Anyone who’s been to a baseball game or two is likely familiar with the century-old tune “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
You know the one.
“Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack/I don’t care if I never get back.”
That’s just the chorus you sing along with during a game’s seventh-inning stretch. When you read the lyrics of the song’s often-forgotten two verses, you learn about a young woman named Katie Casey, who was “base ball mad.”
Katie saw all the games and knew the players by their first names, the song’s lyricist wrote.
This summer, Radford University alumna Kelsey Marchant ’17, M.S. ’19, is getting a unique opportunity to learn not just the players’ names, but all there is to know about running a baseball team.
Earlier this year, Marchant was hired as the first general manager of a new collegiate wood-bat baseball team that will play this summer in Marion, Virginia, her hometown. In this role, Marchant will manage the team’s day-to-day operations. That includes the promotional schedule – think free merchandise and dizzy bat races – marketing, securing host families to house players, and supervising interns and part-time employees.
“Once the season starts, I'll be overseeing all the home games and ensuring all our bases are covered – pun intended – and running smoothly,” said Marchant, a longtime baseball fan, who roots for Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants.
She’ll do everything but hit and pitch for the Marion Hungry Mothers.
That’s right, the new team is named for Marion’s Hungry Mother State Park, and will feature a cartoon-inspired mother bear mascot named Molly Dew. (Marion is also famous for being the birthplace of modern Mountain Dew.)
The Hungry Mothers are filling a 50-year baseball void in the small Southwest Virginia town. Marion hosted a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets in the 1960s and 70s, with its most famous player being Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
“Marion has a strong history with baseball. I think those who grew up going to a Marion Mets game are excited to share that bit of their childhood with their children or grandchildren with the Hungry Mothers,” Marchant said. “I know I've had a lot of inquiries from locals about how they can get involved, or when the first game is and how many games we're going to have. So, I can tell the community is excited to have baseball back in Marion.”
As opening day for the Hungry Mothers approaches – it’s May 26 – Marchant is anxious for the moment when fans file into the ballpark, awaiting the umpire’s call of “play ball!” and hearing the first crack of the bat as they root, root, root for the home team.
“I keep going through my checklist two or three times to see what I need to have done,” she said. “I know once I get a couple of games in, I'll feel more at ease as to what needs to be done and what to expect. Overall, though, I am remaining as calm as I can be.”
She hasn’t had time to give much thought to the fact that she is the team’s first-ever general manager.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Marchant said. “With the excitement of everything and just how quickly everything is falling into place, I've not taken much thought of being the first GM. Needless to say, though, I'm beyond excited for this opportunity. I'm excited to see where this takes me and what doors this opens for me.”
Marchant already has some athletics-related job experience. She began her sports career path last year, working as a camera operator for a professional hockey team in Wytheville, Virginia. “Watching and working with the Blue Ridge Bobcats, I knew I was supposed to be in the sports industry,” she said. “So, when the Hungry Mothers were announced, I jumped at the opportunity to work with them.”
Marchant’s confidence was gained, in part, when she was a Highlander. “I have two amazing degrees from Radford,” she said with excitement.
“My education from Radford taught me how to take challenges head-on and be a part of a team,” she continued. “All of my favorite classes were centered on campaigns and event planning. While we have challenges that come up, I know there's nothing that I can't figure out on my own or with my team. Looking at each game with the PR perspective that Radford provided for me, I know I can knock the ball out of the park. Yes, that pun was intended, too.”