Over 950 baseball fans made the trip out to Capaha Field for the Cape Catfish’s 2025 Prospect League home opener on Thursday, May 29.

Cape Girardeau buzzed for hours, with fans from around Southeast Missouri and beyond coming together to catch a glimpse of the town’s beloved summer baseball team.

A sea of green and yellow appeared throughout the bleachers, hills, party deck, and concourses as Catfish fans flooded the stadium on a beautiful late spring night. Fans gathered around tents near the food trucks to socialize, checked out the merchandise area, and enjoyed other festivities inside the stadium before packing the stands and making their voices heard.

As the crowd ignited energy into the players, the Catfish certainly gave their fans something to cheer about after they throttled the Thrillville Thrillbillies 12-2 to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

“It’s funny, I think we’re the smallest venue in the league,” Cape Catfish President Glenn Campbell said. “We hold about 750, and that’s with bleachers, picnic tables, and the party deck, but people can bring blankets and their own lawn chairs. We clocked in at about 950 tonight, so we’re close to 1,000, which is over capacity.

“It’s so cool because you sit on lawn chairs, you can sit in bar seats, and the people out here in the (left) outfield, they don’t pay, they’re just watching and barbecuing. So, there are 30 or 40 out there even. It’s a great environment and a great family environment. We’ve been blessed.”

A pair of diehard Catfish fans who hardly ever miss a game made sure to be there Thursday night as well.

Tracey and Jeff Glenn have been Cape Catfish season-ticket holders since the team’s inception in 2019. The married couple, who moved to Cape Girardeau in 1995, spend their summers at Capaha more than just about any other fan.

“I’ve just always loved baseball,” Tracey Glenn said. “My husband and I, when we first moved to Cape, started coaching in rec league baseball, and we’ve just always been baseball fans. And then when we heard that there was a team that was going to be here, we just knew we wanted to be a part of it.

“We got season tickets and just came to about every game since. It’s something fun to do. We love that it’s a part of this community. It’s good for our economy and it brings in so many people just to come and watch. I mean, look at this. This is our home opener. And look at how many people are here tonight.”

The Glenns are so engaged that they even plan on making the two-and-a-half-hour trip south to the Catfish’s Friday night game against the Jackson Rockabillys in Jackson, Tennessee.

“We rarely miss a game,” Tracey said. “In fact, tomorrow night, we’re going down to Jackson, Tennessee, to watch them at that game, and then we’ll be here for the weekend series as well. I rarely miss a game.”

Need more proof? She said that the two intentionally plan around their annual vacation to make sure that they don’t miss a single pitch in person.

“We go on vacation, usually at the end of May every year, and we have to be back in time for the home opener,” Tracey said. “Last year, we actually wound up missing the home opener because we couldn’t get home in time. And I don’t want to do that again, so we made sure that we were home. We actually got home at four o’clock today. Woke up in Vegas this morning and got here in time.”

It was well worth the trip, as the Catfish held up their end of things and dominated the Thrillbillies in a game that did not even see the ninth inning because of the 10-run rule.

Tracey said the one thing that she loves more than anything is getting to know the players and their backgrounds.

“I really love the sport and watching it, but really, we have a chance to get to know all of these young men,” Tracey said. “They are such wonderful humans, and getting to know them and seeing them succeed and have a good time on the field … that is so much fun. For some of them, this is the last time they may get to play as a team because they’ve reached that point in their career. So, just to see them have a good time and do well in the sport they love, it’s just electric. It should be another great year.”