Wall of Fame Ceremony, Baseball Alumni Weekend Set for this Weekend
5/4/2011 1:03:00 PM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Baseball's annual alumni weekend will be held this weekend, May 6th-8th, during its Southern Conference series with Wofford at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles will induct two former players into the Wall of Fame and will recognize the 1996, 2000 and 2001 Southern Conference Championship teams.
The Wall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on the concourse of J.I. Clements Stadium at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 7th. Two former pitchers in Julio Ayala and Brett Lewis will be added to the wall.
Lewis finished his career as the Eagles' all-time leader in victories, innings pitched, strikeouts and games started. The pitcher from 1999-2002 racked up a number of honors during his four years with the Eagles. The Lousiville Slugger Freshman All-American was a First Team All-Southern Conference selection in 2001 and was the MVP of the 2002 SoCon Tournament.
Ayala wrapped up his impressive three-year career with the Eagles by being named to Smith Super Team and a Baseball America All-American in 1996. Ayala led the NCAA with 15 wins in that year to help Georgia Southern advance to the NCAA Atlantic Regional. His 15-total wins remains the second-best in school history to go along with his 143 strikeouts in 1996.
The 1996, 2000 and 2001 Southern Conference teams will be recognized on the field and Ayala and Lewis will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday's game.
All former baseball players are encouraged to attend the alumni weekend and a special rate has been set up at the Holiday Inn of Statesboro. For more information, call the Baseball office at 912-478-1350 or email at baseball@georgiasouthern.edu.
The baseball coaching staff is looking to update its alumni records and requests all former players to fill out the attached form to update their contact information.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Baseball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/baseball or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.
