Friday night's contest will be the first of a three-game series vs. the Hawks as Tulane, ranked 23rd in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and 26th by Baseball America and The Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, will take on St. Joseph's on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the weekend with a noon contest on Sunday.

Tulane returns 17 lettermen from the 2002 team, including eight position starters and a trio of All-Conference USA performers in senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan, senior left fielder Aaron Feldman and junior relief pitcher Joey Charron. Also returning for 2003 is junior Michael Aubrey who was named USA Baseball's Athlete of the Year after an outstanding summer as well as garnering preseason Conference USA Player of the Year and All-America honors. Aubrey is joined on the preseason all-league squad by Charron and junior shortstop Tony Giarratano.

"We return a veteran club, and we lose only one position player from last year in James Jurries," head coach Rick Jones said. "Now, that's a big loss, but I believe we have enough quality depth to fill the void. Even though we only have three seniors on this club, from a position standpoint, we are a veteran team."

From a pitching standpoint, the Green Wave will have a corps of new faces to choose from, including University of Kentucky transfer Cory Hahn, who will start for Tulane on Friday night. Also headlining the list of newcomers to the staff are a pair of high school state players of the year in J.R. Crowel (Florida) and Brandon Gomes (Massachusetts), and a 2002 MLB draft pick in Mandeville's Tyler Kimmons.

"We are extremely young and inexperienced on the mound, and for the most part untested. The veterans - like Joey Charron and, if available, Michael Aubrey - will be bolstered by the addition of Cory Hahn from the University of Kentucky and a bevy of freshmen pitchers who I believe are as talented as any group of pitchers since I've been here. As always, pitching is going to be the key, but that phrase is amplified even more with this team."

For more information on the 2003 Tulane baseball team, log onto the Official Site of Tulane Athletics, www.tulanegreenwave.com. For individual game or season ticket orders, call the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE.

BROADCAST NOTE: Due to schedule conflicts with the Tulane women's basketball team, only Saturday's game against St. Joseph's will be live on the air on the flagship station of Green Wave baseball, WRBH 88.3 F.M. Friday and Sunday's contests, however, can be heard live on the internet at the Official Site of Tulane Athletics, www.tulanegreenwave.com.