BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- More than 100 former baseball players gathered near second base as Louisiana State University played what's expected to be its last regular season home game at Alex Box Stadium.

The stadium, named for the LSU baseball and football player killed during World War II while in the Army, is being replaced with a new, $31 million facility that will seat more than 8,700 people - about 1,000 more than the current stadium.

It is slated to be open for the 2009 season and also bear Box's name.

Some fans, with memories of the decades-old stadium, found it difficult to leave the place behind Sunday.

Alan H. "Buddy" LeBlanc, 78, said he's seen hundreds of games at the stadium, starting with one he says his dad took him to.

"I hate to see the thing go, but everything's got to change," he said. "If it's got to go, it's got to go."

It's possible the stadium could see at least one more game, if LSU wins a shot at hosting an NCAA regional. But since those sites won't be announced until later this month, LSU officials saw Sunday's game as fitting for a ceremony to commemorate the park's history, outgoing LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said.

LSU won, too, defeating Mississippi State, 9-6.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://www.2theadvocate.com

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