Oct. 20, 2008

Contact: Rob Henry

Saturday, October 12th, saw the CSU baseball team host its alumni in our annual alumni day game. This was our best turnout in the three years we have held this event. Twenty alums joined us at the Pipe Yard and enjoyed beautiful weather, great food, and the chance to suit up and play against our current team.

Although the final score wasn't what the alums wanted (an 11-2 CSU win), several of them showed their skills are still sharp. Brandon Hewitt (2007) started on the mound and pitched five solid innings before defensive miscues did him in. John Westra (2007) patrolled center field and had two hits, while Dave Boyza (2004) pitched well in relief of Hewitt.

The most enjoyable part of the afternoon had to be seeing our players and the alums enjoy the burgers and hot dogs Coach Kocks grilled for them after the game. It gave our guys a chance to meet the players who laid the foundation for their success before them and hopefully reminded them how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to continue playing baseball in college. It was obvious from watching and listening to the alums that they would have loved to trade places and get the chance to play again.

It was also exciting to see new faces like Mike Lehman (2001), Keith McLeod (2002), Rick Shimko (2003), Dave Boyza (2004), and Mike Ochwat; along with alumni regulars Steve Chinn (2005), Ben Smith (2005) and Frank Felice (2002) join our recent alums from 2007 and 2008 to make this a great experience. We appreciate all the alums who showed up this past weekend and expect it to continue getting better each year.