Cardinals Conduct First Practice, Host Leadoff Dinner
January 24, 2015 | Baseball
Photo Gallery: First Team Practice / Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank
CardsTV News Conference Videos: J. Marks | A. Duvall | C. Dominguez | D. McDonnell
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program officially welcomed in the 2015 season on Friday as the ninth-ranked Cardinals conducted their first full-squad team practice in the afternoon before closing the day with the annual Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank.
Three weeks ahead of opening day at the Clearwater Tournament in Florida, the Cardinals practiced more than 2 hours inside Jim Patterson Stadium with an emphasis on defense and situational offense. Louisville will continue its first weekend of full-squad work with open scrimmages on Saturday (12:30 p.m., ET) and Sunday (12:30 p.m.).
The busy Friday for the Cardinals, who face Alabama State, USF and Cal State Fullerton during the opening weekend in the Sunshine State, concluded with the 2015 Leadoff Dinner at the Hyatt Regency downtown where Louisville baseball alumni Chris Dominguez, Adam Duvall and Justin Marks entertained the sold out crowd of nearly 600 fans. The trio of former Louisville standout players shared memories from their collegiate careers as well as stories from inside professional baseball, including their Major League Baseball debut experiences from 2014. In marked the first time in the 19-year history of the event that each of the featured guests were Louisville baseball alumni.
The 2015 edition of the Leadoff Dinner also included a message from Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell as well as remarks from U of L vice president/director of athletics Tom Jurich. The evening began with the introduction of the 2015 Louisville baseball team, while senior infielder Zach Lucas was honored as this year's recipient of the Jimmy Carraro Award.
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 was the ninth under the guidance of 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.
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