By Madison Kirk
HottyToddy Intern
The Ole Miss Diamond Girls are known for running to get bats and foul balls during baseball games, but they do much more.
Most know Diamond Girls as bat girls, but what most don’t realize is that they are just as much the face of the Ole Miss Baseball program as the players and coaches. Almost everyone who enters Oxford-University Stadium sees a Diamond Girl way before they see the players on the field. Gameday duties for Diamond Girls include selling programs at the front of the stadium while welcoming to guests to the park and handing out promotional items unique to each game. They also mingle with fans in the Dugout Club and Diamond Club, the premium seating areas, before heading to the field.
According to second-year Diamond Girl Catherine Day, “Our on-field duties consist of either being visitor foul lines or home foul lines, getting the foul balls from the batter around home plate and getting bats from visiting team if they reach base, and home bats, which is the most important job, because we make sure the umpire has the right amount of baseballs for gameplay and getting home bats along with the Evoshields from our first base coach.”
Even though each Diamond girl is required to work at least 12 home games, while seniors, work away games, in addition to their 12 games. They also have the possibility of working more if needed for away post-season games, such as the Southeastern Conference Tournament, NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals, these women still find time to give back to the Oxford community and the fans that make their job possible. Diamond Girls do even more work off the field than on.
Along with the baseball team, they also spend time reading to children that attend Oxford schools. In addition to an upcoming toy drive for LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, the 2020 Diamond Girls plan to participate in Reading with the Rebs, a partnership between Ole Miss Athletics and local elementary schools. In the past, the Ole Miss Diamond Girls have participated in various service opportunities around Oxford. In 2019, these women helped gather donations for Oxford Lovepacks, an organization that provides supplemental food for school-age children in need, on weekends and holidays. They also held a book drive and participated in More than a Meal in Oxford.
“We were able to go out into the community and do More than a Meal,” Day said. “This was a great opportunity to meet some of the people who follow Ole Miss Baseball over a meal.”
Day is proof that it is possible to juggle school, Diamond Girls, and other extracurricular activities. She holds an officer position in her sorority, is President of the Ole Miss Hand Band, along with being treasure and the president-elect of the Ole Miss region of Special Olympics College. She also completes around 300 community service hours a year.
Without these hard-working women, both the Ole Miss baseball program and the Oxford community would be a much different place.
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