December 2003

2004 Schedule and Captains Announced

Seasons greetings! The end of the fall semester is already December 12. Some freshman are excited that their 1st semester is almost behind them. I told them this will be my 55th semester !

The fall has been going great. The players have been working hard in the weight room and at individual workouts. I'm very pleased with the improvement shown this far.

Enclosed you will find the 2004 baseball varsity schedule. In late February, Dave Whiteford (Class of 87') has invited our team to Douglasville, Georgia where the baseball parents will house our players. I will be contacting the 1986 World Series team to join us for that team reunion. The following week we play the University of Minnesota, a game that is always exciting for the players and fans. During our spring trip to Texas we will play two games in Austin and 5 games in San Antonio. Along with a competitive varsity schedule is a 42 game JV schedule. These games allow the new players a great deal of playing time to help develop each individuals skills.

This years team captains are seniors Jay Nessler, 3rd baseman from Mankato; Zach Malwitz, outfielder from Lakeville; and Justin Dering, right-handed pitcher from Maple Grove.

The other seniors are right-handed pitchers Joe Kern from St. Peter and Jon Dudycha from Eden Prairie. These guys have a great responsibility and have shown excellent leadership to the younger players thus far. Along with the 5 seniors are 5 juniors, 12 sophomores, and 23 freshman.

We have been receiving donations for the club almost everyday. It has been a good start! If you did not receive a pledge card or a sunglass clip in the previous issues please contact us. I have enclosed a list of our supporters who have given since July 1st. We are also nearing the goal for the Matt Magers "Pitching-In" Fund. Please continue to send your donations directly to me, so I can stay current with the donor list. I make a copy of each check for my files, send you a thank you letter, and give the check to the alumni office.

We are also pleased to announce that the web site is up and running. We hope to be more active on the internet in the future. The web address is listed at the bottom of the page along with the official MSU athletic web site. Have a great holiday season!

In Baseball,

Dean Bowyer

News from the 1983 Team Reunion

During Homecoming weekend the 1983 team reunion was held. The '83 team finished with a 29-12 record and placed 2nd at the NCAA Midwest Regional. It was great to see the following players in attendance: Joel Fasnacht, Gary Mennsen, Gary Mielke, Rich Murry, Jeff Sjoberg, Glen Skillingstad, Steve Van Nurden, Joe Warren, Bob Wick, and Brent Wohlers.
We had a great day for golfing, spending time at Hooligans, watching the Twins game, and touring the new facilities on campus. You may have heard about the Saturday night riots by campus. I am pleased to announce no members of the 1983 team were involved!

Senior 3B Jay Nessler

Senior RHP Joe Kern