Jan. 11, 2003
The inagural Arizona State vs. Alumni Home Run Derby was held prior to the start of the annual Alumni Game Saturday with two members of each roster taking cuts in the contest.
In the first round where each hitter gets 10 swings, alumni batters Mitch Jones and Mike Kelly connected on one homer apiece. Kelly moved on to the finals as the alumni representative as he launched a bomb over the scoreboard in center field.
Current players Andre Either and Jeremy West battled for a spot in the finals against Kelly, with West winning the fight, 4-3.
In the finals, Kelly strode to the plate first and connected on one homer, forcing West to hit two in his five swings. But West did not come to the plate as Rodney Allen "pinch hit" for him.
After taking on the first pitch, Allen went deep on his next three pitches before taking an out. He finished with four home runs and was crowned the champion.