NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Opening Day is always highly anticipated by baseball players, coaches and fans, but Norfolk State will have to wait another day to kick off its 2023 campaign.
Friday's scheduled opener with Morehead State at Marty L. Miller Field was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for noon.
The Spartans are coming off a 15-32 season and are optimistic about a turnaround in 2023. NSU will compete in the Northeast Conference for the first time, creating new rivalries and renewing some old ones with teams that are making the move from the MEAC with the green and gold.
"You go into it with a clean slate," noted fifth-year outfielder Dionte Brown. "You go into it looking to build off what you had last year, find the momentum points, find the things that you can capitalize off of, good and bad, and you just keep it pushing."
"This team has had a really good fall and a really good preseason," added head coach Keith Shumate. "We've been able to dodge raindrops pretty well, so we've got an idea of who we are and we continue to play ourselves into shape."
Norfolk State's opening series will come against a Morehead State team that finished 27-27 in 2022 and was 14-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The two teams will play back-to-back doubleheaders and the Spartans will look for a strong start in their opening series. Regardless of the opponent, Opening Day always has that special feel.
"I think for all of our players and anybody that plays baseball, it's similar," Shumate said. "It gives you a real exciting feeling to get the season going. There's nothing like Opening Day."
"It's Opening Day," Brown added. "There's no feeling like it. You go out there, have fun with the guys, you're getting back into it, it's the first game of the year, there's no better feeling."
