Baseball Opens Preseason Practice Friday

Coach Jewett Interview

NEW ORLEANS – With three weeks until the start of the 2017 baseball season, the Tulane Green Wave opened preseason practice on Friday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

In its first season under head coach Travis Jewett, the Green Wave returns 18 players, including five position starters and three starting pitchers, and welcomed 15 newcomers to the roster. Included among the returners are Freshman All-American Ross Massey, and All-American Athletic Conference performers Jeremy Montalbano, Hunter Hope and Jake Willsey.

Chilly conditions welcomed the Green Wave to the diamond Friday afternoon, as the team debuted on the brand new turf at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium for the first time. Friday was the first full team workout of the spring, as Tulane prepares for the Feb. 17 season opener.

"I've been looking forward to this day for a while," Jewett said. "We talked to the players about how some people say it's just another day, but I think it's not. It's a day that we've been shooting for and working hard for, and I think the players came out today with good spirit. I liked their energy and the way they went about it. We practiced well, and everything was pretty crisp."

The Green Wave, which won the American Athletic Conference regular season championship and made its 21^st NCAA postseason appearance, held a short intrasquad scrimmage Friday.

"I saw some good things in the scrimmage, especially from the offensive side," Jewett said. "We showed the ability to command the strike zone, and gained some walks and barreled up some balls. All-in-all, it was a good day. I keep challenging the players: these training sessions can be a little bit tougher on their brains, because it's the longest we've been out here. The training before has been in a little bit shorter blasts, so we really need their brains to be in-tuned and stay with it. All-in-all, I think it was a good first training session, and certainly saved room for improvement. As long as we keep making steps forward every day, we'll be fine."

The Green Wave opens the season Feb. 17 against Army at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Season tickets are on sale, and can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE.

Tulane will hold its First Pitch Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose Room in Yulman Stadium. Tickets are $30 to 2017 baseball season ticket holders and $50 for general admission, and can be purchased by clicking here. Space is limited. For more information about the First Pitch Dinner, contact Jean-Preston Lucius at jlucius@tulane.edu or 504-314-2410.

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First practice of the season, 21 days until the first game! https://t.co/b4umUELQUz #RollWave #RollWithUs pic.twitter.com/MyexVUxuix
— Tulane Baseball (@GreenWaveBSB) January 27, 2017

Players Mentioned

Hunter Hope

Ross Massey

Jeremy Montalbano

Jake Willsey

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