CWS trophy visits Southaven

Photo: The NCAA National Baseball Championship Trophy at Northpoint Christian School Saturday, July 31, part of its statewide Trophy Tour. (Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)

Area baseball fans, especially fans of the NCAA College World Series champion Mississippi State Bulldogs, were able to see a piece of history up close Saturday morning. 

Mississippi State brought its CWS National Championship Trophy to Southaven and Northpoint Christian School for fans to see, take pictures of, and also get a souvenir poster to take home.

Several hundred people lined up inside the gymnasium at the school to view the trophy, emblematic of the championship, the first-ever team national title in Mississippi State’s history, a drought of 126 years.  

A Mississippi State staffer on the tour places the CWS National Championship trophy on a table at the start of its visit to Southaven. (Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)

Mississippi State defeated SEC rival Vanderbilt 9-0 in the final game at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska July 1.

Saturday’s visit of two hours, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m, was one of several stops for the trophy throughout the state. The trophy was also scheduled to stop Saturday in Greenwood. The tour began on Tuesday, July 27 in Hattiesburg and Biloxi. The trophy also visited the Neshoba County Fair and has been in Lucedale, Vicksburg, and Jackson. Other stops were scheduled to be in Starkville and Tupelo.  

Betty Earl of Olive Branch was the first in line to view the trophy, which elicited a solid round of applause when it was carried into the gymnasium.  

“Sweet, it couldn’t be better,” said Betty Earl of Olive Branch about the Bulldogs’ national championship. “They rocked. It was just awesome. It was history in the making. We’re on the map now.” 

Fans lined through the entrance to the gymnasium to view the CWS National Championship Trophy on Saturday, July 31.
(Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)

Fans lined up an hour ahead of the trophy’s unveiling to get a glimpse of Bulldogs’ sports history. 

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me,” said Charles Young of Hernando, who was in Omaha to watch the final game. He added he was not surprised about the large turnout Saturday to view the trophy.

“I wasn’t surprised at all after the big turnout that was in Omaha,” Young said.  

Bob Bakken

Bob Bakken is the most recognized and most trusted name in DeSoto County news and sports reporting, as readers continue to express their appreciation for his accuracy and fairness in the stories he writes. Bob is also heard on 95.3 The Rebel twice a week with sports updates and high school football play-by-play broadcasts in the fall. A former newspaper editor and writer, his award-winning background also includes television news producing, sports media relations, and radio broadcasting.

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