Bryant, Jacobs and Luckie Named Team Captains At Annual Preseason Banquet - AuburnTigers.com

Bryant, Jacobs and Luckie Named Team Captains At Annual Preseason Banquet The 1997 CWS team was also honored at the banquet

Coach John Pawlowski introduces former coach Hal Baird

Jan. 28, 2012

Justin Bryant, Jon Luke Jacobs and Cory Luckie were named the team captains for the 2012 baseball season at the conclusion of Saturday night's Auburn Diamond Club Preseason Banquet. The announcement came at the conclusion of what was a stirring banquet that honored the 1997 College World Series Team.

The annual banquet serves as the official kickoff to the season and has in the past years featured such guest speakers as Brett Butler, Dale Murphy and Gregg Olson, but tonight it was former coach Hal Baird and some of the players from the 1997 CWS Team that spoke to a room full of current team members, their families and guests and members of the ADC.

Baird, who coached at Auburn from 1995-2000 and is the winningest coach in program history, spoke of how the '97 team rebounded from a down year in '96 to reach the program's fourth College World Series. The '97 club included future major leaguers Tim Hudson, David Ross, Colter Bean, Bryan Hebson and Josh Hancock.

Hudson and Ross, two of the 12 players and six staff members that were in attendance on Saturday, each spoke fondly of the '97 season with Ross telling the crowd that he still doesn't know what pitch he hit out in the bottom of the ninth that propelled Auburn to the Tallahassee Regional Champions while Hudson remarked that the '97 season is one his most memorable ever on the diamond.

The most poignant part of the night came during the moment of silence that was observed during Hudson's speech when he talked of Brent Schoening, Hancock and Kevin Knorst, three members of the pitching staff that have all passed away in recent years.

Auburn plays its first game on Friday, Feb. 17, when it plays host to Missouri. Season tickets are already on sale while individual game tickets can be purchase beginning Feb. 13.

Fans can reach the Auburn ticket office by phone at 334.844-4040 or 1-800-282-2010 or by emailing tickets@auburn.edu. To order tickets online log onto www.aubtix.com.

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