About 100 supporters cheered on the Crimson Pride Thursday morning as IUPUC’s baseball team began its journey to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to start its inaugural season against Huntington University (Indiana).

Students, faculty, staff and community members applauded the players as they grabbed breakfast, took photos, and boarded to the bus in the drizzling rain.

The Crimson Pride opens its season with a doubleheader on Friday, February 10 at 2 p.m. and continues the series with Huntington with another doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Fans can follow live stats for the first game here. Upcoming games can be found on the schedule page of the Athletics website.

Coach Scott Bickel said he was moved by so many people taking time to attend the send-off.  “This shows a lot about how supportive our school community really is and what coming together really looks like.”

As for the mood inside the bus, Bickel said there was a mix of anxiety and excitement among the players as they began the road trip to Alabama.

He added that the team had just voted for Payton Dennison as the player who best represents them, and Dennison will serve as starting pitcher in tomorrow’s game.