Tulane University
Alumni Game
Baseball Falls, 10-5, In Alumni Game At Zephyr Field
Feb 4, 2006 | Baseball
Feb. 4, 2006
METAIRIE, La. - It was a day to celebrate the teams of yesteryear and to introduce the fans to a taste of the future Saturday at Zephyr Field as the Tulane University baseball program hosted its sixth annual Alumni Game.
The game itself, however, proved to be more about the players past as the Alumni Team - composed of former Green Wave greats who played on the 2001 and 2005 College World Series teams, as well as former Tulane student-athletes who have gone on to play professional baseball - defeated the 2006 Tulane squad, 10-5.
"I don't know if we'll play a better club this year," Tulane head coach Rick Jones said with a grin. "There were a lot of players in that dugout who had great careers here. Position wise, you had our club from last year along with the table-setters from the 2001 team in Jonny Kaplan and Andy Cannizaro. From a pitching standpoint, the first four guys we faced were three first-team All-Americans (Jason Navarro, Brandon Belanger and Micah Owings) and a Major Leaguer (Jack Cressend).
"I thought we got some good work in, and our guys got to see first hand why we've had the success we've enjoyed the last few years, and that is because of the players we've had in our program."
Senior centerfielder Nathan Southard was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, and rookie Anthony Scelfo - who came on as a defensive substitution in right - had a single, a triple and scored twice following his only two at-bats of the game.
Junior right-hander Matt Goebel, who missed all of the 2005 season with an elbow injury, made a successful return to the mound and tossed a pair of perfect innings.
The Alumni Team, meanwhile, featured eight MLB draft picks, including 2005 draftees Owings, shortstop Tommy Manzella and catcher/first baseman Greg Dini, along with pro veterans Matt Barket, Brian Bormaster, Cannizaro, Joe Holland, Kaplan, Scott Madden and Wes Swackhamer.
The veterans jumped out to an early 3-0 led, and Kaplan got things going with a leadoff triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Cannizaro in the ensuing at-bat.
The Alumni Team got a pair of runs in the second on an RBI single by Bormaster and a passed ball, but the 2006 squad got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Southard hit a leadoff double, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI-groundout off the bat of sophomore third baseman Jonny Weiss.
After a pair of scoreless innings, Tulane cut the lead to one when freshman pinch runner Seth Henry, who came on following a single by rookie designated hitter Aja Barto, stole second and came around to score on a pair of wild pitches.
Two innings later, things were tied at 3-all when Scelfo ripped a one-out triple down the right-field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by reserve third baseman Tim Guidry.
The momentum shifted back into the Alumni Team dugout in the eighth, though, as Manzella and Owings opened the frame with a single and double, respectively, and the pair later scored to give the former players a 5-3 advantage.
The Alumni Team blew the game open in the ninth with a five-run rally. The 2006 team refused to go away quietly and got a pair of runs in the home half of the inning on an RBI-groundout by Guidry and a run-scoring single by Barto, but the deficit proved too big to overcome.
"You want to win every game, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over this one," Jones said. "We had some good things happen out there today, and I think this was a good tune-up for our team."
Earlier in the day, Tulane held its third-annual "Old Timers" game that saw the Blue Bombers erase a 5-0 Greenie Greats lead with a 14-run rally in the fifth and final inning. Desi Vega, who lettered at Tulane in 1985, was the star of the game with three hits and an RBI in six trips to the plate.
The Green Wave open the regular-season on Friday, Feb. 10, when they take on TCU at noon at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park - home of MLB's Houston Astros. Tulane's home opener is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 14, when the Green Wave play host to McNeese State at 6:30 p.m. at Zephyr Field.
For season ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-247-1240. The Ticket Office is currently located in the lobby of Fogelman Arena, and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
