NSU, ODU Announce Annual Baseball Game at Harbor Park
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University and Old Dominion
University jointly announced Thursday the creation of an annual baseball game
between the schools to be played at Harbor Park.
The teams’ contest originally scheduled for
Tuesday, April 17 at NSU’s Marty L. Miller Field has been moved to Harbor Park,
home of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. and
gates will open at 5 p.m. The game will be played at Harbor Park in lieu of the
April 3 exhibition game between NSU and the Tides, which has been canceled due
to the recently announced exhibition between the Tides and the Baltimore
Orioles.
NSU and ODU will still play their regularly
scheduled game at ODU’s Bud Metheny Baseball Complex at 6 p.m. on Wednesday,
March 28.
Beginning in 2013, the teams will play three times
during the season, once each on their respective campuses and once at Harbor
Park. The date for the 2013 game at Harbor Park will be announced at a later
time.
In addition to augmenting the schools’ yearly
series, the Harbor Park game will serve as a fundraiser for both programs. Both
schools will sell tickets in advance and keep the revenue they generate, in
addition to splitting the walk-up sales from the day of the game.
QUOTES
NSU Athletics
Director Marty L. Miller
“I think that this will be an exciting athletic
series between the two institutions and will create another feisty environment
for college athletics in Norfolk. Hampton Roads will continue to benefit from
the exposure that is being generated when these two outstanding sports programs
compete against each other. The management of the Norfolk Tides, especially Dave
Rosenfield, should be commended for assisting with this endeavor.”
ODU Athletics Director Dr. Wood
Selig
“On behalf of the ODU baseball program, I would like to thank Tides
GM, Joe Gregory, for allowing both ODU and Norfolk State the opportunity to
compete and host a fundraising baseball event for both programs at Harbor Park.
Harbor Park is an exceptional baseball facility and I know our student-athletes
and fans will get a thrill out of their participation. We hope all baseball fans
who wish to support and grow college baseball in our area will attend this first
annual contest as our desire is to grow this event into one of the premiere
spring sporting events in Norfolk."
NSU Head Baseball Coach Claudell Clark
“Playing against Old
Dominion at Harbor Park presents a great chance for both of our programs to gain
greater exposure locally. I expect the game to be well attended due to the large
fan bases on both sides, and I definitely see the game turning into a
hard-fought annual contest. We are very grateful to the Tides organization for
agreeing to host this event at their first-class facility.”
ODU Head Baseball Coach Chris Finwood
“We are certainly excited
about the opportunity to get downtown and play NSU at Harbor Park. A big thanks
to Dave Rosenfield for spearheading this. I hope all our fans will come out and
support us, especially since this game will be a fundraiser for our baseball
program with all advance ticket sales going back to our program. Having two
Division I baseball programs in the same city is rare and I hope we can use
events like this to continue to grow college baseball in the Hampton Roads
area.”