KWU Baseball Alumni Game

The 2024 KWU Homecoming week was full of events that took place all over Salina.

Every event that took place can be found here: Edit Post “Homecoming Week Preview” ‹ KWUStudentMedia — WordPress

On Saturday, October 19th, at Dean Evans Stadium, the current KWU baseball team played an exhibition against Coyote alumni from years past. 

Getting Started

Batting practice for the alumni started around 10 Saturday morning. The alumni did their best to knock some dust off before getting ready for the game. Each alumnus took a few rounds trying to show off their swings they still have left. 

Bigger Than Baseball

Before the scheduled first pitch at 11, Head Coach Bill Neale gathered all the players at the pitching mound. He talked about the importance of the game and how they were honoring two Coyote baseball players who passed away within the last year and how important this day was for their teammates who were able to make it. There were nine players from the 1997-98 teams that came out. 

The first pitch was thrown at 11. Players sprawled out throughout the field, getting as close to the action as possible. Several dozen friends and family members of the alumni showed up. They were there to support all the players who suited up to relive their glory days.  

Honoring the Past

There were a lot of players from last year’s Coyote baseball team. They were recognized during the volleyball game the night before. Last year’s team made history as the first team to make it to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. The players who were able to make it back received rings for making it to the World Series. 

Neither team was taking the game too seriously. The number one priority was making sure no one got  injured. Each member of the current Coyote baseball team took at least one at bat so everyone could get in on the action. 

Many members of last year’s team are still close with players on this year’s team, so there was a lot of back-and-forth banter, which entertained the crowd quite a bit.. 

Jalen Jones, a graduate from last year who was on the team, said, “I’m excited to get my at-bat, and I’m about to hit a bomb”. He grounded out to second base. He also mentioned how exciting the volleyball game was on Friday and was also excited for the football game.  

The alumni won the game, but more importantly, everyone stayed safe and got to enjoy time with each other, reminiscing about the awesome memories that baseball at KWU brought them.