Senior Green Wave players are ready to take on the 2007 baseball season. They are, from left, infielder Tim Guidry; pitchers Brandon Gomes, J.R. Crowell, Matt Goebel and Daniel Latham; and catcher Ty Wallace. (Photo by Dave Browning)

It's a clear but chilly day at Zephyr Field in mid-January as the Tulane Green Wave baseball team streams onto the field for afternoon practice. From the newly mowed field to the raked red dirt to the blank scoreboard, the 2007 season is ready and waiting.

Six senior players are ready and waiting as well, determined to make their final season one for the record books. They have 56 games ahead in the regular season, starting with a Feb. 9 contest against Southeastern Louisiana University. The team takes the field for the annual alumni game on Saturday (Feb. 3).

Taking one game, one week at a time, is sage advice but for this team, two Big Events are waiting down the line -- returning to play in their home Turchin Stadium sometime in April, and hoping for a return to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., in June.

Right off the bat, senior pitcher Daniel Latham makes a prediction. "Stay with us," he tells Green Wave fans. "It will be an exciting season. There's a lot we want to accomplish." Tulane is ranked No. 15 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25.

It all starts with winning games. "We want to win, to go to Omaha and compete for the national championship," Latham says. "It's definitely a special experience. I was there once and I definitely want to go back."

His teammate, fifth-year senior and infielder Tim Guidry, admits that Omaha is on his radar. "We're going to try as much as we can," he says, pausing to reflect. "When you've gone to Omaha once, it makes you more hungry and you want to go back."

In 2005 Tulane earned an appearance in the College World Series, posting one win but two losses to end that season with a 56-12 mark.

Guidry knows all too well that this season is his "last hurrah," and he wants to "go out on a winning note." From Metairie, La., Guidry played in 51 games last year, including 29 starts as designated hitter and 10 starts at third base. He hit .333 on the year, including a team-best .400 mark in Conference USA action.

Joining Latham and Guidry as seniors are catcher Ty Wallace from The Colony, Texas, and pitchers Brandon Gomes from Fall River, Mass., J.R. Crowell from Boynton Beach, Fla., and Matt Goebel from Austin, Texas.

For the right-handed Latham, a native of Covington, La., the season will bring a chance to add to the Tulane record books. In his first three seasons, he set the Tulane and C-USA career saves record at 33, just 16 shy of the NCAA mark of 49. He posted a 5-3 record last year, with 41 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 47.1 innings of work.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named him third-team preseason All-American, among the best closers in the nation.

It was Latham who tossed the last pitch in Turchin Stadium during the post-season playoffs in 2005. The stadium, being rebuilt and expanded, is scheduled to be complete in April and ready for Wave baseball.

Returning to play in Turchin is definitely on the Wave players' minds. Guidry says, "We talk about it every day. We appreciate the Zephyrs letting us use their field, but it's not home."

Off the field, both players are focusing on their May graduation. Guidry graduated last summer with his bachelor's degree and is scheduled to finish his master's degree in finance this year.

Latham adds, "I'm excited to graduate but I'm not looking forward to leaving Tulane and my teammates."