Baseball coaches harp on the importance of experienced players. Through the momentum shifts, players who can remain steady emotionally are often those delivering in the biggest moments.
As Southern Miss and Ole Miss prepare to square off in the Hattiesburg Super Regional beginning Saturday (3 p.m. ESPNU), perhaps the most experienced people in the circles of Mike Bianco and Scott Berry sit outside the dugout.
Their wives, Camille Bianco and Laura Berry, have learned as well as any slugger or ace how to handle the fickleness of a college baseball season.
“Baseball is like life,” Laura says. “You don’t know what life’s going to throw at you, you’ve just got to be able to handle it.”
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Laura has been with Scott throughout his time at Southern Miss — her alma mater — where he started as an assistant in 2001 and has been the head coach since 2010. She has watched the program develop into elite status in a state where college baseball reigns supreme, and through it she has gained a trust for the process.
Her distaste for shifts or bunts has come with an understanding that Scott and his staff have a plan, and even if it fails in a moment, there’s a bigger picture.
She saw it come to fruition last weekend: a sea of Southern Miss fans donning black and gold while singing along to the band Journey with their phone flashlights illuminated in an impromptu way.
From the fans picking up her check at restaurants to those tailgating outside Pete Taylor Park, Laura’s appreciation for her family’s situation continues to grow.
“It’s God’s timing for everyone,” Laura says. “… I’m sure it’s the same for the Biancos. It’s just perfect timing for everyone.”
Camille knows the ride just as well. She has seen Ole Miss as the nation’s top team this season before tumbling to the final squad in the NCAA Tournament. She has seen the lone College World Series appearance in Mike’s two decades, but with it has come an unexpected run just two wins away from a second trip to the College World Series in Omaha.
As a Louisiana native, she knows football powers the South. But since she met Mike at LSU, she has learned the value of college baseball.
“How awesome is it that last year you have Mississippi State win the national championship and this year you’ve got Southern Miss and now we end up matched up with them,” Camille said. “It says a lot for our state – how much we care and how passionate our fans and all of our fanbases are about the sport.”
Laura has lived in Mississippi her entire life. This weekend is sure to bring success economically along with what was already collected last weekend. The national attention is a bonus.
“This is so much bigger than a baseball game,” Laura said. “…It is just going to be a huge celebration. When we’re not playing, we do pull for Ole Miss or Mississippi State. Of course I want Southern Miss to win, but I think it’s a celebration of how much everybody loves baseball around here.”
Camille will be sporting a different shade of red this weekend in College Station, Texas, instead of Hattiesburg. Their son Ben is a first baseman at Louisville playing against Texas A&M in super regionals.
From the seats of Blue Bell Park, she’ll constantly be checking the Rebels’ score. If Louisville and Ole Miss advance to Omaha, expect her to pack plenty of red.
“I certainly hope I have that problem down the road,” Camille says.
Laura hopes Camille doesn’t have to worry about it.
“I want to win, don’t get me wrong,” Laura says. “I want to win.”
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
