Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner Sold Out
January 13, 2015 | Baseball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2015 University of Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank set for Jan. 23 at the Hyatt Regency is sold out.
The annual dinner, which is the primary fund-raising event for the Louisville baseball program, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., ET in the Regency Ballroom of the downtown Louisville hotel and will have UofL alumni Chris Dominguez, Adam Duvall and Justin Marks as the featured guests. Dominguez and Duvall made their MLB debuts for the World Champion San Francisco Giants in 2014, while Marks, who recently signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, made his big league debut with the Kansas City Royals last summer.
A two-time All-American and two-time Big East Player of the Year during his collegiate career at Louisville, Dominguez played in his first MLB game on Sept. 3, 2014 with a pinch hit appearance against the Colorado Rockies. Overall, the Miami native played in eight games, highlighted by connecting for a home run on Sept. 21 at San Diego.
While in Louisville, Dominguez was among the nation's top power hitters playing a key role as a redshirt freshman during the Cardinals' march to the College World Series in 2007, when he also earned Freshman All-America accolades. That was followed by back-to-back All-American seasons in 2008 and 2009 for the third baseman while leading Louisville to a pair of Big East Tournament titles and the 2009 regular season championship. Selected in the third round (86th overall) of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Giants, Dominguez ranks first at Louisville in career RBI (218), second in home runs (61) and is in the top 10 in hits, runs and at-bats, while his 25 home runs in 2009 are tied for the single season school record.
A two-time All-Big East selection during his two-year career at Louisville, Duvall had a truly memorable MLB debut connecting for a solo home run in his first big league game as the Giants' starting first baseman against the Cincinnati Reds on June 26, 2014 at AT&T Park. A day earlier, Duvall arrived at the ballpark and was in uniform for the first time in a MLB game when the Giants' Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter against the Padres. Duvall, who played in 28 games for San Francisco in 2014 connecting for three homers and adding five RBI, was on the Giants' active roster in the Wild Card win over Pittsburgh and was with club every step of the way in winning their third World Series in five seasons.
A Louisville native and a graduate of Butler High School, Duvall was an important infielder and impact bat for the Cardinals during the 2009 NCAA Super Regional season and the 2010 season, when UofL earned its first ever national seed in the NCAA Championship. An 11th round selection in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Giants, Duvall set a school record with 27 doubles during the Cardinals' 2010 season, while in 2009, he scored 83 runs, the third highest single season total at Louisville.
Among the most decorated pitchers ever to wear the Louisville uniform, Marks was a two-time All-American, a Freshman All-American and Big East Pitcher of the Year before starting his professional career in the summer of 2009. A native of Owensboro, Ky., Marks made his MLB debut on April 20, 2014 with two innings of relief for the Royals. After a pair of mid-season transactions sent the lefthander to the A's and then the Rangers, Marks signed a contract with the Diamondbacks in November for the 2015 season.
Marks established himself among the very best to ever play at Louisville ranking as the Cardinals' career leader in wins (29), strikeouts (305) and starts (48) while ranking fourth in innings pitched (300.2) and ninth in ERA (2.96). Chosen in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Oakland A's, Marks was the winning pitcher as a freshman in the Cardinals' first CWS victory in 2007 against Mississippi State. He won at least nine games in each of his three collegiate seasons in Louisville, highlighted by an 11-3 record as a junior in 2009.
Started in 1996, the Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner launches a new baseball season by bringing some of the biggest names in the game to the Derby City. Last year's event was headlined by Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton, while other previous featured guests have included Andy Pettitte, Joe Girardi, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez, Scott Rolen, Tommy Lasorda, Chris Coghlan, Jeff Francoeur, Sean Green, Nick Swisher, Adam Wainwright, Chris Burke, Trystan Magnuson, Zack Cozart, B.J. Rosenberg and Rick Sweet among others.
The 2015 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank will be the ninth under the guidance of head coach Dan McDonnell, who has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite with three College World Series berths, four NCAA Super Regional appearances, seven NCAA Regional bids, five conference regular season titles, two conference tournament titles, 14 All-Americans and 359 wins overall in his first eight seasons.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
