Louisville Baseball Hosts Republic Bank Leadoff Dinner
February 04, 2012 | Baseball
Feb. 3, 2012
2012 Republic Bank Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner Photo Gallery
Audio from Media Interviews Prior to Leadoff Dinner
Dan McDonnell | Andy Pettitte | Trystan Magnuson
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just two weeks from opening day of the 2012 season, the 15th-ranked Louisville baseball team continued its preseason countdown with the annual Republic Bank Leadoff Dinner on Friday night in the South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Louisville baseball coach Dan McDonnell and the Cardinals were joined by five-time World Series champion and Major League Baseball career postseason wins leader Andy Pettitte and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher and former Cardinal standout Trystan Magnuson, who entertained the sold out crowd of more than 600 U of L fans and supporters. The Leadoff Dinner also included the official introduction of the 2012 Cardinals as well as comments from McDonnell and U of L vice president of athletics Tom Jurich.
Louisville, ranked in the top 25 in four major preseason polls, will open the 2012 season on Feb. 17 against Minnesota in Clearwater, Fla., on day one of the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. The Cardinals' home-opener at Jim Patterson Stadium is set for Feb. 22 against Eastern Kentucky.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
About Andy Pettitte and Trystan Magnuson
The left-handed throwing Pettitte was one of the top pitchers in baseball during his highly successful 16-year MLB career from 1995-2010. Using an array of pitches that included a fastball, a cutter, a curveball, a slider, a sinker and a changeup, and one of the best pick-off moves in the game, Pettitte won 240 games and had a career ERA of 3.88 with 2,251 strikeouts while playing 13 seasons for the New York Yankees and three seasons for the Houston Astros.
With his MLB-leading 19 career post-season wins on the mound, he was very instrumental as New York won World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. In 2009, he became just the second starting pitcher in history to win three series-clinching games (ALDS, ALCS and World Series) in the same postseason. Overall, Pettitte played in eight different World Series (seven with New York and one with Houston) and was a three-time MLB All-Star selection, while his 148 wins from 2000 to 2009 were the most in the decade.
Born in Vancouver, Canada and raised in Louisville, Magnuson remains the highest draft pick in Louisville baseball history after being selected 56th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He played three seasons in the Blue Jays organization before being traded to Oakland in November 2010. After opening 2011 in Triple-A Sacramento, the right-handed throwing Magnuson was promoted to the big league club on May 10 and made his MLB debut with a scoreless inning of relief in Oakland's win against the Angels on May 17. In November, Magnuson was reacquired by Toronto and is currently on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster.
An All-BIG EAST Third Team selection in 2007 and a member of the Cardinals from 2004-07, Magnuson holds Louisville's single season record for pitching appearances with 37 in 2007, while his nine saves during that 2007 College World Series season rank sixth. He is also fifth in career ERA at Louisville at 3.24, ninth in career saves with 10 and 10th in career appearances on the mound with 72.
About Louisville Baseball
Led by the return of preseason All-American pitcher and All-BIG EAST performer Justin Amlung, Louisville welcomes back nearly the entire pitching staff and numerous position players with starting experience from last year's squad. Overall, the Cardinals return 19 letterwinners from the 2011 team, which finished 32-29 overall.
McDonnell is in his sixth season leading the Louisville baseball program. In his five previous seasons, McDonnell is 217-106 with two BIG EAST regular-season titles, two BIG EAST Tournament titles, four NCAA Regionals, two NCAA Super Regionals and one College World Series.
