ASU baseball fans got their first glimpse of the 2006 Sun Devils on Saturday as Alumni Weekend concluded with the annual alumni game.
The Sun Devils scored early and often en route to a 19-run, 20-hit performance and a 19-5 win over their ancestral counterparts.
"It's great that every time a new season starts you're a new team and you have a new dynamic," ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy said. "But it's about the alums today, not us."
The alums started hot as well, scoring four first inning runs off junior starting pitcher Zechry Zinicola. However, the seven pitchers that followed Zinicola held the alumni to one run for a final score of 19-5.
Freshman right-hander Jeff Urlaub looked particularly impressive, striking out four batters in two innings of work.
"It was fun, especially being a freshman in my first alumni game," Urlaub said. "I treated it like a real game, except these guys were a little older."
Freshman Preston Paramore got the start behind the plate for the Sun Devils as former starter Tuffy Gosewisch looked on from the alumni dugout.
Paramore provided a third inning home run that put the Sun Devils up for good.
"We're going to rely on a lot of the young people," Murphy said.
One such young player is redshirt freshman pitcher Drew Bowman, who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and recorded two strikeouts.
"Bowman has come so far," Murphy said. "He wasn't even in the picture last year and he threw the ball great today."
Alumni second baseman Brooks Conrad led the offense with a hit, run, and RBI. Conrad currently plays for the Round Rock Express, the Houston Astros triple-A affiliate.
The game was played at the newly dedicated Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. A dedication ceremony was held Friday night honoring former Sun Devil coach Jim Brock. In 23 seasons with the Sun Devils, Brock led his team to two national championships and earned five Pac-10 Coach of the Year Awards.
"Jim Brock helped perpetuate the tradition of excellence created by Bobby Winkles and deserves to have his name prominently associated with every aspect of our program," Murphy said.
Additionally, Brock's 1981 national championship team was recognized prior to the first pitch Saturday afternoon.
Representatives from the National College Baseball Hall of Fame were also on hand, as they are considering inducting Brock into the Hall with the initial class. The induction ceremony will be held at the new facility in Lubbock, Texas on July 3-4.
After a relaxed atmosphere in the alumni game, the Sun Devils will have to focus on their first regular season game, which is Friday night against Cal State Northridge.
"We have to get way better," Murphy said. "We'll get our butts beat if we don't get ourselves together."
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
