Kennesaw State Baseball held its second-annual First Pitch Dinner on Feb. 3 ahead of the 2023 season.
The dinner was first held last year and is used as a fundraiser for the program and an opportunity to generate excitement for the upcoming season. Currently, athletics is fundraising for a new baseball stadium that will expand upon Stillwell Stadium.
“We’re shooting for the end of the spring to break ground and have that done by next season,” Head Coach Ryan Coe said. “We’re not 100% sure but it’s going really well and there’s a very good chance that it’s going to happen.”
The event featured a silent auction and an appearance by MLB Hall of Fame member Bill Ripken who was available for a meet and greet, as well as offering words of advice to the players and fans.
“I think it’s awesome just to have someone that’s experienced so much in his career and so much of what we’re also as players trying to accomplish,” Sophomore pitcher Miller Riggins said. “I think everyone on the team wants to play in the Major Leagues one day, so having someone that’s done it and worked through it to get there, it gives us good perspective on how to do it.”
Also of note is the recently announced move of KSU’s athletics to Conference USA. Announced during the 2022 football season, all KSU sports will make the move to the new conference within the next two years. While football joins in 2024, baseball will have to wait until 2025 for the switch.
“[We feel] really excited about it. It’s a very good baseball conference and has been for a long time,” Coe said. “Just the name recognition from the conference will help recruiting for our national brand.”
For the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the Owls will stay in the ASUN conference where they won the championship last year. They appeared in the NCAA regional tournament for the first time since 2014 and fell short against Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Regional.
The 2023 season will start with a series against New Orleans on Feb. 17 at Stillwell Stadium.
Ashu Ebot-Tabi contributed to this article.
