud and supportive and to have our backs. I hope that we made a couple of thousand new fans and people that maybe tuned into softball for the first time. Hopefully, they fall in love with the game and want to come back, because it's an exciting game."
You bet it is, as evidenced by how the ground shook on Friday when Mia Davidson crushed what ended up being the final home run of her legendary Bulldog career. The building was rocking later in the day when Matalasi Faapito hit a homer of her own. And no one in the ballpark will ever forget Madisyn Kennedy's unbelievable diving catch she turned into an unassisted double play, nor her Saturday smash off the left-centerfield wall that gave Mississippi State an early 1-0 lead.
These are moments that'll be ingrained in the minds of those who saw them forever. Ricketts hopes it continued to exhibit the greatness of softball and displayed why it's becoming so popular.
"It's a game that's growing on the national level," Ricketts said. "The viewership numbers with our friends at ESPN are way up. We blow everything out of the water with the game of softball. We hope we can continue to do our part in Starkville and bring the fans back out and continue to pack them in, whether it's in the stands or on the deck."
Ricketts gave a special nod to a group of former softball Bulldogs, who she said were the first ones in line to enter Nusz Park each day. Of course, thousands then followed behind.
It was, in a word, special – for Ricketts, her squad and for the entire Mississippi State family.
"Just for the Bulldog fans all across the country to show up and support us, whether it was on social media or in person, was a lot of fun for us," Ricketts said. "It was really amazing. I don't think it was something any of us imagined…It was such a fun and just amazing experience for this whole team and this university and this program."
