Fall Baseball Practice Scheduled To Begin On Oct. 10
Oct 3, 2006 | Baseball
Oct. 3, 2006
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will begin Fall Ball 2006 on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Zephyr Field, head coach Rick Jones announced a week prior to the start of full team practices.
As construction on the new Turchin Stadium continues on Tulane's uptown campus, the Green Wave will hold practices at "The Shrine On Airline" through Nov. 5. The team will take the field from Tuesday through Sunday each week and will play 11 intra-squad contests throughout fall practice. Preseason drills will culminate with a Fall World Series from Nov. 1-5.
"Even though we're displaced to a certain extent, having fall practice in New Orleans where your fans can come see you play and your players can sleep in their own beds is a great feeling," Jones said. "The folks in Lubbock (Texas) were great, but nothing can compare with being back home. You don't really understand how much you miss something until you don't have it any more. We really know what it means to miss New Orleans.
"We have a talented and experienced club and we're looking forward to putting the pieces of the puzzle together. On top of that, we're really excited about moving back into the new Turchin Stadium some time next semester."
Tulane returns 23 lettermen, including eight starters, from last year's team, which finished 43-21 and advanced to the NCAA postseason for the ninth consecutive season. The 2005 club finished the year ranked as high as No. 21 in the country by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and played in an NCAA Regional Championship game for the third straight year.
Headlining the list of returning players are 2005 and 2006 Conference USA Freshmen of the Year Brad Emaus and Warren McFadden, respectively, and first-team All C-USA honoree Sean Morgan.
A sophomore outfielder from Plantation, Fla., McFadden led the Green Wave in batting average (.382), hits (91) and doubles (24) while ranking second on the club in RBI (50) and on-base percentage (.457). Morgan led the pitching staff in ERA (3.51), innings pitched (118.0), strikeouts (125) and opponent batting average (.222). Emaus, meanwhile, hit .289 with six homers and 45 home runs last season for the Green Wave before earning All-Star honors over the summer where he helped the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox win the Cape Cod League Championship.
Other positional starters returning for the Green Wave in 2006 are junior shortstop Cat Everett (.276, 26 RBI), sophomore third baseman Seth Henry (.226, 1 HR, 23 RBI), senior designated hitter Tim Guidry (.333, 3 HR, 39 RBI) and senior catcher Ty Wallace (.215, 4 HR, 9 RBI).
From the mound, Tulane returns eight hurlers who combined for 26 wins, 14 saves and 307 strikeouts a year ago. Senior right-hander Brandon Gomes (7-7, 102.0 IP, 79 K) joins Morgan on the list of starters returning while fellow senior righty Daniel Latham (5-3, 14 SV, 47.1 IP, 41 K) is back to fill his normal closing role. Latham enters the 2007 season with 33 career saves, which ranks No. 1 in Tulane and Conference USA career record books, and he is just 16 away from the NCAA mark of 49 set by USC's Jack Krawczyk from 1995-98.
Also back on the staff are southpaw Peter Connick (0-0, 1.2 IP, 2 K), and right-handers Jonathan Garrett (0-0, 23.2 IP, 16 K), Matt Goebel (0-1, 7.1 IP, 6 K), Trey Martin (6-0, 62.0 IP, 37 K) and John Michael Vidic (0-0, 4.0 IP, 1 K).
Also rejoining the team for the 2007 season are a pair of medically-redshirted players from a year ago in sophomore infielder Jonny Weiss and senior southpaw J.R. Crowel. Weiss was the team's leading hitter early in 2006 at a .444 clip before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury in the 10th game of the season. Crowel, meanwhile, missed all of 2006 after undergoing successful shoulder surgery, but went 10-1 with 83 strikeouts in 92.2 innings as a junior during the Green Wave's run to the College World Series in 2005.
Tulane added nine new faces during the offseason with two transfers and seven true freshmen. Sophomore right-hander Shooter Hunt comes to Tulane via University of Virginia, and spent this past summer in the Cape Cod League where he was named the No. 9 prospect in the summer league by Baseball America. Sophomore catcher Jared Dyer from San Jacinto College-North is the other transfer.
Rounding out the freshman class are utility athlete Preston Claiborne (Dallas, Texas/Newman Smith HS), southpaws Hunter Johnson (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire HS) and Aaron Loup (Luling, La./Hahnville HS), right-handed pitchers Taylor Rogers (Round Rock, Texas/McNeil HS) and Drew Zizinia (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire HS), and outfielders Jay Ackal (Mandeville, La./St. Paul's School) and Ryan Scott (New Orleans, La./Archbishop Rummel HS).
"Our freshman class is not as large as it has been in years past, but it is extremely talented, and of course, the emphasis was on pitching," Jones said. "I expect this group to benefit of being on a veteran club. That will take some of the pressure off them early on, but we expect them to make significant contributions throughout the year."
All Tulane practices are open to the public and admission is free. Weekday practices are slated to begin at 2 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday sessions scheduled at 1 p.m. All intrasquad games will start approximately one hour after the start of practice.
2006 Tulane Fall Ball Intra-Squad ScheduleTuesday, Oct. 10 Practice/Intrasquad........2 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 11 Practice...................2 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 12 Practice...................2 p.m.Friday, Oct. 13 Practice...................2 p.m.Saturday, Oct. 14 Practice/Intrasquad........1 p.m.Sunday, Oct. 15 Practice/Intrasquad........1 p.m.Tuesday, Oct. 17 Practice...................2 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 18 Practice/Intrasquad........2 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 19 Practice...................2 p.m.Friday, Oct. 20 Practice/Intrasquad........2 p.m.Saturday, Oct. 21 Practice/Intrasquad........1 p.m.Sunday, Oct. 22 Practice/Intrasquad........1 p.m.Tuesday, Oct. 24 Practice...................2 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 25 Practice/Intrasquad........2 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 26 Practice...................2 p.m.Friday, Oct. 27 Pracitce/Intrasquad........2 p.m.Saturday, Oct. 28 Practice/Scout Day........10 a.m.Sunday, Oct. 29 Practice/Intrasquad........1 p.m.Tuesday, Oct. 31 Practice...................2 p.m.Wednesday, Nov. 1 Fall World Series Game 1...2 p.m.Thursday, Nov. 2 Fall World Series Game 2...2 p.m.Friday, Nov. 3 Fall World Series Game 3...2 p.m.Saturday, Nov. 4 Fall World Series Game 4/ St. Michael's Day..........1 p.m.Sunday, Nov. 5 Fall World Series Game 5...1 p.m.All dates and times subject to change
