Photo by: Adam Nicol
Cardinals Host Leadoff Dinner, Conduct First Preseason Practice
January 30, 2016 | Baseball
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista visits with team, entertains crowd of more than 700 at dinner
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The countdown to the 2016 college baseball season reached the final stretch on Friday as the No. 2-ranked Louisville baseball team conducted its first full-squad team practice in the afternoon before ending the day with the annual Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank.
Just three weeks ahead of opening day at Jim Patterson Stadium, the Cardinals practiced more than two hours on a sunny afternoon at the corner of Central Avenue and Third Street. Midway through the practice, the Louisville players, coaches and staff met with six-time Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Bautista, the featured guest for this year's Leadoff Dinner, talked with the team for more than 20 minutes on the field at Patterson Stadium.
The busy Friday schedule for the Cardinals, who will host SIU Edwardsville for a three-game series during the opening weekend of the season on Feb. 19-21, concluded with the 2016 Leadoff Dinner at the Louisville Marriott Downtown where Bautista entertained the crowd of more than 700 fans. The three-time Silver Slugger Award winner shared stories of his Dominican upbringing as well as his vast experiences on and off the diamond as one MLB's best players.
This year's edition of the Leadoff Dinner also included a season-opening message from Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell as well as remarks from Louisville vice president/director of athletics Tom Jurich. The evening began with the introduction of the 2016 Louisville baseball team, while senior infielder Danny Rosenbaum was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Muhammad Ali Leadership Scholarship.
The 2016 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank was the 10th under the guidance of McDonnell, who has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite with three College World Series berths, five NCAA Super Regional appearances, eight NCAA Regional bids, six regular season conference championships, two conference tournament titles, 22 All-Americans and 406 wins overall in his first nine seasons.
Since its debut in 1996, the Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner helps launch the collegiate baseball season by bringing some of the biggest names in the game to the Derby City. Last year's event was headlined by UofL baseball alumni Chris Dominguez, Adam Duvall and Justin Marks, while other previous featured guests have included Josh Hamilton, 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.
The No. 2-ranked Cardinals will continue their first weekend of full-squad work with open scrimmages on Saturday (11 a.m., ET) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Louisville will open the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium in the first game of a weekend series at home against SIU Edwardsville.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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Just three weeks ahead of opening day at Jim Patterson Stadium, the Cardinals practiced more than two hours on a sunny afternoon at the corner of Central Avenue and Third Street. Midway through the practice, the Louisville players, coaches and staff met with six-time Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Bautista, the featured guest for this year's Leadoff Dinner, talked with the team for more than 20 minutes on the field at Patterson Stadium.
The busy Friday schedule for the Cardinals, who will host SIU Edwardsville for a three-game series during the opening weekend of the season on Feb. 19-21, concluded with the 2016 Leadoff Dinner at the Louisville Marriott Downtown where Bautista entertained the crowd of more than 700 fans. The three-time Silver Slugger Award winner shared stories of his Dominican upbringing as well as his vast experiences on and off the diamond as one MLB's best players.
This year's edition of the Leadoff Dinner also included a season-opening message from Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell as well as remarks from Louisville vice president/director of athletics Tom Jurich. The evening began with the introduction of the 2016 Louisville baseball team, while senior infielder Danny Rosenbaum was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Muhammad Ali Leadership Scholarship.
The 2016 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank was the 10th under the guidance of McDonnell, who has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite with three College World Series berths, five NCAA Super Regional appearances, eight NCAA Regional bids, six regular season conference championships, two conference tournament titles, 22 All-Americans and 406 wins overall in his first nine seasons.
Since its debut in 1996, the Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner helps launch the collegiate baseball season by bringing some of the biggest names in the game to the Derby City. Last year's event was headlined by UofL baseball alumni Chris Dominguez, Adam Duvall and Justin Marks, while other previous featured guests have included Josh Hamilton, 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.
The No. 2-ranked Cardinals will continue their first weekend of full-squad work with open scrimmages on Saturday (11 a.m., ET) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Louisville will open the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium in the first game of a weekend series at home against SIU Edwardsville.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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Players Mentioned
1B/3B
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