Southeast Day to be held at Busch Stadium

Southeast Day at Busch Stadium is held for anyone associated with Southeast Missouri State University so that they can sit together at the Cardinals game and enjoy each others company. On Saturday April 18 the St. Louis Cardinals will host the Cincinnati Reds.

Southeast students and alumni will have the opportunity to purchase tickets at $10, which includes a seat, hot dog and a soda.

"Southeast Day at Busch Stadium is an opportunity for our alumni, students, staff, faculty, and friends of the university to have a good time at Busch Stadium and cheer on the Cardinals," Jay Wolz, the director of Alumni Relations, said. "It's a thing that we do every year where we are able to provide our Southeast family with tickets at a very good price and extra value."

This is the second consecutive year that Southeast Day is an event since it was brought back last year.

"Last year we had more than 1,300 people buy tickets for Southeast day at Busch Stadium." Wolz said.

There is something different about every Southeast day at Busch Stadium.

"This year we are trying something new which will be a pregame gathering at Ballpark Village." Wolz said. "I hope what is different this year is that the cardinals win, because they didn't win it last year."

Joe Torrisi is a 1976 graduate of Southeast. It was Torrisi who saw a potential for community, so he took advantage.

"He wanted to get a group of alumni together and go to the game," Angie M. Grissom, secretary of the Alumni Association Board of Directors said. "He started it small scale and was the one that began Southeast Day at Busch Stadium."

Southeast Day was in existence for more than 25 years before the recent seven -year hiatus.

"We didn't stop Southeast Day because of the stadium change," Grissom said. "We had to stop because of budget restrictions and it was revived last year."

Grissom said what keeps her coming back each year is

"Cardinals stadium, a bunch of people from the same area together, and the atmosphere."

"We look for dates that don't conflict with a lot of holidays and the events on the university calendar," Wolz said. "We wanted to also avoid days that were going to be dreadfully hot in the middle of summer. We also like to pick a game where the cardinals are playing a division rival."

The only place to get tickets for the game is at cardinals.com/semo. Tickets that are ordered after April 3rd will be held at will call.

Rowdy is going to be on the field with Fredbird. At the beginning of special events at Busch Stadium the cardinals let a celebrity of some sort throw the first pitch. President Kenneth W. Dobbins is to make his last first pitch.

"A favorite memory of mine from last year is that my daughter from New York came to the game as well as my other daughter who is a Southeast senior, graduating in May, also came to the game." Wolz said. "It was just fun to get my whole family together because to the ballgame is a family event."

Wolz talks about his job as the director of alumni relations.

"Southeast is a special place and I love coming to work everyday and interacting with our alumni, which is a big part of my job," Wolz said. "It is a privilege for me to talk to alumni for different decades and different generations. Over the years I have actually met alumni who have graduated in 11 different decades. All the way back to an alum who graduated in 1914. I love hearing their stories and connecting the dots. They all have those shared experiences."