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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – 2001 World Series champion Tony Womack was the featured speaker and Morgan Harris was honored as the Alumnus of the Year at the 2015 Campbell Baseball First Pitch Dinner Saturday at McCall Court.
"It was a fantastic night for our entire program," said CU head coach Justin Haire. "We had a sold out crowd for the first time ever at this event, and there was just such great support from the VIP reception and throughout the night. Tony Womack brought down the house. It was just a fantastic night for our program and a great way to get this season started off in the right direction."
Womack delivered an inspiring message about personal accountability and taking advantage of every opportunity in baseball and in life.
Best known for his heroics in the 2001 World Series, Tony Womack spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, terrorizing base paths along the way. Six years after he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh round of the 1991 first year player draft, Womack burst onto the major league scene as a rookie in 1997. As the Pirates leadoff hitter he had 178 hits, including 26 doubles and led all National Leaguers with 60 stolen bases en route to earning an All-Star selection.
After another successful campaign in Pittsburgh in 1998, Womack was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the 1999 season. He wound up leading the NL in stolen bases for a third consecutive year that season, swiping 72 bags.
Morgan Harris, who played the 1959 and 1960 baseball seasons at Campbell as a shortstop, was honored as the third Alumnus of the Year. Jim Perry was given the accolade in 2013, while Kenny Milton took the honors in 2014.
A big part of the evening's festivities came when Director of Athletics Bob Roller and head coach Justin Haire welcomed Campbell alums Jim and Daphne Perry to the stage. The group announced plans for an addition to Jim Perry Stadium, which would be named the Jim and Daphne Perry Pavilion.
The new addition would add approximately 200 chair back seats, increasing stadium seating capacity to more than 1,000 seats and would provide new offices for the entire baseball staff, a state-of-the-art locker room and a new in-ground dugout. The Jim and Daphne Perry Pavilion will boast a 1,200 square foot VIP viewing deck and will provide a new home for the entire Campbell baseball operation.
"Jim and Daphne Perry mean so much to Campbell University and are so proud of their alma mater," Roller said. "After the construction of Jim Perry Stadium two years ago, they could have easily rested in their giving back to Campbell for a lifetime. Instead, they pushed to expand just as Camel Baseball continues to grow and increase in national exposure. This lead, naming rights gift is the perfect start to this project and we are confident that our alums and supporters of baseball will step forward to see this to completion."
The Camels will open the 2015 season on February 13, hosting Northern Kentucky at Jim Perry Stadium.
Campbell finished the 2014 season with a 41-21 overall record, tying for the second-most wins in school history. The Camels claimed the Big South Tournament Championship in Rock Hill, S.C., earning the school's second NCAA Regional berth.
The 2015 Camel Baseball team, coaches and support staff were also introduced at the dinner.
In the Columbia Regional, No. 4 seed CU picked up its first-ever NCAA Regional win, knocking off third-seeded Old Dominion 4-1 in 12 innings.
Campbell has won 131 games over the last three years, and is one of just eight programs nationally with three consecutive 40-plus win seasons.
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