Louisville Kicks Off Preseason Practice, Hosts Leadoff Dinner
January 28, 2017 | Baseball
Event included reunion ceremony for 2007 CWS team and interview session with featured guests Cody Ege, Chad Green, Dean Kiekhefer and Matt Koch
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 6 University of Louisville baseball team officially opened preseason practice for the 2017 season on Friday with an afternoon scrimmage at Jim Patterson Stadium, while the 21st annual Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank later that evening capped an exciting day of activities.
The Cardinals, ranked in the top 12 in five preseason national polls, used the first day of work on the diamond to conduct a nine-inning scrimmage. All-American lefty pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay connected for a two-run homer at the plate and finished with four strikeouts in two innings of work on the mound, while senior outfielder Logan Taylor had two hits and scored two runs as the Red Team earned a 7-5 win.
Following the scrimmage, the players and coaches made the short commute from the ballpark to the Louisville Marriott Downtown where a crowd of nearly 700 fans attended the Leadoff Dinner. Louisville baseball alumni Cody Ege (Los Angeles Angels), Chad Green (New York Yankees), Dean Kiekhefer (Seattle Mariners) and Matt Koch (Arizona Diamondbacks) were the featured guests for this year's event after all four players made their Major League Baseball debuts in 2016.
Along with the entertaining discussion with the four featured guests, Friday night's Leadoff Dinner included a reunion ceremony honoring Louisville's 2007 team, which earned the program's first College World Series berth. Members of that squad, which finished 47-24 overall and ranked No. 6 in the nation after a 1-2 showing in Omaha, were introduced to the crowd and interviewed on stage.
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 2017 Louisville baseball team, while Taylor was the recipient of the Second annual Muhammad Ali Leadership Scholarship.
The 2017 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank was the 11th under the guidance of Dan McDonnell, who has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite programs with three College World Series berths, six NCAA Super Regional appearances, nine NCAA Regional bids, seven regular season conference championships, two conference tournament titles, 29 All-Americans and 456 wins overall in his 10 seasons.
Since its debut in 1996, the Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner helps launch the baseball season by bringing some of the biggest names in the game to the Derby City. Last year's event was headlined by Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, while other previous featured guests have included Adam Duvall, 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, Chris Dominguez, Justin Marks, Trystan Magnuson, Zack Cozart, B.J. Rosenberg and Rick Sweet.
The No. 6 Cardinals will open the 2017 season on Feb. 17-19 in Clearwater, Florida with a trio of games at Spectrum Field, the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Louisville will face Alabama State on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m., ET, No. 22 Maryland on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m., and Ball State on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. The 2017 home-opener for the Cardinals is set for Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium against Eastern Kentucky.
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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