Annual alumni game kicks off 2004 baseball season

By Blake Twisselman

The Santa Clara University baseball team will begin the 2004 season with its traditional alumni game Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium. The game is free to the public, with the first pitch scheduled for noon. Both teams will take batting practice prior to the game and a post-game barbeque will conclude the day's festivities.

Head Coach Mark O'Brien, who is beginning his third season as the Broncos' skipper, will lead this year's squad against a team comprised of Santa Clara's many proud alumni.

One of those alums is recent Santa Clara Hall of Fame inductee Bill Connolly ('65), who played for the great Bronco ball clubs of the mid-1960s.

"This is a fun event where people see old friends, meet new friends and talk about Santa Clara baseball," Connolly said.

The Alumni game also demonstrates the active relationship between O'Brien, his team and the former players.

"Mark O'Brien has reinvigorated alumni interest in Santa Clara baseball," Connolly explained. "When Coach O'Brien got the job a few years ago, a group of alumni, including myself, met up with him. We were so impressed by his enthusiasm, intelligence and aggressiveness that we decided to start a booster club to raise extra money for him."

The Diamond Club was created with the intention of placing the Santa Clara baseball team on a financially even playing field with the larger Division I universities.

"Division I athletic programs will not be successful without a supportive, involved and generous alumni," Connolly added.

Saturday's alumni game should showcase Santa Clara's commitment to baseball excellence and spark a wave of excitement in current and former players.

"This is a big day for us," O'Brien said. "I really, really like for the alumni to be involved in our program, because they got this program to become a powerhouse in the past and honestly, that's what we're trying to do again. We're trying to show them the progress that we've made."

O'Brien will look to keep the program moving in the right direction after breaking through with a 21-9 West Coast Conference record in 2003, managing the Broncos (31-26 overall) to their first winning season in six years. Santa Clara lost eight seniors from last season's team, but the Broncos recovered by bringing in a nationally-ranked recruiting class.

"I'm really excited about this year," O'Brien exclaimed. "It's the most excited I've been since I've been here. I think our strengths are the depth of our pitching staff and we're also a very physical team up and down the lineup. Now we'll try and take that step to the next level."

û Contact Blake Twisselman at (408) 554-4852 or at jtwisselman@scu.edu.